Cant get to watermain ground

[led zep]

Existing 320 amp service being fed at meter with 350kcmil aluminum then splits to two 150amp panels..Original electrician installed #4 to watermain need to change to #2,but cant get wire to location from panel. Water main 125 feet from panel. customer wants no holes and no pipe on house. Cant even trench all brick and cement What can i do ?:?

 

[suemarkp]

Is the outside water pipe metal and in contact with the earth for 10' or more? If not, you can attach ANYWHERE on the water system and it does not have to be within 5' of where the water service enters (so find a close bathroom, water heater, etc to run the wire to).

If the outside pipe is metal in the earth, can it be easily changed so it is plastic?

 

[iwire]

Sometimes the customer has to accept damage

 

[jumper]

Sometimes the customer has to accept damage

Yeppers.

 

[david luchini]

If not, you can attach ANYWHERE on the water system and it does not have to be within 5' of where the water service enters (so find a close bathroom, water heater, etc to run the wire to).

250.68(C)(1) would seem to suggest otherwise.

 

[jumper]

250.68(C)(1) would seem to suggest otherwise.

I think Mark was talking about bonding, not grounding. 250.104(A)

 

[petersonra]

Existing 320 amp service being fed at meter with 350kcmil aluminum then splits to two 150amp panels..Original electrician installed #4 to watermain need to change to #2,but cant get wire to location from panel. Water main 125 feet from panel. customer wants no holes and no pipe on house. Cant even trench all brick and cement What can i do ?:?

take out of original electricians hide.

I think the cheapest answer would be to have the plumber install a chunk of plastic pipe in the water line just before it enters the building.

 

[steve66]

Edited: I was confusing the water pipe with a pipe electrode. Done that before - I'll delete my comment before I get blasted.

 

[suemarkp]

250.68(C)(1) would seem to suggest otherwise.

The point was whether this is a valid ground electrode or not. If it is, he can try to make an invalid electrode by making the outside pipe plastic. If it isn't an electrode, you only have to bond it which can be done anywhere on the piping system. If it was used as a jumping off point to other electrodes, the existing wire is probably large enough to be OK. But he'll still need to bond that pipe with a wire sized per 250.66.