GES for a water well

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electricalist

electricalist

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dallas tx
The GES is to protect the metal parts of the structure the service feeds,the bldg steel gets struck by lightning and can get to earth by the water line or other accepted electrodes, correct? And the excess voltages.
If there is a service on a pole the will feed a well pump and its in a metal building would the water line and the bldg need to be bonded to form a GES or just drive a ground rod at the service disconnect at the pole?.One circuit going to the well.
 
electricalist said:
The GES is to protect the metal parts of the structure the service feeds,the bldg steel gets struck by lightning and can get to earth by the water line or other accepted electrodes, correct? And the excess voltages.
If there is a service on a pole the will feed a well pump and its in a metal building would the water line and the bldg need to be bonded to form a GES or just drive a ground rod at the service disconnect at the pole?.One circuit going to the well.
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Sorry dude. I can almost make out what you are asking about but I'm not sure and it's late so I'm out of energy to try any harder.

May I suggest clicking on Preview Post and re-reading what you typed. That is what I do.
 
250.50 requires all electrodes present at each building be utilized.
As far as your metal building it would depend on the building qualifying as an electrode.
A "big store" 8 x 10 prefab is not an electrode. Add red-iron and structural steel and it well might be.
The well casing is shown as an electrode in 250.52 but not as one included in 250.50 but is also mentioned in 250.52(A) so you would need to review those sections to see when it must or can be used.
(If you have no other electrodes and the well casing is available it would seem to me to be a better choice than ground rod(s) )
 
I apologize, sincerely it was late for me as well along with a rough day.
I sometimes state how I understand something so when I ask the question others will see why I'm asking.
I saw a water well with a metal building like Auguie said and I wondered if we provide the path for lightning to get to earth by creating a GES at any structure we run power to. Example. The bldg the service starts at then at detach bldgs , then would the 8 x10 metal bldg need to bond to the water line at a water well that is only fed by one circuit.
 
You also may need to consider if the well is part of the building or if it is a separate structure. That may not be easy to determine either, especially if the well is not within the footprint or immediate vicinity of the building. If it is determined it is a separate structure then you typically have a single branch circuit feeding this well and normally wouldn't require a GES for such structures supplied by a single branch circuit, but a grounding electrode at such separate structures is not prohibited either, nor is utilizing the well casing to supplement the main building GES.
 
The ones i usually come across are out in the middle of no where although on someone property and there is a poco drop down to a meter then a mlo panel,,6 spaces, ground rod at the pole. then feeds underground to a bldg x amount of feet away.
Out in the middle of no where few care and even less inspect ,,all that aside i would still wanna do the next best thing if i end up at one .
It got a little foggy thinking through the why we have a GES and if and when we need to connect them, the 8x 10 probably doesnt qualify as an electrode but it can get struck by lightning...Which is why I thought we bonded to bldg steel as well as any other electrodes. A path for lightning to get to earth,
Thanks for the help as always..
 
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I think from watch the video s on the home page.
I have no clue what grounding will do for lighting , I limp through the forums and my code book daily in an attempt to learn it ,understand it and apply it.
 
petersonra said:
what makes you think that any amount of grounding will provide any protection at all from lightning?
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I agree. The NEC does not address lightning protection. I know it mentions it briefly a few times, but refer to something like NFPA 780 if you want to employ lighting protection. I love it when people want to connect their roof mount PV mounting rails to earth to protect form lighting - it has totally already hit you if it gets to the rails!
 
electricalist said:
I think from watch the video s on the home page.
I have no clue what grounding will do for lighting , I limp through the forums and my code book daily in an attempt to learn it ,understand it and apply it.
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The purpose of earthing is to help clear faults from contacts with higher voltage lines, and to provide equipotential between the earth, other conductive stuff, and the grounded system conductor (if a grounded system). I am willing to listen to arguments that it does more than these two things if accompanied with scientific evidence, studies, and statistics!
 
So I guess I should view the GES as to building steel as a ground in case the bldg gets energized from the electrical that's in the bldg?
I understand e.g. because it's connected to the equipment and there are connections, but why then bldg steel when most buildings I have been in ,nobody knows if its directly connected to rebar in the slab, but all the bldgs get bonded.
 
petersonra said:
I can't make heads or tails of your post either.
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I was just trying to pass on a tip. I'm prone to similar mistakes in grammar and punctuation and I don't notice them in when I'm typing in the "Reply" box. I have found it helpful to click "Preview Post" and proofread my post there. It changes the formatting a little and I see the mistakes and can correct them before I click "Submit Reply".
 
electricalist said:
So I guess I should view the GES as to building steel as a ground in case the bldg gets energized from the electrical that's in the bldg?
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It's as good of a reason as any.
I understand e.g. because it's connected to the equipment and there are connections, but why then bldg steel when most buildings I have been in ,nobody knows if its directly connected to rebar in the slab, but all the bldgs get bonded.
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Honestly, I think it is for the same reason we drive ground rods, it can't hurt and we have been doing it for a long time so the tradition must continue.
 
Reading more and more it seems that it has less to do with lightning and more to do with an effective ground fault path when bonding bldg steel and water lines,,and i did find that the small metal sheds arent required to be bonded but it says it can be a good practice.
Watching the video s again it talks about the 8 reasons for earth grounding.
I think i ll stick with the effective ground fault path reason.
 
electricalist said:
Reading more and more it seems that it has less to do with lightning and more to do with an effective ground fault path when bonding bldg steel and water lines,,and i did find that the small metal sheds arent required to be bonded but it says it can be a good practice.
Watching the video s again it talks about the 8 reasons for earth grounding.
I think i ll stick with the effective ground fault path reason.
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"Earthing" does little for clearing ground faults in most instances where operating voltage is below 1000 volts.

Earth is considered to be a low resistance, but connecting to it with a low resistance electrode is not necessarily easy to do.

What "lightning protection" is offered by a grounding electrode is not "lightning prevention" but is providing a path to earth for any transient voltages that may be as a result of lightning - most likely from a nearby lightning strike. A direct hit is going to be a problem whether there is grounding electrodes present or not. Now a nearby strike can still cause some damage depending on circumstances, but should one have surge protectors they will attempt to shunt the surge to earth via the grounded conductor which is earthed at the grounding elecrode(s).
 
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