There is no Bond/ground on the gas line in this home.
What the IRC or NEC code# on this?
The 220 range oven was drop from teh build and a 120v gas cook top was installed. Make wonder if it is bonded anywhere.
SLAB home so no crawlspace to see if it was done in a hidden areas.
thoughts please.
Thanks
Curt
**2003 IRC E3509.7 Bonding other metal piping. **Where installed in or attached to a building or structure, metal piping systems, including gas piping, capable of becoming energized shall be bonded to the service equipment enclosure, the grounded conductor at the service, the grounding electrode conductor where sufficient size, or to one or more grounding electrodes used. The bonding jumper shall be sized in accordance with Table E3808.12 using the rating of the circuit capable of energizing the piping. The equipment grounding conductor for the circuit that is capable of energizing the piping shall be permitted to serve as the bonding means. The points of attachment of the bonding jumper(s) shall be accessible.
The bonding is achieved through the gas valve and cabinet metal to the EGC (green wire spliced to the copper) inside the furnace.
If no furnace or equipment is present to allow for a mechanical bond to the EGC then it is incorrect.
Starting in Sept. 2007, many AHJ’s around here require a clamp and solid #6 copper running to the main existing grounding electrode if CSST is used.
The black coated CSST (counterstrike) is exempt from this additional bonding.
Thats what I am use to seeing.
In this case I dont see any bonding at the gas cook top. There is NO furnance (heat pumps)
CSST I can find no Bonding of either.
What would be the fix?
Curt
Let the electrician figure that one out.
if you only knew my day WITH the electrician…son of electrician I should say.
Whats the fix anyone?
Curt
You can’t clamp anything onto the CSST (that I know of yet)
The cooktop should have the EGC connected to the metal frame which in turn connects to the gas line. This is just not visible and makes our job hard or actually easy in this case, just report no bonding visible as is typical and recommend a safety upgrade.
Note: a seperate/new ground rod placed by the gas meter and bonded to the gas pipe is not correct. It has to be what they call equipotential, which means connected to the main electrical GEC or ground rod.
In this case I may be in luck…the main ground rod is about 5 feet away. Could this be just connected here and solve this issue?
I know what I am going to say but I want to know what is the right answer on this.
Curt
I really wasn’t trying to be flip about this. I always thought you guys were not supposed to give recommendations, only call out the issues.
The answer to your question is in the IRC quote above:
*“The equipment grounding conductor for the circuit that is capable of energizing the piping shall be permitted to serve as the bonding means.”
*This should be all you need to know, unless a local ammendment requires an external bond.
There is nothing to fix, in this case.
Since we are not required to dismantle equipment and verify the bonding is really connected you can’t say there is a problem, unless of course it is a new house that falls under a new code amendment that requires supplemental bonding like we have in Mecklenburg county NC and Lancaster county SC. Don’t think York county SC has made any changes for CSST.
Its new construction and the csst has no bonding that I can find.
Curt
Gas water heater be the same???
Nope, the gas water heater has no branch circuit EGC so it depends on the little wirenut that may be loose or forgotten inside the furnace or oven power connection box for its bonding.
This is why new codes are emerging for this, it was just a poor equipotential installation before the changes.
In places that require the bonding clamp at the power meter, make sure they scraped off the heavy gray paint that is used in many cases before clamping, or the connection could be useless.
It is actually up to the AHJ. In most cases the real AHJ is the gas company, not the local building inspector.
I believe that Consolidated Edison prohibits the practice and will shut the gas down at a site if they see the gas line bonded.
Speedy Petey, being an electrician in my neck of the woods, can you verify this as true? I have seen it in Westchester County.
I also never see the bonding mentioned here in Rockland, where O&R is a subsidiary of ConEd.
Equipotential bonding I what is done at swimming pools, hot tubs and such other bodies of water to bring everything to the same touch potential not what the bonding done at water and gas lines, let’s not confuse the two.
The only requirement to bond the gas line in the IRC and the NEC will allow the Equipment Grounding Conductor that supplies the equipment make this required bonding unless the installation is new and there is CSST piping involved.
In new installations that use CSST the NEC mandates the bonding to conform to 110.3(B) which will be the installation instructions that came with the CSST piping. Each manufacturer of this flexible gas pipe has their own rule outlined in their installation instructions so without the instructions there would be no stand fast answer to the question.
The new gas piping bonding methods do refer to “equipotential”.
CSST got all the press when it really should be done to copper gas lines as well. It will be another few years before a house explodes with the copper lines.
When a house explodes with the new bonding in place, the next round of changes will come down the pike.
When the dust finally settles with this, all gas piping will be required to have “gas breakers” installed. These shut off the gas when the flow is excessive and should be recommended to all clients.
Could you post a link where the word “equipotential” is in these files as I can’t seem to find it anywhere.
Edited to add:
equipotential; of the same or exhibiting uniform potential at every point: *an equipotential surface. *
As used in electrical terms; 680.26 Equipotential Bonding.
(A) Performance. The equipotential bonding required by this section shall be installed to eliminate voltage gradients in the pool area as prescribed.
Bonding; as used in electrical terms; Bonding (Bonded). The permanent joining of metallic parts to form an electrically conductive path that ensures electrical continuity and the capacity to conduct safely any current likely to be imposed.
As can be seen the term equipotential is to eliminate voltage gradients and Bonding is to conduct away any current that might be present. The two are different in their purpose.
The codes may refer to them as being a different purpose but they are actually very similar in theory and practical use.
If a difference in potential is present between two metal objects and you place a bond across the two, you will have current flowing through the bond and also will cause the two potentials to become near the same for all practical purposes.
Here is a good CSST document
See page 18 for reference to equipotential.
http://www.toolbase.org/pdf/techinv/csst_lightningconcerns.pdf
