Bathroom supplementary bonding

[Griggsy]

I have a bathroom with the following equipment:

Shower (zone 1) with a pull cord switch (zone 3)
Class II extractor Fan (zone 2) with a pull cord switch (zone 3)
Pendant lamp and a pull cord switch (both outside of the zones)
Shaver unit (zone 3)

The bath, sink and radiator pipes are copper and the waste pipes are plastic.

The shower water supply is in a stud wall, does that need to be bonded?

Can I bond to the CPC of the shower switch and extractor fan switch instead of the actual shower and fan?

As the fan is double insulated and there is no CPC in it, how should it be bonded?

Do I need to bond the hot and cold sink pipes together as well as the hot and cold bath pipes together, even though they are only a few metres apart and are all joined together by copper pipes and soldered joints?

Do I need to bond both radiator pipes?

Can I ignore the light and switch as they are outside of the zones?

Any help will be much appreciated.

 

[andy]

The shower water supply is in a stud wall, does that need to be bonded?

yes

Can I bond to the CPC of the shower switch and extractor fan switch instead of the actual shower and fan?

dont think it makes much difference

As the fan is double insulated and there is no CPC in it, how should it be bonded?

no

Do I need to bond the hot and cold sink pipes together as well as the hot and cold bath pipes together, even though they are only a few metres apart and are all joined together by copper pipes and soldered joints?

yes

Do I need to bond both radiator pipes?

yes

Can I ignore the light and switch as they are outside of the zones?

no

 

[Griggsy]

Thanks for the response, just a few more questions.

The shower water supply is in a stud wall, does that need to be bonded?

yes

Why is this when the pipe can't be touched, and how could I connect a bonding clamp to it which would be accesible?

As the fan is double insulated and there is no CPC in it, how should it be bonded?

no

What about its switch in Zone 3?

Do I need to bond the hot and cold sink pipes together as well as the hot and cold bath pipes together, even though they are only a few metres apart and are all joined together by copper pipes and soldered joints?

yes

And

Do I need to bond both radiator pipes?

yes

Why is this? I thought metal pipes could be used as bonding conductors if joints are metal to metal and electrically continuous.

Can I ignore the light and switch as they are outside of the zones?

no

I thought it was only necessary to supplementary bond the protective conductors of lighting and power points within the zones, am I wrong?

 

[andy]

Thanks for the response, just a few more questions.

The shower water supply is in a stud wall, does that need to be bonded?

yes

Why is this when the pipe can't be touched, and how could I connect a bonding clamp to it which would be accesible?


because it could still become live




As the fan is double insulated and there is no CPC in it, how should it be bonded?

no

What about its switch in Zone 3?

the switch should be earthed but the fan should not. you should not earth a class 2 applience



Do I need to bond the hot and cold sink pipes together as well as the hot and cold bath pipes together, even though they are only a few metres apart and are all joined together by copper pipes and soldered joints?

yes

And

Do I need to bond both radiator pipes?

yes

Why is this? I thought metal pipes could be used as bonding conductors if joints are metal to metal and electrically continuous.

joints from pipe to radiator use a non-conductive material tot eh seal, therefore creating a resistance between the pipe to thru the radiator. you shoud also have an earth link between a pipe and the radiator


Can I ignore the light and switch as they are outside of the zones?

no

everything metal should be earthed. just because it aint in the zones doesnt mean it cannot become live and without the earth there will be a potential difference so if you touch it you get a shock

I thought it was only necessary to supplementary bond the protective conductors of lighting and power points within the zones, am I wrong?

 

[L.Spark]

If you can't bond the shower pipe without causing damage, then don't!

bond every accessible pipe in the bathroom, then bond into all the electrical earth terminals in electrical switches/shower/shaver socket etc.

 

[sgr_buildit]

You guys have got me worried ...

I have a fairly new en-suite off the bedroom with electric shower, class 2 fan, wc, basin and taps, and central heating rad. All the pipes (inc shower feed in stud wall) are plastic. How can these be bonded? What about rad? (plastic pipes as well). There are 2 short copper lengths behind basin (3" max each) to each tap then plastic again.

Whole house is plastic apart from boiler house outside, where mains water comes in to combi (oil) system. Here there are short runs of copper which are bonded.

Am I in trouble or have I got the wrong end of the stick?

Thanks

 

[Damocles]

Metalwork fed by plastic pipes does not need to be bonded.

 

[Griggsy]

If you can't bond the shower pipe without causing damage, then don't!

bond every accessible pipe in the bathroom, then bond into all the electrical earth terminals in electrical switches/shower/shaver socket etc.

I am completely rebuilding the bathroom, including new electrics, plumbing and walls. So I can bond the shower pipe, but how do you define accesible?

Can the bonding clamp be under floorboards, beneath a bathtub or must it be visible?

 

[Griggsy]

The shower water supply is in a stud wall, does that need to be bonded?

yes

Why is this when the pipe can't be touched, and how could I connect a bonding clamp to it which would be accesible?

because it could still become live

Ok, can I just use the bath cold water pipe located under the bath, which feeds the shower via a couple of soldered joints?


Do I need to bond the hot and cold sink pipes together as well as the hot and cold bath pipes together, even though they are only a few metres apart and are all joined together by copper pipes and soldered joints?

yes

And

Do I need to bond both radiator pipes?

yes

Why is this? I thought metal pipes could be used as bonding conductors if joints are metal to metal and electrically continuous.

joints from pipe to radiator use a non-conductive material tot eh seal, therefore creating a resistance between the pipe to thru the radiator. you shoud also have an earth link between a pipe and the radiator.

So is it ok to only bond one radiator pipe if I use metal only compression fittings without PTFE tape?