Bonding a residential gas pipe

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J

jmjr55

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Telford, PA
A plumber that I work with was asking me about a gas pipe in his home. He ran a gas pipe through an opening that also has type NM cable going along side of it. He is concerned if there could be a future problem. I felt as long as the NM is in good condition there should be no problem. I also suggested he look to see if his gas pipe is bonded to the electrical system ground. Does anyone have any thoughts on bonding a residential gas pipe to the ground fault path back to the service? What type of fitting should be used? Where in the piping should it get bonded? Thanks for your feed back.
John
 
While the section provided above does prohibit a metal underground gas pipe system from being used as a grounding electrode, section 250.104(B) does require the piping to be BONDED if it is determined that it is likely to become energized.
 
what about the issue in the past year with the new corrugated stainless steel gas pipe. the pipe manufacturers now recommend that it be bonded to the main electrical grounding system. they recommended using a normal ground clamp installed on one of the gas system's galvanized compression fittings??? this issue came up when some of the new homes burnt to the ground with this new material used on it's gas system. they found it was caused by lightning that blew a hole in the thin stainless wall of the corrugated gas line.........
 
TwinCitySparky said:
If said gas pipe is feeding a furnace that has been properly grounded via its electrical supply, then he's good to go right?
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Yes, the EGC feeding the gas appliance is sufficient to bond the metal piping if it's black gas pipe.
 
charlie tuna said:
what about the issue in the past year with the new corrugated stainless steel gas pipe. the pipe manufacturers now recommend that it be bonded to the main electrical grounding system. they recommended using a normal ground clamp installed on one of the gas system's galvanized compression fittings??? this issue came up when some of the new homes burnt to the ground with this new material used on it's gas system. they found it was caused by lightning that blew a hole in the thin stainless wall of the corrugated gas line.........
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I underlined the part of your sentence that troubles me. I would reccommend against taking a normal grounding clamp and tightening it around a compression fitting. This gas-type compression fitting could very likely be affected by additional tightening pressure on it's outer surface area by a compression-type saddle clamp. I would think installing a sufficient "length" of black iron or galvanized pipe would provide a thorough connection point for bonding. :smile:
 
lpelectric said:
I would reccommend against taking a normal grounding clamp and tightening it around a compression fitting
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Considering all the lawsuits that have brought us to this point with CSST I would very strongly recommend that you follow the directions to the letter.

If they tell me to put the clamp on the fitting on the fitting it will go.
 
Hmmm

Looks like I have another little project.

I'll have to see if we're using this stuff in town right now.

In CT's post he used the word recommend which is not an "instruction" to me.

I'm off to find the actual wording. Also looking to see if it has an electrical evaluation (along with the gas) by the listing company. If not then those instructions would be suspect.
 
iwire said:
Considering all the lawsuits that have brought us to this point with CSST I would very strongly recommend that you follow the directions to the letter.

If they tell me to put the clamp on the fitting on the fitting it will go.
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You're right, of course. I went to page 60 of the Tracpipe installation manual and there it is big as life, a diagram showing a saddle clamp tightened around a compression fitting. So here we have it, a compression type fitting clamped around another compression fitting to "ensure" a bond. WOW!

The probability that the shape of the compression gas fitting might be distorted by the saddle clamp being tightened around it, thereby increasing the chances of gas leaking out, seems very real.

Thank goodness the manufacturer also permits bonding the multi-port manifold or a "length" of black iron pipe. :smile:
 
sandsnow said:
Omega Flex makes Trac Pipe

http://www.tracpipe.net/technical/Omegaflex_DI_Guide.pdf

Instructions call for clamp on the fitting or a piece of black iron. Our guys are getting the clamp at the WH stub out which is a black iron nipple.

As far as using the EGC as the bonding means, I'm not convinced that is dis-allowed by the installation instructions.
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The info on bonding says you must use 250.66. I take this to mean a #4 for 200 amp. #2 or 1/0 for 400 amp etc.
 
Would instructions supplied with a gas pipe product make any bonding requirements the plumbers problem?
 
infinity said:
Would instructions supplied with a gas pipe product make any bonding requirements the plumbers problem?
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One would think so but they say that they are not allow to go into our panels. Around here it is mostly hvac guys who do the gas pipe. I tell them we have a problem because I wont hook it up. You installed it so go hire an electrician that will do it or use hard pipe.

This lst job was a breeze. The ho's house had just burned to the ground so convincing them was easy.
 
Dennis Alwon said:
The info on bonding says you must use 250.66. I take this to mean a #4 for 200 amp. #2 or 1/0 for 400 amp etc.
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he last install instructions I saw required only a #6 bond. The connection was shown to be a clamp on the brass nut, not a compression fitting. This bonding is not recomended it is required.
 
Cavie said:
he last install instructions I saw required only a #6 bond. The connection was shown to be a clamp on the brass nut, not a compression fitting. This bonding is not recomended it is required.
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This is why I don't want to do it because there is no consistency among the mfg.'s
 
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