gas piping

[wbalsam1]

So for a gas furnace supplied by a 20amp/120 volt circuit, if the AHJ wants the gas piping bonded on top of the equipment grounding conductor, I can install a #12 wire and split bolt it to the grounding electrode conductor going to either the ground rod or to the underground water pipe, correct?

Is this a case of the AHJ making up code rules through a lack of understanding of the rules in existence? An equipment grounding conductor has always been sufficient so why not now?

 

[electricmanscott]

All I can do is do as they ask

True. Or you could educate yourself with enough code knowledge to know what is actually required and install accordingly.

 

[Pierre C Belarge]

True. Or you could educate yourself with enough code knowledge to know what is actually required and install accordingly.

Knowledge is power.

With that power, you can do many things.
One, is to deal with unruley inspectors (such as me) who make up the code as they go.

 

[george bell]

bonding to gas pipe

bonding to gas pipe

The reason you should never bond ground or connect a ground strap to a gas pipe, is if you induce a flow of current around the gas line,the main problem comes when the gas service people!when they go to change the meter can get a spark,I know as I was a service man for boston gas for 29 years the resulting spark just causes the gas meter to blow up in servicemans hands and the worst is you burn the house down I can not beleve any ahj or city utility company would allow this to happen or even require it.
george bellofatto
alternate wire inspector
city of revere ma.
L.N.G. supervisor national grid
Boston Ma.

 

[don_resqcapt19]

George,
Then why does both the NEC and the Fuel Gas Code require that the interior metal gas piping system be bonded to the electrical system?

 

[tom baker]

George:
1. Don't gas meters have a dielectric or insulating coupling?
2. Isn't the reason for not allowing bonding on the gas utility side of the meter is that the bonding affects the cathodic protection on the metallic gas pipes/

Also most gas lines are now HDPE.

 

[george bell]

Tom:

Tom:

yes and yes tom there are supposed to be dielectric couplings but the question gets cloudy,in boston there are 36" cast iron low pressure gas mains that run 1.5 lbs -1 lb up to 3/4"-1" steel welded main @ 100 lbs that mainly have the insulators. we have anode beds for every 5 miles or so of main that put abpot 5 volts 1 amp around the pipes that are sacraficial,but the real question is where! is the easyest path to ground we hope not over the gas lines think about why!! leaks ,service people,meters with gas in them ,its hard to blow up a water pipe,and when you see some old gas systems in boston and surrounding citys. a lot of the services are in poor shape as well as the interior house piping as electricians we upgrade services ,the gas company only upgrades if the gas service is leaking.as a serviceman we were told if we found ground wires on the gas pipes we were to cut them off.
george bell

 

[M. D.]

..........as a serviceman we were told if we found ground wires on the gas pipes we were to cut them off.
george bell

Yikes!!!!!!

 

[M. D.]

I believe that a few code cycles ago NFPA 54 fuel code required the gas piping to be bonded regardless of its being likely to be energized .There were arguments as to how to size the conductor as evidanced here
http://ecmweb.com/mag/electric_code_basics_20/

The controversy behind bonding and grounding metal gas piping systems arose when many electrical professionals questioned the rules and regulations of the National Fuel Gas Code (NFPA) 54. For example, Sec. 3.14(a) in NFPA 54 requires each aboveground portion of a gas piping system upstream from the equipment shutoff valve to be electrically continuous and bonded to any grounding electrode. Sec. 250-104(b) of the National Electrical Code (NEC) agrees with this mandate.

On the other hand, NFPA 54 [Sec. 3.14(b)] parallels Sec. 250-52(a) of the NEC, which states: "You must not use an underground metal gas piping system as a grounding electrode" No wonder so many people are uncertain.

Let's take a closer look at the rules to help clarify the position of both Codes.

This is a link to the proposed language for 2009 NFGC .Not sure if it was adopted , I assume it was as it seems to reflect how this issue has progressed in regard to the different codes / csst bulletins .

7.13.1 Pipe and Tubing Other Than CSST: Each aboveground portion of a gas piping system other than CSST that is likely to become energized shall be electrically continuous and bonded to an effective ground-fault current path. Gas piping other than CSST shall be considered to be bonded when it is connected to appliances that are connected to the appliance grounding conductor of the circuit supplying that appliance.

7.13.2 CSST gas piping systems shall be bonded to the electrical service grounding electrode system at the point where the gas service enters the building. The bonding jumper shall not be smaller than 6 AWG copper wire or equivalent.

7.13.3 Gas piping shall not be used as a grounding conductor or electrode. This does not preclude the bonding of metallic piping to the grounding electrode system.

http://gastite.com/page.php?pg=2009_nfgc