Application guide for Electrical Grounding Screws to Trade series (electrical grounding screws). The core duty of the type is bonding a conductor to a threaded electrical box with a correctly identified grounding screw. The typical industries, the how-to-specify checklist, assembly practice and the exclusion cases are set out below. Stocked across roughly 10 mm to 10 mm, they cover general to heavy-duty work.
Typical Applications for Electrical Grounding Screws
The most common settings where these are specified:
- Electrical boxes: Green grounding screws bond a conductor to a steel box.
- Building wiring: 10-32 box threads accept the documented grounding screw form.
- Control panels: Combination heads support slot or driver access during installation.
- Electrical maintenance: Known length and finish simplify replacement of a missing bonding screw.
How to Specify Electrical Grounding Screws for Your Application
- Size: Match the nominal size to the mating thread or hole. This product spans 10 mm–10 mm; check the full table below for the exact dimensions of each size.
- Strength class: Choose the property class (e.g. 8.8, 10.9, 12.9 or A2/A4 stainless) for the load and environment, and tighten to the matching torque so the joint relies on preload, not friction.
- Environment: For damp, coastal or chemical exposure prefer A4/316 stainless or a suitable coating; indoors, plated steel or A2 is usually sufficient.
- Standard: This product is supplied to Trade series (electrical grounding screws). Quoting the standard on your order guarantees interchangeable dimensions between suppliers.
Installation & Assembly Practice
- Tighten to the torque for the size and property class with a calibrated wrench — the joint is held by preload, not by the thread friction alone.
- Ensure at least one full thread projects beyond the nut after tightening, and never re-use a bolt that has been tightened into yield.
- Under slotted or oversized holes, fit a hardened washer so the preload does not relax into the hole edge.
Common Selection Mistakes with Electrical Grounding Screws
- Specifying class 12.9 "to be safe" in a corrosive environment — high classes are more sensitive to hydrogen embrittlement and stress corrosion; 8.8 hot-dip galvanized often outlasts them outdoors.
- Choosing a length that puts the shear plane through the threaded portion when a plain shank (partially threaded bolt) was available.
- Mixing stainless bolts with plated-steel nuts: the joint loses its corrosion logic and can gall or seize.
Where Electrical Grounding Screws Are Not the Right Choice
Not for permanent joints that will never be opened (a rivet or weld is cheaper), and not where the head must sit flush — use a countersunk screw instead.
