what am I doing wrong (wiring) Update

[codewritinfool]

Why are you guys telling him not to ground his switch?
If there is a short inside the switch and he touches it ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
It could be a big ouch~!!

Every single electrical interface on a system should be connected to a ground.
Ideally every single interface would be low voltage switches that control high volt relays which do all the power handling such low voltage switches should be no more than 12 VDC at zero amps.
Seriously if one is concerned about conductive fluids splashing around it might be a really good idea to isolate all the real power from the operator leaving strictly low voltage switches at the user end of things.

Water is a lousy conductor, but it does increase contact surface area & the salts on your skin can make it more conductive. In a furious rainstorm I had a Main panel in a Cellar fill with water in a building I'd purchased. Some one installed the outdoor pigtail wrong. I was unaware of this. Breakers were popping so I went down to open it up and look inside, About 3 feet of water spilled out onto me onto the floor and the main power from the street & the main 200 amp breaker was still on. I got no shock. The rain water is mineral and salt free.
But, beer is not water. As Miracle Max might have said: "Beer is Mostly water." Beer is loaded with minerals which we often add to it.
ERGO: Beer should have greater capacity to carry current than water.
How much? I'd prefer not to find out the hard way.

You misunderstand the situation as presented. The other switch terminal is a pole, not connected to the switch body. Grounding it will NOT ground the switch body.

That said, the entire panel (if metal) should be grounded.

[foomench]

Yes, most house electronics like wall panel light switches and plug outlets have a ground connection. Most switches that you buy at Radio Shack and the like, even when rated for 20A and 120V don't have a ground connection.

[LordUlrich]

As i appears some people are not understanding how the ground works, to simplify things. Every green wire and green screw should be connected to each other. This means any metal boxes, should have a green screw and be tied together, the green wire from the supply should be tied to all that, and all switches and devices should have a green tail or screw and need to be tied together. Also if your panel is metal you should add a ground screw to the panel and tie it to all the other green wires/screws.

If you do this any stray current SHOULD go back to the ground of the house and trip the GFIC (preventing the current going through you)

it would be a good idea to test any plugs you have (for pumps or whatever) with one of these to verify everything is working
http://www.lowes.com/pd_292761-12704-61-501_4294936478__?catalogId=10051&productId=3128411&Ntt=gfic&N=4294936478&identifier=Tools&langId=-1&storeId=10151&searchQueryType=1&ddkey=http:SearchCatalog



I am NOT an electrician, but have experience doing residential wiring (in my own house).

To restate (it is important):
Everything green (green for ground) gets connected together, order does not matter, everything just needs to be connected.

[foomench]

And my point is that a lot of switches have no ground. Here's a switch like what I use to reverse my grain mill:
http://www.amazon.com/DPDT-Medium-Duty- ... B0002ZPB98
No green, no ground. It is a DPDT. Two wires come in, two go out one side, two go out the other side.
Here's a rocker switch you could use to control power to a brewery panel, 20A:
http://www.allelectronics.com/make-a-st ... MP//1.html
Two connections. No ground.