DM2-Inc
Senior Member
- Location
- Houston, Texas
I'm reading through the various posts of the "Grounding Versus Bonding" threads, and came across a post titled "NFPA 70 + NFPA 13 conflict", dated 08-05-2008, 07:50 AM, and started by "dnem" (David Inspector Medina County Ohio). The question was:
Based on the date of the post, I'm assuming the reference was to the 2007 edition of NFPA 13. The current edition, 2010, has similar requirement however it should be noted that Chapter 10 of NFPA 13 is extracted from Chapter 10 of NFPA 24 "Standard for the Installation of Private Fire Service Mains and Their Appurtenances". I believe there is a misunderstanding of the requirements of NFPA 13, so I thought I'd provide this as information:
Now...back to my research on bonding and grounding :grin:
Based on the date of the post, I'm assuming the reference was to the 2007 edition of NFPA 13. The current edition, 2010, has similar requirement however it should be noted that Chapter 10 of NFPA 13 is extracted from Chapter 10 of NFPA 24 "Standard for the Installation of Private Fire Service Mains and Their Appurtenances". I believe there is a misunderstanding of the requirements of NFPA 13, so I thought I'd provide this as information:
From NFPA 13, 2007 Edition:
10.6.8* In no case shall the underground piping be used as a grounding electrode for electrical systems. This does not preclude the bonding of the underground piping to the lightning protection grounding system as required by NFPA780 in those cases where lightning protection is provided for the structure.
The code has changed slightly in the 2010 edition10.6.8* In no case shall the underground piping be used as a grounding electrode for electrical systems. This does not preclude the bonding of the underground piping to the lightning protection grounding system as required by NFPA780 in those cases where lightning protection is provided for the structure.
A.10.6.8 Where lightning protection is provided for a structure, NFPA 780, 4.14 requires that all grounding media including underground metallic piping systems be interconnected to provide a common ground potential. These underground piping systems are not permitted to be substituted for grounding electrodes but must be bonded to the lightning protection grounding system. Where galvanic corrosion is of concern, this bond may be made via a spark gap or gas discharge tube.
From NFPA 13, 2010 Edition:
10.6.8* In no case shall the underground piping be used as a grounding electrode for electrical systems.
10.6.8* In no case shall the underground piping be used as a grounding electrode for electrical systems.
A.10.6.8 Where lightning protection is provided for a structure, NFPA780, 4.14 requires that all grounding media including underground metallic piping systems be interconnected to provide a common ground potential. These underground piping systems are not permitted to be substituted for grounding electrodes but must be bonded to the lightning protection grounding system. Where galvanic corrosion is of concern, this bond may be made via a spark gap or gas discharge tube.
10.6.8.1* The requirement of 10.6.8 shall not preclude the bonding of the underground piping to the lightning protection grounding system as required by NFPA 780 in those cases where lightning protection is provided for the structure.A.10.6.8.1 While the use of the underground fire protection piping as the grounding electrode for the building is prohibited, NFPA 70 requires that all metallic piping systems be bonded and grounded to disperse stray electrical currents. Therefore, the fire protection piping will be bonded to other metallic systems and grounded, but the electrical system will need an additional ground for its operation.
Now...back to my research on bonding and grounding :grin: