Hi, I'm looking at installing a free standing metal bath in an upstairs room. The bath which I have bought second hand has an earth cable attached to it. Now I understand the benefits of earthing a metal bath but what I'm not sure about it what I should earth it to if I dont have any metal pipes in the house! All plumbing including the main water supply pipe are plastic, there is no mains gas so basically no metal pipes at all. Do I need to run an earth cable down stairs, outside and sink it into the ground or do I just not earth the bath? Ideas would be greatly appreciated. Oh and by the way this is form y house in France so I'm not too bothered about the regs its more a general safety issue.
Earthing metal bath when I have plastic pipes
- Thread starter jongarner
- Start date
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As it is in France it would be better in the electrics non UK section,
To get an electric shock one has to touch two items, two points of contact, that are at different potentials. Most often something that is live wire and something earthed.
So earthing a bath could increase the risk of a shock if someone was touching the bath and something live. If the bath wasn't earthed but was instead well insulated from earth then the person would not experience anything more than a slight tingle. This would be due to the very small AC current flowing through them and through the bath's capacitive coupling to ground.
To be touching something live means there is a fault in the live items being touched ( or a foolish action by someone ).
If there is a fault it might be something that makes the un-earthed bath live. Provided nothing else in the room is earthed then even a live bath is very unlikely to cause a shock as there is no accessible earth to provide the second point of contact at a potential different from live. To ensure everything in the room is not earthed is difficult, a damp wall can be conductive enough to earth that is provides the second point of contact that gives a shock that is more than a severe tingle.
Personally I would earth it. That way any faults that would make the bath live will ( should ) trip safety devices ( RCD and / or MCB ) and prevent shocks. An RCD ( 30 mA ) would ( should ) trip if the earthed bath was the second point of contact for someone in contact with a live item. A bath with out an earth wire but with some conductivity to earth could result in a serious shock but without enough earth currrent to trip the RCD.
Using plastic water pipes does not provide total isolation as tap water has dissolved material which make it slightly conductive. Central heating system water has significant conductivity.
To get an electric shock one has to touch two items, two points of contact, that are at different potentials. Most often something that is live wire and something earthed.
So earthing a bath could increase the risk of a shock if someone was touching the bath and something live. If the bath wasn't earthed but was instead well insulated from earth then the person would not experience anything more than a slight tingle. This would be due to the very small AC current flowing through them and through the bath's capacitive coupling to ground.
To be touching something live means there is a fault in the live items being touched ( or a foolish action by someone ).
If there is a fault it might be something that makes the un-earthed bath live. Provided nothing else in the room is earthed then even a live bath is very unlikely to cause a shock as there is no accessible earth to provide the second point of contact at a potential different from live. To ensure everything in the room is not earthed is difficult, a damp wall can be conductive enough to earth that is provides the second point of contact that gives a shock that is more than a severe tingle.
Personally I would earth it. That way any faults that would make the bath live will ( should ) trip safety devices ( RCD and / or MCB ) and prevent shocks. An RCD ( 30 mA ) would ( should ) trip if the earthed bath was the second point of contact for someone in contact with a live item. A bath with out an earth wire but with some conductivity to earth could result in a serious shock but without enough earth currrent to trip the RCD.
Using plastic water pipes does not provide total isolation as tap water has dissolved material which make it slightly conductive. Central heating system water has significant conductivity.
Correct.
Furthermore - You definitely should NOT earth the bath and
as it is isolated it does not need bonding either.
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Thanks guys, I think general view is not to earth which is great as less work. Thanks again for the replies
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