I am re fitting my bathroom and will be installing a new radiator. Will i need to cross-bond to it? Does the earth clamp need to be above floor level?
earth bonding for radiator in bathroom
- Thread starter carctol
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Yes, if pipe work is copper, no if connected to plastic pipes.
Earth strap above floor.
Earth strap above floor.
Ok Thanks. The radiator is a column towel rad with the pipes coming up through a tiled floor, with pipe covers over the hole. What would be the best way to bring the earth cable up to the rad without spoiling the appearance? . The tiles are not down yet.
With the greatest respect to you Gasman, if the pipework is all copper it needs bonding where there is access to it for testing but that could be in the airing cupbaord in next room or under floor in hallway next to bathroom where floor covering might be carpet and easy to lift for inspection and . So not strictly necessary to have bonding on show to a rad.
Rads with copper drops to plastic pipe are exhempt, as is the metal of the rad or the towel rail.
All bonding in bathroom has to be taken up to the cpc of any electric appliances (i.e electric shower, shower pump, IPX4 rated CH boiler, shaver socket, wall light, wall mounted fan) but not the ceiling light or ceiling mounted fan which are counted as outside the zones.
There is a chart of sizes in the onsite guide but most scenarios come down to 4mm for the bonding. Sadly appliance manufacturers, unlkess it's a 9kw shower don't provide a suitable terminal for the 4mm bonding to join with the cpc. I use an extra terminal block.
plastic piped rads require no bonding.
Rads with copper drops to plastic pipe are exhempt, as is the metal of the rad or the towel rail.
All bonding in bathroom has to be taken up to the cpc of any electric appliances (i.e electric shower, shower pump, IPX4 rated CH boiler, shaver socket, wall light, wall mounted fan) but not the ceiling light or ceiling mounted fan which are counted as outside the zones.
There is a chart of sizes in the onsite guide but most scenarios come down to 4mm for the bonding. Sadly appliance manufacturers, unlkess it's a 9kw shower don't provide a suitable terminal for the 4mm bonding to join with the cpc. I use an extra terminal block.
plastic piped rads require no bonding.
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The pipework is all copper. So can i fit the earth bonding strap to the pipework in an accessable area outside the bathroom and still comply with regs? By the way i have a registered electrician doing the work and he has said that the earth needs to be on show on the pipework to the rad in the bathroom incase an inspector wants to see it. But i wanted to ask on here for further advise.
They have to be available for inspection but if the airing cupboard serves the bathroom and the heating flow and return pipes can be picked up there then that is satisfactory. The key is that the bonding has to be accessible.
Another way around it is to use plastic drops from the rads and cover them with chrome or white snap ons'. It is only extraneous conductive parts which have to be bonded, so the metal heating pipes under the floor do not have to be bonded, excepting the fact that the heating pipes should to be bonded at the boiler (though unlikely they are in an existing installation and many new installations don't comply) and preferably taken back to the main earth block though if that is totally impractical you can use the boiler electricity supply cpc (circuit protective conductor, used to be called earth).
Another way around it is to use plastic drops from the rads and cover them with chrome or white snap ons'. It is only extraneous conductive parts which have to be bonded, so the metal heating pipes under the floor do not have to be bonded, excepting the fact that the heating pipes should to be bonded at the boiler (though unlikely they are in an existing installation and many new installations don't comply) and preferably taken back to the main earth block though if that is totally impractical you can use the boiler electricity supply cpc (circuit protective conductor, used to be called earth).
Paul Barker said:
The regulations are open to differing interpretations ( whats new).
OSG page 26:
I was taught best practice, where it can be seen at the point requiring bonding, if pipes below floor do not require bonding, then what is the point doing it elsewhere.
" if pipes below floor do not require bonding, then what is the point doing it elsewhere."
As a means of bonding the extraneous pipework without creating an isaw. i.e no need if it's only pipes under floor, I was referring to the scenario where there is extraneous pipework.
As a means of bonding the extraneous pipework without creating an isaw. i.e no need if it's only pipes under floor, I was referring to the scenario where there is extraneous pipework.
I always understood that ALL earth bonding in a bathroom had to be taken to the SAME point which was normally expected to be the earth terminal on the light switch ( as its usually the only electrical item ).
Tony
Tony
Paul Barker said:
That's not true.
There is no requirement to main bond heating pipes at all. If there is a radiator or a towel rail in the bathroom, then, if that radiator/towel rail is an extraneous-conductive-part then it must be included in the supplementary bonding scheme. Generally, if the radiator is plumbed in with copper pipe, it will need supplementary bonding, and if plumbed with plastic pipe, it will not.
If the radiator is extraneous-conductive, then it, or it's pipes must be bonded, and they must be bonded in close proximity to the location (reg 601-04-01). Main bonding the pipes in an airing cupboard would not meet the requirements of the regulations: Main bonding is not the same as supplementary bonding, and the airing cupboard is not regarded as "close proximity".
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The bonding connection for the towel rail must meet the accessibility requirements of regulation 526-04. That being, that it must either be accessible for inspection (which does not generally include being under floorboards), or it must be made by welding, soldering, brazing, or compression tool (ie. crimping). Thus your regular screw type earth bonding strap must be above the floorboards; if you chose to solder the bonding conductor then it could be attached to the pipe beneath the floor.
"They have to be available for inspection but if the airing cupboard serves the bathroom and the heating flow and return pipes can be picked up there then that is satisfactory."
That is true
"There is no requirement to main bond heating pipes at all. "
That's not true, they have to be bonded at the boiler, except I am not talking about main bonding you introduced that topic. The thread is about suplemetary bonding of extraneous metal parts in a bathroom, that is the context whithin which I am replying don't extend the scope of what I am saying, because it is not said relative to main bonding, which is of course required but not the topic of conversation.
" the airing cupboard is not regarded as "close proximity".
It is by the trainers at the Farraday centrre, if as I said it is proximal to the bathroom, in Middlesborough all the trainers have over 25 years in the trade each and many had very senior jobs before going into training.
That last paragraph of yours I'll take your word for.
That is true
"There is no requirement to main bond heating pipes at all. "
That's not true, they have to be bonded at the boiler, except I am not talking about main bonding you introduced that topic. The thread is about suplemetary bonding of extraneous metal parts in a bathroom, that is the context whithin which I am replying don't extend the scope of what I am saying, because it is not said relative to main bonding, which is of course required but not the topic of conversation.
" the airing cupboard is not regarded as "close proximity".
It is by the trainers at the Farraday centrre, if as I said it is proximal to the bathroom, in Middlesborough all the trainers have over 25 years in the trade each and many had very senior jobs before going into training.
That last paragraph of yours I'll take your word for.
Your right to and extent Tony but it doesn't have to go to a cpc if there aren't any in the zones. Light switch if pull cord is outside the zones. Only electrical contacts inside the zones have to be bonded.
It is actually allowed to have a normal wall mounted lightswitch outside the zones, and that you would bond but you never see it anyway.
It is actually allowed to have a normal wall mounted lightswitch outside the zones, and that you would bond but you never see it anyway.
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