Earthing strap on water supply

sharpee

Hi

Can anyone tell me if it is a legal requirement to have an earthing strap in the water supply in a home (rented)?

My LA had a water leak repaired on our kitchen sink (which is still leaking but thats another matter) and I've noticed the earthing strap was not reconnected.

womble12345

Can you not just get a screwdriver out and reconnect it yourself?

goosander

Probably not.

IEEE wiring regs state that metal service pipes must be bonded to the main earth terminal of the electrical supply shortly after entering the property. This is known as main or primary bonding and should be done for safety.

You may also see supplementary bonding where water pipes or other metal objects are bonded together, but not directly back to the main earth terminal. I seem to recall that in previous editions of the wiring regs, they went a bit overboard on it and that the requirements were eased in the latest edition, so disconnected supplementary bonding may not matter.

Given that there will be loads of older properties that pre-date these requirements, I doubt if there is a specific legal requirement to have this bonding in place. Whenever any notifiable (to building control) work is performed on the electrics, I would expect that things like earth bonding would have to be updated to current requirements.

goosander

womble12345 wrote: »

Can you not just get a screwdriver out and reconnect it yourself?

Probably the easiest solution. If it is supplementary bonding, it may not be strictly required but it won't do any harm either.

G_M

There is a legal requirement on a landlord to maintain the electrics in a safe condition. Unlike with gas, there is no requirement for an annual certificate however.

The definition of 'safe' is of course ambiguous. New work has to comply with current Building Regulations, but old installations do not need to be upgraded to comply each time Building Regs are changed.

Whether this disconnected bond renders the electrics dangerous could only be determined by, initially, a qualified electrician, and ultimately a court (in the event of, say, an accident.

Your options are:
1) as suggested, use a screwdriver to re-connect
2) call an electrician for an opinion (at your own cost)
3) phone the LL, have a chat, and see what he says, or
4) write formally to the LL putting your concern on record and request an electrician be arranged

Which course of action is best depends how handy you are with a screwdriver/how hard re-connection looks, what your relationship is like with the LL, how you want your relationship to be in future, how concerned you are etc etc

mustrum_ridcully

womble12345 wrote: »

Can you not just get a screwdriver out and reconnect it yourself?

Kitchen is a Part P special location. http://www.theiet.org/publishing/wiring-regulations/mag/2004/14a-part-p-special-locations.cfm (pdf)

Is it notifiable, I don't know, you could ask two electricians and get two different answers so I'm not even going there.

DVardysShadow

sharpee wrote: »

Hi

Can anyone tell me if it is a legal requirement to have an earthing strap in the water supply in a home (rented)?

My LA had a water leak repaired on our kitchen sink (which is still leaking but thats another matter) and I've noticed the earthing strap was not reconnected.

Damn whether it is 'legal'. What matters is whether it is safe. Get it reconnected

Toptenor

goosander wrote: »

Probably not.

IEEE wiring regs state that metal service pipes must be bonded to the main earth terminal of the electrical supply shortly after entering the property. This is known as main or primary bonding and should be done for safety.

You may also see supplementary bonding where water pipes or other metal objects are bonded together, but not directly back to the main earth terminal. I seem to recall that in previous editions of the wiring regs, they went a bit overboard on it and that the requirements were eased in the latest edition, so disconnected supplementary bonding may not matter.

Given that there will be loads of older properties that pre-date these requirements, I doubt if there is a specific legal requirement to have this bonding in place. Whenever any notifiable (to building control) work is performed on the electrics, I would expect that things like earth bonding would have to be updated to current requirements.

I am about to bond all the pipes coming out of the central heating boiler together with the new stainless steel sink.
What size of earth wire must I use and does it need to be taken back the main earth at the consumer unit. ?
The gas pipe is already earthed at the point of entry back to the main .

DVardysShadow

Toptenor wrote: »

I am about to bond all the pipes coming out of the central heating boiler together with the new stainless steel sink.
What size of earth wire must I use and does it need to be taken back the main earth at the consumer unit. ?
The gas pipe is already earthed at the point of entry back to the main .

I suggest you start a new thread on the DIY section of the forums. People there have more appropriate expertise.

Madmel

Please do get it sorted. A friend was killed a couple of years ago when she stepped into the bath in her newly rented house because the supply was not earthed.

G_M

Toptenor wrote: »

I am about to bond all the pipes coming out of the central heating boiler together with the new stainless steel sink.
What size of earth wire must I use and does it need to be taken back the main earth at the consumer unit. ?
The gas pipe is already earthed at the point of entry back to the main .

Ask an expert. There are electricians at DIYNOT.