On 16/02/2020 18:49, wrote:
On Sunday, 16 February 2020 15:44:19 UTC, John Rumm wrote:
On 15/02/2020 17:54, tabbypurr wrote:
On Saturday, 15 February 2020 09:59:41 UTC, Robin wrote:
On 15/02/2020 08:35, tabbypurr wrote:
On Friday, 14 February 2020 11:08:57 UTC, Dave Plowman (News)
wrote:
In article , TimW
wrote:
There was an ancient (1950s) steel pipe bringing mains
water into my house under the front room and then up in
the cup'd under the stairs. There there was a stop cock
and it went into copper pipe and onto the copper a large
sleeved earth wire was connected with a tag on saying
"Do Not Remove".

The steel pipe was leaking so I have taken it all out and
replaced with blue plastic pipe. Was looking at the earth
arrangement and wondering if I need to earth the wiring
in another way, into the ground or something, or are we
still earthed through the water in the plastic pipe out
to the outside world?

It was common many many years ago to provide the earth via
the water pipe. Not so today. Get your leccy board in to
sort it out.

It's nothing to do with the leccy board.



Meanwhile what might help Tim is to know that the relevant
function of "Electricity Boards" was transferred as part of the
privatisation of the industry to distribution network operators
(DNOs). As John has already pointed out they can and do deal
with earthing - although they may charge (and will require main
bonding to be up to current requirements before they supply
PME).

https://www.ukpowernetworks.co.uk/electricity/earthing

The job required is on the OP's installation, not a job for the
DNO on their equipment.

Well its both... You could wire up your installation as if it were
TN-C-S, but that would not be a sensible thing to do if the DNO had
not constructed or upgraded the local distribution network to
support it.

all that's required is to equi bond the water pipe. AFAIK suppliers
don't provide neutral earth terminals on non-PME supplies.

Yup sorry, I think I misread that last post slightly. Assuming in the
OPs installation its confirmed as the supply being PME, then indeed all
that is required is replacing the missing bond.

My comment above is the more general version - that if the supply status
is unknown, the enquiry wit the DNO may be the only *sure* way of
establishing if its safe to make use of the suppliers neutral for the
local earth.

(The type of cutout does not tell you much since they often the same
type for all TN supplies - the only difference being whether the
internal link joining N & E is fitted).


--
Cheers,

John.

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