Pool Water Bonding

[hillbilly]

Hey guys, I've got a couple of questions.

If a inground swimming pool has a Gas fired water heater (constant, thru circulation), 100% metal, and it's bonded to a common #6cu solid conductor that bonds all the pump motors and the Equipotential Grid, will this (legally and safely) suffice to bond the pool water?

When was the Equipotential grid requirement added to the NEC?

The pool in question has a bare #6cu solid coming up from the floor of the pump house, which I presume is connected to the deck/pool steel.
I'm unsure if there is a actual (qualifying) grid under the concrete deck.

Is there any way to check continuity between the pool deck and the pump motors, other that chipping concrete?
There are no ladders in this pool, only steps at one end.
As I type that question, I realize that it sounds stupid.:roll:

I'm working behind a complete idiot, and trying to make sure that this pool is safe.

The pool and deck are pretty old.
The "pool specialist" relocated the pumps and pool panel to a new location, didn't re-bond the pump motors and installed a (listed) 120V lighting fixture inside the pool without a GFI on it's supply circuit.
He apparently was the one who brought the #6cu solid into the new pump house.

There are too many things to list.

I've taken care of the bonding, pumps, heater, building steel and the #6 coming from (?) the pool deck.
All the plumbing is PVC.



My biggest concerns are the EQP and bonding on the light niche.
I guess that I'll have to take my swimming trunks and goggles to check the light.

The Grid....?????

Any ideas?

thanks
steve

 

[suemarkp]

Does the heater have a bypass in front of it (so it could be removed or bypassed should the heat exchanger leak)? If so, the water won't be bonded when it is bypassed. So sort of compliant, but not sure if it meets the intent. It would be best to bond the water with a pipe segment below water level, or something metal that is always in the water. Pool water lines, especially on the output side, can run dry when the circulation pump turns off. A metal underwater light niche probably also qualifies as bonding the water as long as you've got that well bonded.

What is the pool made of, and does it have a vinyl liner or fiberglass surface? If it is concrete and plaster, then the water should already be considered bonded.

One of the light bonding grid wires is on the back of the light niche. You can't see it, but it should be in the conduit to the light deck box. Is there an insulated #8 wire there? Is there continuity between it and the #6 coming out of the deck? Those are probably your only test points for the grid.

 

[erickench]

What bothers me is that gas piping is not allowed to be used as a grounding electrode. Now this person is bonding a gas fired water heater that has piping attached to it.

 

[don_resqcapt19]

What bothers me is that gas piping is not allowed to be used as a grounding electrode. Now this person is bonding a gas fired water heater that has piping attached to it.

Eric,
All gas fired equipment that has electrical power supplied to it must have an equipment grounding conductor. This is required by both the NEC and the Fuel Gas Code. The equipment grounding conductor or bonding conductor connection to the gas pipe does not make the gas pipe a grounding electrode. In the areas where the gas utility supply is metallic, the utility uses a dielectric fitting at the building, usually on the street side of the gas meter, to prevent their underground gas pipe from being used as a grounding electrode conductor.

 

[hillbilly]

Does the heater have a bypass in front of it (so it could be removed or bypassed should the heat exchanger leak)?

No.
The way that the heater is plumbed, it's not possible to bypass it.
If the filter pump is running, the heater has water flowing thru it.

Pool water lines, especially on the output side, can run dry when the circulation pump turns off.

Good point.

A metal underwater light niche probably also qualifies as bonding the water as long as you've got that well bonded.

Not sure about that....yet.

What is the pool made of, and does it have a vinyl liner or fiberglass surface? If it is concrete and plaster, then the water should already be considered bonded.

Concrete....no liner, other than paint.
Is there a code reference for that?

Thanks for the reply
steve

 

[suemarkp]

680.26(B)(1) says painted or plastered concrete pool shells are considered a conductive material.

680.26(C) says things bonded in 680.26(B) can meet the pool water bonding requirement (but you'd have to make sure you have the required 9 square inches if using a light or ladder or anything else to meet the rule). A pool shell will be a huge surface area.