Question for Roy Cooke - Electrical

Hi Roy

I have an electrical question that I’m sure you will be able to answer. (I understand that you have a wee bit of experience with electrical issues)

A friend just had a kitchen re-do that involved the grounding wire being disconnected. His (master) electrician told him that he could ground to any copper pipe (hot or cold) near his panel and that his house would be adequately grounded. I said that he had to go back to the copper main from the municipality (upstream of the meter). Or, alternativley, he could drive a grounding rod to serve the same purpose.

Or, at a minimum, he would have to install a jump across the meter and ground to a cold water pipe near the panel.

Am I wrong here?

Let me know what you think.

And… welcome back.

Joe

Hello Joe

You are right about having a ground clamp on either side of the water meter. In new construction you would use a ground plate or three ground rods if the main water was plastic. But if it wasn’t you would ground the panel to the street side of the water meter.

In older homes with fuse panels it is usually grounded to the nearest copper pipe but be sure that the meter is jumpered.

Mark

Hy Joe please do not think I am ignoring you . I am so busy I have not been able to get on the BB much .
Send Email to me for a quicker answer .
Thanks for ( WELCOME BACH )
Jumpers should be on all meters if the are copper in and out .
That was along time ago that you could just ground a plug to copper pipe like 50~ years now they require two wire with a grnd to all receptacles.
The panel ground has to go to the incoming copper to the home .
If it is Plastic then it requires a plate ground ( used to be Grnd Rods).
remember I have been out of the trade for about 20 years.
Roycooke@sympatico.ca