Earthing a stainless steel splashback in a kitchen

[salihtas]

Hi folks,

I am planning to use 0.9mm stainless steel sheeting as a splashback in my kicthen. I have used plastic plumbing for the hot/cold water and a copper pipe for the gas.

Can I use the copper gas pipe as my earth source for by taps and for the sheeting?

Thanks,

Taskin.

 

[breezer]

NO.

all is not what it appears, when you see earth wires on pipes etc, what you see is not where the earth comes from, but it is cross bonding, the idea is that by connecting everything metal together, and then to the main earth they all stay at the same potential (0V)

try a search on bonding, earth

 

[Inspector]

breezer - Is he not just wanting to cross bond the splashback (assuming it is simultaneously accessible with the taps)?

If that is the case then he can link off the pipe bonding clamp. I agree that Taskin should read up on this in case we have misunderstood his question.

 

[breezer]

I think he hsa the misconception (sorry if i am wrong) that by connecting to the pipe that is where the earth comes from, i say this because he said Can I use the copper gas pipe as my earth source

 

[journeyman]

Cross bonding is not required in kitchens. Though one can use it if desired. Cross bonding metal parts that are isolated due to plastic plumbing may not be a good idea. It can decrease safety. More needs to be known about the installation to make a judgment about what is required.

RCD protecting the sockets would be a good measure.

try here for more information

 

[Big_Spark]

If the spashback has any electrical outlets in it, or cables run behind, then IT MUST BE EARTHED, if it will be in a location where electrical equipment may come into contact with it whilst energised IT MUST BE EARTHED.

As long as the Gas pipe has been bonded at the meter, then the gas pipe in the kitchen can provide a cross-bond link for the stainless steel splashback.

Journeyman, pray tell where you get the notion that you do not bond kitchens? You cannot carte blanche say that all equipment and accessories supplied by plastic piping should not be earthed. One needs to look at the situation extremely carefully. If those an item became live due to a fault elswhere, and it is not earthed, it will remain live until a person touches it and creates a circuit to earth, then they will recieve one hell of a shock, probably fatally. All this nonsense started by Paul Cook is ******. Of course there instance were such items need no be earthed, and the taps in this example is likely one of them, but I can think of many instances of items supplied by plastic pipes in then home that do require bonding to ensure electrical safety.

 

[plugwash]

earthing is done to protect against indirect contact

but in situations of direct contact it can make things worse

all the guides i have read have said that supplementry bonding is not required in kitches but is strongly adviseable

if there is cable behind the splashback i would consider it to be like conduit and therefore in need of bonding to protect in the case of cables behind it

but if not it basically boils down to earhitng it is safer if a faulty electrical appliance is placed on it

but not earthing it is safer if you are holding a fulty electrical appliance while touching it

 

[Big_Spark]

but not earthing it is safer if you are holding a fulty electrical appliance while touching it

That'll never happen unless your on a rubber mat as you would provide the earth path Plugwash.

 

[AdamW]

I would think that if you are running cables directly behind a splashback then those cables should be in conduit anyway. Someone may want to screw something to the wall (despite the lovely stainless steel) and thus the cable needs mechanical protection.

Then there is the problem of the possible sharp edges on the splashback: they wouldn't do much good to an unprotected cable.

 

[securespark]

Jim I have yacked to the IEE till blue in the face on this topic. Most of the tech engineers there agree that bonding in the kitchen is now not necessary and in some cases can actually introduce hazards rather than reduce them.

Have a chat yourself, and see what they say.

 

[journeyman]

You cannot carte blanche say that all equipment and accessories supplied by plastic piping should not be earthed.

Where did I say this?

I pointed out that more information is required.

Read my post properly.

 

[Big_Spark]

Jim I have yacked to the IEE till blue in the face on this topic. Most of the tech engineers there agree that bonding in the kitchen is now not necessary and in some cases can actually introduce hazards rather than reduce them.

Have a chat yourself, and see what they say.

Well they are talking Boll***, you cannot start making kitchens earth free zones. This is that w***er Paul Cook having an influence. If extraneous metalwork in a kitchen is not Earthed and becomes live, the only way to earth it and cause the operation of the protective device to to get an electric shock...Lovely I'm sure.

Journeyman, the quoted comment was not directed at you..the sentence starter was, but after the ? it was a generic comment, just the way it was worded.

 

[Inspector]

I'm backing you on this FWL, here's why...

I don't know how many times I've seen an IEC lead for a kettle resting on the stainless steel sink drainer (although the socket it's plugged into is not simultaneously accessible with the sink taps). The drainer allows a puddle of water to accumulate and if the drainer is unearthed it makes for great human contact.

In short - electricians should do as they would in a kitchen or utility room as they would in a bathroom. Its called common sense.

 

[salihtas]

The kitchen is 5m long, all along one wall of the house. The plan is for the whole wall to be covered in the steel. There will be sockets fitted into the steel, the same size as the boxes. All cabling is in conduit and buried an inch deep into the wall.
The same piece of steel will also be the splash back for the sink and cooker but there are no socket anywhere near these fixtures.
I agree that there will be a metal surface close to the cables feeding the terminals in the sockets. Any more advice folks. I'm really crap at tiling

 

[kendor]

Just to put my oar in here, directing this towards the Electricians amongst us, let's not confuse the issue here by getting Earthing and Bonding mixed up.
As rightly quoted Earthing is protection against Indirect Contact
Bonding is merely to create an equipotential zone.
There is a lot of discussion(quite rightly so) on where this zone starts and finishes.
The Interpretation I always go with is that if extraneous metalwork in one location and metalwork in another location cannot be touched by a person with arms/legs outstretched then this is the boundary( the wiseguys will come up with the"what if a lot of people linked hands" scenario here) Isn't this the reason for bonding after all to keep all metalwork within reach at the same potential. The Kitchen Bonding Issue when i was at college was that the water supply itself may introduce a hazard so bonding in kitchens was important.
After bonding is incorporated on exposed metalwork be it copper pipes splashbacks etc a reading must be taken to ensure continuity back to the earth terminal at the CU and this takes care of any inline plastic pipework that may have been added.
There is the common argument(amongst Electricians) that bonding could introduce a hazard and you shouldn't do it but that statement cannot be made without grounding (excuse the pun),explanation of the hazard that may be introduced along with thought in how to avoid this would be taken into consideration, rather than saying you shouldn't do it point blank.
One example of introducing a hazard would be bonding only part of the exposed metalwork leaving some floating, The old adage about "if you are going to do a job, then do it properly" comes to mind.