On Monday, October 28, 2013 10:16:23 AM UTC-4, Nate Nagel wrote:
On 10/28/2013 09:50 AM, wrote:
On Monday, October 28, 2013 9:18:34 AM UTC-4, philo wrote:
On 10/28/2013 07:14 AM, wrote:
snip
If you want to do something before help arrives, I might *look* (but not
touch) for any clamps with wires that are attached to your water supply
lines. Incoming phone terminals, CATV lines, the circuit box area and the
furnace areas are places you might find a ground wire connection (no longer
code).
Now you're off in true lala land. Since when is it no longer
code to have those things grounded? In fact they all are
supposed to be grounded. Good grief. And to add to the foolishness,
what purpose is it going to serve for Fred to go looking for
anything when he obviously doesn't have the skills to diagnose
this serious problem?
He did not say /ungrounded/ he said grounded to water line
And again, who says that your circuit box (panel)can't be
grounded to the water pipe? In fact, it's a code
requirement that if a metal water pipe enters the
house that the panel be grounded in part to that metal pipe.
Not exactly. It useta be the case that a copper or steel water service
could be used as the grounding means for an electrical panel. Today, it
functionally can work that way, but it is not code compliant to rely on
the water service for the ground.
It's not code compliant for the water service pipe to be the
*only* grounding electrode, but it is code compliant for the
water service pipe to be used as one of the grounding electrodes.
However, you are still required to
*bond* the panel ground bus to the water service, assuming that it's
metal. So it still looks the same, but the reasoning behind that
identical connection is very different.
No it's not, because per code the water pipe may serve as
a grounding electrode. It's not just a bonding issue.
A new construction house would require an additional ground wire at the
electrical panel and that would go outside and be connected to a network
of several ground rods driven into the ground, *that* being the primary
means of grounding.
I don't believe NEC distinguishes and calls any one method
the primary ground. And there are other and better methods
of grounding in new constructions, Ufer being an example.
They do require that a water pipe can't be the only grounding
electrode.
The phone, CATV, etc. *should* be grounded back to the electrical panel,
although functionally if they are connected to the water service, and
that in turn is bonded to the panel, which is connected to a network of
ground rods, that will in effect be a more roundabout way of
accomplishing the same thing.
Agree, in new installs today they usually bring everything in
where the electrical panel is and ground everything there.
And that is the best way.
But Robert was telling the guy if he has a phone, CATV, etc
grounded to a water pipe that it's not code compliant. The
OP has an old house and if was done that way, then what he
has is still perfectly fine. There are millions of houses
out there with CATV, phone, etc grounded that way. There is
nothing in today's
code that says he has to change it, etc. Sending the OP
who doesn't have much in the way of electrical skills on
a wild goose chase based on incorrect info isn't productive.
And in older homes, not unusual to see the cable
or phone system wires being grounded to a cold water
pipe near where they enter the building. It's not
a safety issue or something that needs to be corrected.
Agreed, but like I said above, current code does not recognize a metal
water service as being a grounding means anymore but as something that
needs to be bonded to an accepted ground.
Not true. Check the NEC.