Water Pipe Bonding

[Bama_Electrical]

Quoted a job today to add a sub panel in a maintenance closet. The house was built about a year ago or so. While looking everything over I noticed that copper plumbing was run throughout the house and it exits the foundation in the maintenance closet and feeds everything from there. I traced the ground for this pipe back to the ufer that comes up in the garage. There’s also a #4 copper that runs from the ufer through the foundation and out to the service where bonding is done. Was this done correctly? I haven’t seen it done like that before. When copper plumbing is used, I normally run a #4 copper all the way back to the service and bond it there.

 

[Dennis Alwon]

The conductor from the panel to the ufer is the grounding electrode conductor while the run between the ufer and the water pipe is a bonding jumper. As longer as the wire size is appropriate then it is not an issue.

 

[hillbilly1]

The conductor from the panel to the ufer is the grounding electrode conductor while the run between the ufer and the water pipe is a bonding jumper. As longer as the wire size is appropriate then it is not an issue.

Except in Meklenberg county, NC, had an inspector there try to turn me down on an existing install, just moved the service disconnect, and install a 2000 amp service rated transferswitch. He said in Mecklenburg county, the cold water had to run all the way back to the service. It was bonded to the building steel when the store was originally built, and passed inspection then. He backed off when I pointed it out. Then he mumbled they shouldn’t have passed it. Found out later, his brother or brother in law was an EC, and was pissed he didn’t get the job.

 

[don_resqcapt19]

The permission to use the re-bar for that purpose was removed in the 2020 code.