[RE-wrenches] Water Pipes as Grounding Electrodes

Andrew Truitt atruitt at gmail.com
Wed Jan 6 21:21:49 PST 2010


My understanding is that if the water pipe is ferrous metal for a certain
length into the soil - I think 10 or 15 ft. - then it is an NEC compliant
grounding electrode.

Not the easiest thing to confirm on a retrofit.  If we can't find an
existing ground-rod we drive one ourselves.


Andrew Truitt
Standard Solar Inc.






On Wed, Jan 6, 2010 at 11:00 PM, Nick Soleil <nicksoleilsolar at yahoo.com>wrote:

>     The primary reason to ground water pipes is to provide a path to ground
> in case an ungrounded conductor shorts out against water pipes or equipment
> in a water system.  Have you ever been shocked by touching a sink, instant
> shower heater in Central America, or touching water in a poorly wired
> house?  It is not so uncommon for a person to become the shortest path to
> ground.  It is good practice to bond the water system to the grounding
> electrode or other grounding conductor.
>
> Nick Soleil
> Project Manager
> Advanced Alternative Energy Solutions, LLC
> PO Box 657
> Petaluma, CA 94953
> Cell: 707-321-2937
> Office: 707-789-9537
> Fax: 707-769-9037
>
>
> ------------------------------
> *From:* Ryan LeBlanc <ryan at naturalenergyworks.com>
> *To:* re-wrenches at lists.re-wrenches.org
> *Sent:* Wed, January 6, 2010 3:00:45 PM
>
> *Subject:* [RE-wrenches] Water Pipes as Grounding Electrodes
>
> I've had so much conflicting input on the points of Grounding Water pipes
> or
> using them as Grounding Electrodes for systems in places like New York and
> San Francisco.
>
> Could someone be kind enough to set me straight on the intentions,
> functions
> and applications of this?
>
> Ryan J. LeBlanc
> NABCEPT Certified Solar PV Installer
> Cell: 707.591.1950
> Direct: 707.536.9839
> ryan at NaturalEnergyWorks.com
> http://www.NaturalEnergyWorks.com
>
>
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