Ground Rod size

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wireday said:
I guess Im still a little confused, If the 2/O that is connected to the incoming water pipe within the first five feet, is there. And it runs to my main distribution panel.Can I bond 10 or 15 feet away from the water pipe connection.I just was planning on using a Burndy split bolt to the bonding wire coming from the CATV Box.I was looking at 830.100(B)(2)
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Yes.
 
wireday said:
I guess Im still a little confused, If the 2/O that is connected to the incoming water pipe within the first five feet, is there. And it runs to my main distribution panel.Can I bond 10 or 15 feet away from the water pipe connection.I just was planning on using a Burndy split bolt to the bonding wire coming from the CATV Box.I was looking at 830.100(B)(2)
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You can bond to any point on the GEC.

You can bond to the first 5 feet of water pipe after it enters the building.

You can not bond to the water pipe after the first 5 feet that enters the building.
 
Today I noticed that the smaller RG wire,the regular coax cable that the cable company ran into our building electrical room is bonded to our GES with what looks like a number 12.Is this normal? we have the ground rod that we are asking them to bond to our GEC.as mentioned in previous post.
 
wireday said:
Today I noticed that the smaller RG wire,the regular coax cable that the cable company ran into our building electrical room is bonded to our GES with what looks like a number 12.Is this normal?
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By way of a grounding block? Not just normal, required. As to the #12 size, the NEC is not specific as noted previously.
 
your saying the bonding in the electric room is required,OK. I believe we still have the outside box ground block not being tied into our GES, So theres two areas they ground. The outside coax is large,I think its a #10 core. The small one from that point to the electric room, don't know the size. So if we bond to the building GES these two are ok to be in parallel.
 
wireday said:
your saying the bonding in the electric room is required,OK. I believe we still have the outside box ground block not being tied into our GES, So theres two areas they ground. The outside coax is large,I think its a #10 core. The small one from that point to the electric room, don't know the size. So if we bond to the building GES these two are ok to be in parallel.
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Only grounding on entrance is required by the NEC.
 
wireday said:
yes, but the one in the electric room is OK also.even if NEC deosn't require it.
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AFAIK.

wireday said:
A few post up I thought you were indicating the elct rm ground block was required.
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Your post didn't exactly say the grounding block was in the electrical room... and I don't know how far inside that is either. Grounding is similar to service or building power disconnecting means location, i.e. outside or inside nearest the point of entrance... with no specific distance provided (or maybe there is... haven't looked in several years... :D).
 
Im sorry,the smaller coax is about 35 feet into our electric room.So let me recap, right now they have a large lateral from power pole to our building siding,There they drove a 5 foot ground rod,and connected that box to there ground rod.Then the take the small black coax,the stuff we see all through houses etc,and run it 35 feet into our electric room.They bond that to our GES. Is this al NEC Compliant now?
 
wireday said:
Im sorry,the smaller coax is about 35 feet into our electric room.So let me recap, right now they have a large lateral from power pole to our building siding,There they drove a 5 foot ground rod,and connected that box to there ground rod.Then the take the small black coax,the stuff we see all through houses etc,and run it 35 feet into our electric room.They bond that to our GES. Is this al NEC Compliant now?
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Only if that ground rod is replaced with an 8' rod and bonded to the GES.... IMO ;)

The grounding inside does not supersede the 5' rod being non-compliant. It is non-compliant because building GES exists. All grounding must bond to the GES (and not through the coax :happyno:).
 
Thanks Smart$, We plan on having them run to our building steel, As mentioned earlier. Just wasnt sure if the bonding in the elct room was ok to have/leave.I guess if there was a fault it would share paths to ground.As you said your not sure.
 
Smart $ said:
AFAIK.


Your post didn't exactly say the grounding block was in the electrical room... and I don't know how far inside that is either. Grounding is similar to service or building power disconnecting means location, i.e. outside or inside nearest the point of entrance... with no specific distance provided (or maybe there is... haven't looked in several years... :D).
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Difference here is the service disconnecting means happens to be where the GEC needs to land, or any accessible location on the supply side of the SDM. That SDM is limited to "nearest the point of entry", but a GEC could run all the way through and to the far end of a building to reach the water pipe entry to the building, or any other electrode for that matter.

Communications grounding maybe no different. I didn't look in code either, but is possible you need a ground block near point of entry, but any grounding conductor that leaves that block could possibly run all the way across the building before there is something you are able to tie it to. If the serving utility wants an electrode right near the entry they could drive a rod, but that still doesn't relieve bonding to the grounding electrode system.
 
Thank you Kwired, We are hoping that the CATV company will agree to come back and run a new bonding wire from there outside block/box to our inside GEC from our water pipe to our main distribution panel. If they do not agree with that, the next plan is to drive a 8 foot ground rod and run a #6 to our GEC inside.And let them attach to the new ground rod. They have a #10 to there ground rod now.I would hope thats what they would run inside as well. But as has been said its not NEC its there call. Also I was surprised to see the second ground block in our Elect room. It seems like during a fault it would split between the outside block/water pipe GEC, and this one in the elect room. But I guess thats how its done.does that all make any sense.
 
kwired said:
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Communications grounding maybe no different. I didn't look in code either, but is possible you need a ground block near point of entry, but any grounding conductor that leaves that block could possibly run all the way across the building before there is something you are able to tie it to. If the serving utility wants an electrode right near the entry they could drive a rod, but that still doesn't relieve bonding to the grounding electrode system.
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Exactly.
 
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Communications grounding maybe no different. I didn't look in code either, but is possible you need a ground block near point of entry, but any grounding conductor that leaves that block could possibly run all the way across the building before there is something you are able to tie it to. If the serving utility wants an electrode right near the entry they could drive a rod, but that still doesn't relieve bonding to the grounding electrode system.


I agree,but isn't it true that if the building has GES, and utility decided to drive a ground rod they need to use 8 foot rod and minimum #6 run to building GES.
 
If they do not drive a rod,its only 10 feet or so from point of entry to our water pipe/GEC then they can run #10 or what ever gauge wire they choose. My concern was the parallel paths to ground on there smaller RG coax sheath, if a fault were to occur.
 
wireday said:
I agree,but isn't it true that if the building has GES, and utility decided to drive a ground rod they need to use 8 foot rod and minimum #6 run to building GES.
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Utility companies don't have to comply with NEC, in particular on their side of the demarc point.
 
Utility companies don't have to comply with NEC, in particular on their side of the demarc point.

Is this true?
 
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