GEC

[Ohms law]

Can you run a continuous GEC run from water meter to meter socket then to ground rod? I recently had to do this when an ice storm hit a while back. The panel I was working on was an old 60 amp fused panel with no room what so ever to bond the GEC. So I decided to do what I mentioned above, per local AHJ requiring us to bring grounding and bonding up to code if we changed the meter socket to a 200 amp by-pass meter socket.

The city inspector saw this and he said that he had never seen it ran like that before, although he did not have a problem with it. I was just curious what someone else thinks.

 

[kwired]

Can you run a continuous GEC run from water meter to meter socket then to ground rod? I recently had to do this when an ice storm hit a while back. The panel I was working on was an old 60 amp fused panel with no room what so ever to bond the GEC. So I decided to do what I mentioned above, per local AHJ requiring us to bring grounding and bonding up to code if we changed the meter socket to a 200 amp by-pass meter socket.

The city inspector saw this and he said that he had never seen it ran like that before, although he did not have a problem with it. I was just curious what someone else thinks.

Nothing prohibits it, sounds like it wouldn't be all that easy to do in most instances. The GEC must be continuous. This would be from your service to the water pipe in your case. The ground rod is supplemental and can be connected via a bonding jumper which can tap onto the GEC or the water pipe (but must attach within 5 feet of entry to the building just like the GEC).

 

[Ohms law]

Nothing prohibits it, sounds like it wouldn't be all that easy to do in most instances. The GEC must be continuous. This would be from your service to the water pipe in your case. The ground rod is supplemental and can be connected via a bonding jumper which can tap onto the GEC or the water pipe (but must attach within 5 feet of entry to the building just like the GEC).

Believe me it sucked fishing the wire. I did bond to the water meter with in 5' of when it enters and ran roughly 60' to the meter socket then to the ground rod. Completely continuous, no crimps or anything else. I was not required to change out the panel nor did the sweet little old lady want to pay for an upgrade. The issue I had is there was only one place to bond to, which was in the meter socket so I felt it was all I could do without opening up a can of worms. i could not find any specs on wether i could put more than one wire under the bonding terminal in the 200 amp by-pass MILBANK that I had, nor have I ever seen it done.

 

[George Stolz]

I probably would have just run a bonding jumper from the ground rod to the water pipe.

 

[busman]

It's good to remember that the only thing that needs to be continuous is the one (or more) GEC's. The GEC is the conductor from the disconnect to the GES. All the parts of the GES can be connected by jumpers and do not need to be one continuous connection.

Mark

 

[kwired]

Believe me it sucked fishing the wire. I did bond to the water meter with in 5' of when it enters and ran roughly 60' to the meter socket then to the ground rod. Completely continuous, no crimps or anything else. I was not required to change out the panel nor did the sweet little old lady want to pay for an upgrade. The issue I had is there was only one place to bond to, which was in the meter socket so I felt it was all I could do without opening up a can of worms. i could not find any specs on wether i could put more than one wire under the bonding terminal in the 200 amp by-pass MILBANK that I had, nor have I ever seen it done.

A "bonding jumper" from the GEC (the wire to the water pipe) to the ground rod at any convenient place should have been acceptable. This connection doesn't need to be irreversible either, it is a bonding jumper and not a GEC.

 

[Ohms law]

A "bonding jumper" from the GEC (the wire to the water pipe) to the ground rod at any convenient place should have been acceptable. This connection doesn't need to be irreversible either, it is a bonding jumper and not a GEC.

So a split bolt would have been suffice to connect the ground rod Bonding jumper to the nearest point on the GEC for the water meter. Is that what you are saying?

 

[kwired]

So a split bolt would have been suffice to connect the ground rod Bonding jumper to the nearest point on the GEC for the water meter. Is that what you are saying?

correct.

and to be technically correct, you are not running the GEC to the water meter, you are running it to qualifying metal water piping, the meter just happens to be in the same vicinity you are running to in most cases.

 

[Ohms law]

correct.

and to be technically correct, you are not running the GEC to the water meter, you are running it to qualifying metal water piping, the meter just happens to be in the same vicinity you are running to in most cases.

Thanks I appreciate the input!

 

[roger]

This may help.

Notice the only GEC is the conductor from the disconnect to the water pipe, although it could go to any of the electrodes first, the rest are "jumpers" as shown.

Roger