bonding to water service pipe

[Octopus]

I was wondering why the OP said 16mm as 10mm is the reg and most of us have a reel of 100m available.

 

[colshaws]

I had my Elecsa assesment recently and brought up this subject with the assesor, in my house the C.U and boiler are in the same cupboard in the kitchen, the gas meter is about 3m away in a seperate cupboard and the incoming water about 6m from C.U under the sink. The assesor was quite happy with the idea of bonding to gas and water at the boiler and confirming continuity to the incoming gas and water, as he said not ideal and not before branches in pipework but it is as close as practibly possible so he would accept it on an assesment, but to note this on any paperwork.

 

[harry olee]

I was wondering why the OP said 16mm as 10mm is the reg and most of us have a reel of 100m available.

4mm is recommended for supplementary bonding but as the cable length is 8x recommended length then a larger cable could be appropriate, but thinking about it 10mm would be fine.

 

[Octopus]

4mm is recommended for supplementary bonding but as the cable length is 8x recommended length then a larger cable could be appropriate, but thinking about it 10mm would be fine.

But this is equipotential bonding

 

[harry olee]

Yes it is, a larger cable is unecessary. I will be bonding to the nearest cold water pipe now after seeing colshaws post anyway.

 

[D Skelton]

4mm is recommended for supplementary bonding

Whaaaaaa???

but as the cable length is 8x recommended length

I didn't know there was a recommended length for a main equipotential bonding conductor???

I understand this connection should be no more than 600mm

Am I right in thinking that you are mistaking 600mm as the length of bonding conductor/maximum distance allowed between DB and services???

but thinking about it 10mm would be fine.

What do you mean "but thinking about it"? It is either correctly sized or not, there's no thinking about it??? Use the regs to size the conductor and where applicable an adiabatic equation.

Without wanting to sound like the sort on here I detest most, are you an electrician? If not, please step away from one of the most important parts of an electrical installation :whatchutalkingabout

 

[Deleted member 9648]

I had my Elecsa assesment recently and brought up this subject with the assesor, in my house the C.U and boiler are in the same cupboard in the kitchen, the gas meter is about 3m away in a seperate cupboard and the incoming water about 6m from C.U under the sink. The assesor was quite happy with the idea of bonding to gas and water at the boiler and confirming continuity to the incoming gas and water, as he said not ideal and not before branches in pipework but it is as close as practibly possible so he would accept it on an assesment, but to note this on any paperwork.

Yes it is, a larger cable is unecessary. I will be bonding to the nearest cold water pipe now after seeing colshaws post anyway.

The problem with this approach is that if alterations are made to the pipework between the point of bonding and the point of entry resulting in a loss of continuity the whole point of main bonding is defeated. If the incoming service is bonded at the point of entry the whole point of main bonding remains in place regardless of alterations made upstream of the bond. THIS is why there is a requirement to main bond at the point of entry,it's not just 7671 trying to make our lives harder. If it's not possible to bond at the point of entry...(and it nearly always is...it's more cant be bothered) IMO it is not sufficient to note on the cert....plumbers and clients dont read certs. I think it should be a requirement to place a notice at the CU stating that following alterations to plumbing a test of the effectiveness of main bonding should be carried out.

 

[shocking_eg]

Iv always done the bonding just after the stop cock or after the gas meter, before any branches off. as regs state - yes they can be a pain to do. but surely "as close as practical" could mean anywhere? depending on different peoples views on whats easier for them to do.

 

[Octopus]

Iv always done the bonding just after the stop cock or after the gas meter, before any branches off. as regs state - yes they can be a pain to do. but surely "as close as practical" could mean anywhere? depending on different peoples views on whats easier for them to do.

No. "as close as practical" means if its under the floor you should bond as soon as it emerges and not 3 meters along where lazy people can cut corners.

 

[shocking_eg]

No. "as close as practical" means if its under the floor you should bond as soon as it emerges and not 3 meters along where lazy people can cut corners.

just what i thought.

 

[Jimmy Boy]

I was wondering why the OP said 16mm as 10mm is the reg and most of us have a reel of 100m available.

At a guess no clue ?
j

 

[jumpin jax]

The problem with this approach is that if alterations are made to the pipework between the point of bonding and the point of entry resulting in a loss of continuity the whole point of main bonding is defeated. If the incoming service is bonded at the point of entry the whole point of main bonding remains in place regardless of alterations made upstream of the bond. THIS is why there is a requirement to main bond at the point of entry,it's not just 7671 trying to make our lives harder. If it's not possible to bond at the point of entry...(and it nearly always is...it's more cant be bothered) IMO it is not sufficient to note on the cert....plumbers and clients dont read certs. I think it should be a requirement to place a notice at the CU stating that following alterations to plumbing a test of the effectiveness of main bonding should be carried out.

Which brings us back to the arguement, Why bond a plastic water main? If you bond nearest to the stop cock and the pipe has a plastic insert put in it further upstream, then you are only bonding the initial run, therefore why bond a install with plastic incomer?

 

[shocking_eg]

.......

 

[44ALLAN]

Oh gawd !!!!

I'm definitely going to start and take my tool bag and testers on holiday with me from now on ffs !

Excuse me missus............can I just have a quick check under your sink before I take a shower?
And while i'm here can you show me where your fusebox is please................................

 

[Deleted member 9648]

Which brings us back to the arguement, Why bond a plastic water main? If you bond nearest to the stop cock and the pipe has a plastic insert put in it further upstream, then you are only bonding the initial run, therefore why bond a install with plastic incomer?

It may not be necessary to bond a water pipe with a plastic incomer at all....it depends if it's extraneous. Of course a test can be carried out to check,but in practice this is not always reliable due to parallel paths.....as regards 'only bonding the initial run'?.......well thats the only bit we are interested in isnt it?....what does the rest of it matter except in special location where we may supplementary bond.