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Is this method of earthing a water pipe permissible?

Arran Cameron

A house has the main earth terminal block located next to the electricity supply cable in a cupboard in the living room. The water supply is a blue MDPE pipe located in the kitchen that transitions to a copper pipe about 2m before the stop tap.

About 1m away from the earth terminal block are a pair of copper central heating flow and return pipes. These same two pipes are located right next to the copper water supply pipe in the kitchen.

The easiest, and most economical on cable, method to earth the pipes is to connect the earth terminal block to the central heating pipes in the living room, then connect the central heating pipes to the water supply pipe in the kitchen.

Is this permissible, or must a long length of earth cable be installed under the floorboards connecting the earth terminal block to the water supply pipe?

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  • 0

    Don’t shoot the messenger that came straight out of the mouth of a JPEL64 Wiring Regulations committee member.

    Apparently the gas industry said that they were installing insulated fittings into the gas supply pipework entering buildings, therefore a Main Protective Bonding conductor was not required, but these fittings leaked gas so they have been removing them.

    Also people were passing off installations with there being a couple of metres or more of metallic pipe inside a building upfront of the insulated section, which was usually the situation with gas pipework anyway.

    So an electrician cannot say the there definitely is and insulated section in gas supply pipework that will remain in place and in many situations no one will touch the section of metal pipework upfront of the insulated section and that after it at the same time.

    So it avoid any confusion it’s just easier to say “No!”.

    Therefore, it actually needs to be yellow gas or blue water MPDE or black alkathene water pipe coming into the building without any visible metallic pipe. 

  • 0 in reply to Sparkingchip

    Really Andy? NOTHING of any kind should leak from that source. Tell your mate? that this is NOT the regulation as it stands and it is deliberate misinformation. Main Bonding is still only required if the internal pipework is extraneous, and if you think about it a tiny bit, this is perfectly sensible. When a change appears in BS7671 you will be told, until then......

    I suppose that you would code the insulated section situation as C1? Now think just how?

  • 0 in reply to David Stone

    There were at least three JPEL64 committee members present, they well and truly out numbered me, who am I to argue?

    Actually, having looked in the front of the regs book, there were at least four there when it was said including the speaker.

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  • 0 in reply to David Stone

    There were at least three JPEL64 committee members present, they well and truly out numbered me, who am I to argue?

    Actually, having looked in the front of the regs book, there were at least four there when it was said including the speaker.

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