- Location
- Windsor, CO NEC: 2017
- Occupation
- Service Manager
Today at lunch I whipped out an old issue of EC&M when I was digging around for a phone book. It was one my co-worker had seen and was looking for the other day, so I carried it back in with me to lunch.
A while back, we were short on water pipe clamps, so I told him not to bother with the clamp on the house side of the water meter, because it wasn't required anyway. The interior piping was plastic PEX pipe. I then volunteered it wasn't necessary even if the piping were metallic, because we're making our connection on the street side of the meter. I said, the grounding electrode connection can't rely on water meters, but the bonding connection has no such stipulations.
Half of you are thinking, "You idiot."
The other half are reaching for their codebooks before saying, "You idiot."
As it so happens (as fortunately, it does) he happened to turn to Mike Holt's Grounding vs. Bonding article in the back, and happened across this picture. He said, "It says here that the jumper's required for the bonding connection to the interior metal water piping, regardless of the GEC connection."
"Nah, the bonding described in 250.104 doesn't say anything about the water meter. That's a grounding requirement, in 250.-fifty something," I casually replied.
"So, you're saying this Mike Holt fella's wrong?"
"Well...no. You're looking at the picture wrong. Uh ... the point he's making with the picture is ... uh ... " (studying closely) " ... that the GEC connection can be made at the 5' mark, and a seperate conductor can be used to jumper the meter," I said, with due hesitation.
"I'm reading the text. It says 'bonding connection.'"
"Well, that can't be right - see? 250.53(D)(1). That's grounding. Look, I'll go get the book."
Imagine my chagrin when I read the following:
To which I loudly proclaimed, "That's not where that belongs!"
Who's with me? 8)
A while back, we were short on water pipe clamps, so I told him not to bother with the clamp on the house side of the water meter, because it wasn't required anyway. The interior piping was plastic PEX pipe. I then volunteered it wasn't necessary even if the piping were metallic, because we're making our connection on the street side of the meter. I said, the grounding electrode connection can't rely on water meters, but the bonding connection has no such stipulations.
Half of you are thinking, "You idiot."
The other half are reaching for their codebooks before saying, "You idiot."
As it so happens (as fortunately, it does) he happened to turn to Mike Holt's Grounding vs. Bonding article in the back, and happened across this picture. He said, "It says here that the jumper's required for the bonding connection to the interior metal water piping, regardless of the GEC connection."
"Nah, the bonding described in 250.104 doesn't say anything about the water meter. That's a grounding requirement, in 250.-fifty something," I casually replied.
"So, you're saying this Mike Holt fella's wrong?"
"Well...no. You're looking at the picture wrong. Uh ... the point he's making with the picture is ... uh ... " (studying closely) " ... that the GEC connection can be made at the 5' mark, and a seperate conductor can be used to jumper the meter," I said, with due hesitation.
"I'm reading the text. It says 'bonding connection.'"
"Well, that can't be right - see? 250.53(D)(1). That's grounding. Look, I'll go get the book."
Imagine my chagrin when I read the following:
250.53(D)(1) Continuity. Continuity of the grounding path or the bonding connection to interior piping shall not rely on water meters or filtering devices and similar equipment.
To which I loudly proclaimed, "That's not where that belongs!"
Who's with me? 8)