Main Bonding Upgrade

[sl1210]

Hi Guys,

I went to look at a fuseboard upgrade the other day, the gas meter is in a cupboard in a bathroom 7 metres away as is the mains water. Now the problem is the floor is all marble and the only way to get to them is via trunking.

The lady said she didn't want any trunking.

What would you do in this situation??? Obviously a consumer unit upgrade requires this

 

[kingeri]

Is there no main bonding at all already in place?

 

[DurhamSparky]

can you bond to the pipe at another location....!!!

 

[rich.250]

Have you tested to check it isn't already bonded / even needs bonding???

 

[arkin]

i have seen bonding thats run on external wall with metal capping over it not sure if thats acceptable as i dont dont do dom work

 

[rich.250]

Outside is fine! Wouldn't need capping unless it is subject to damage.

 

[telectrix]

first we need to know from OP whether there is existing bonding or not, and what the earthing system is. otherwise it's guesswork.

 

[Tonkatoy27]

When the services are at the other side of the house it sometimes much more practical to run bonding cable outside. I reckon over 50% of my bonding gets run outside. As said though, it doesn't have to be at the stopcocks if it isn't practical, just document the position clearly on your installation cert.

 

[Anthony King]

I thought bonding was supposed to be 600mm from stopcock/gas meter? I might be wrong just that number springs to mind ??

 

[Plonker 3]

I thought bonding was supposed to be 600mm from stopcock/gas meter? I might be wrong just that number springs to mind ??

It should be, but sometimes it is not possible so it can be run to a more convieinient accessible point. Although leaving a note by the DB would be advisable for future reference.

 

[GaryM]

I thought bonding was supposed to be 600mm from stopcock/gas meter? I might be wrong just that number springs to mind ??

544.1.2 states "As near as practicable to the point of entry"

If it's not practicable to rip the house apart then you can bond at the nearest accessible point, documenting the location. Obviously you do need to make some effort though!

Where I've run bonding conductors externally I've used 20mm black PVC conduit to keep the conductor away from the prying eyes of metal thieves!

 

[Guitarist]

My Elecsa assessor brought this very situation up. His opinion was that it is better to bond as near as the customer will allow to the point of entry, than not bond at all. Just ensure that the pipework is continuous and not subject to the dreaded "plastic elbow" (in the case of water).

 

[Knobhead]

See http://www.electriciansforums.net/e...al-regulations/46129-just-start-argument.html to show physics out weigh the regulations

 

[sl1210]

to be honest i only briefly had a look it didn't look like it had any. i will go back and check things out properly. was just curious to know what other people did in these situations. I would normally go to the boiler if the gas meter and water were too difficult to get to. But the boiler is in the same bathroom as the gas meter, and because of the marble floors its difficult to tap off anywhere beneath.

 

[telectrix]

i'd certainly check if there is bonding present, and if it's 6mm, check to see whether or not it can be left. if new bonding is needed, then running externally is probably the best option, preferably in pvc conduit.