No Mike you have not explained it at all.
HOW MANY FEET AWAY DOES THE METAL PIPE HAVE TO BE BEFORE IT IS NO LONGER PRESENT AT THE BUILDING? If you can't answer this question directly and concisely I would say your argument falls apart.
First off I could care less what you would say. Second as I have said before it is not my argument but what has been taught me. Yes I did explain so the question now becomes did you read the post?
As I have said before should a metal water pipe with 10 feet in contact with earth and 10 feet out supply a building that is transitioned to a nonmetallic water pipe before entering the building then that metal water pipe is present at the building and shall be used as part of the grounding electrode system.
So If the water line is metal for 20 feet onto my property and the next 40 feet is plastic into the house then you are saying I will need to dig up the yard and connect to that 20' section. Now how does one prove it. I am not going to dig up the yard to prove to the inspector that there is or isn't 10 feet in the ground.
It is not a question of what you have to prove but a question of what constitutes an electrode. If this pipe is supplying water to the building then it would be required by 250.52(A)(1) to be used as an electrode. I am not saying that you have to do any digging at all to prove anything to anyone I am only saying what is written in Article 250.
Let's say I have a barn on my property100 yards from my house and the water line is metal to the barn. Do I now have to use that electrode at the house? The fact that the water lines is present on the property is not the sme as being present at the house. I think I agree with the others on this one Mike.
I would say that in this case the metal water pipe was present at the barn as it is supplying the barn and would be required to be used as an electrode should there be feeders to the barn.
There has been a misconception for years that the first five feet of metal water pipe that enters a building is part of the electrode. In the 2011 cycle in 250.68(C) has cleared up this misconception. Below is the commentary from NECPLUS;
The requirement in
250.68(C)(1) limits grounding and bonding connections to occurring only within the first 5 ft of where the piping enters a building or structure because of concerns that the use of nonmetallic piping or fittings could interrupt the electrical continuity of the metal water piping.
The piping at this point is not a grounding electrode [only the underground portion is an electrode per
250.52(A)(1)]. Rather, it is used to extend grounding and bonding conductor connections to the grounding electrode. The exception permits connections to occur beyond the first 5 ft and at that point the water piping is considered as a conductor used for bonding grounding electrodes together or as the actual grounding electrode conductor. All of the conditions of the exception, including the use of qualified persons to service the water piping system, must be met in order to extend the permitted point of connection beyond the first 5 ft of where the piping enters the building.
Nowhere in 250.52(A)(1) does it give a distance from the building so I would suppose that if it is supplying the building it is present at the building.
Each and every one of you please feel free to disagree with me but no one will change my mind.
