Electrician can not find Earth Bonding Tags

[marmaliser]

Blimey it has been a while since I have been around here but I hope you guys can help me out?

The electrician wiring up our conservatory at the moment can not find our earth bonding tags for the gas / water pipes. I am 99% sure that they are hidden behind the kitchen cupboards and can not be accessed.

The CU is actually pretty close to the gas and water pipes above the stairs so could a new earth be run and new tags fitted ?

Just to throw something else into the mix there is a bit of plastic piping in the shower room on both the water and heating. Does this make a difference

TIA

 

[jj4091]

Even if he cannot see them he should be able to establish whether they are there or not. The gas one should be close to the meter & the water ,the stop cock.

 

[marmaliser]

How would he go about doing that?. He has gone away now but needs it sorting before the 2 cnd Fix Electrics

They are just below the boiler which is in a kitchen cupboard and only about 1m from the stopcock but obscured by the Kitchen base units.

 

[securespark]

Even if he cannot see them he should be able to establish whether they are there or not.

How?

They should always be accessible, otherwise it is entirely possible that they cannot be guessed at.

 

[sparkybird]

He could test the continuity between each pipe and earth. If it's less than 0.05 Ohms, it can be assumed to be bonded, but really the connections should be accessible

SB

 

[marmaliser]

He does want to see the tags.

I found a photo from when we were doing the kitchen and have managed to trace the earth wire. It is in some boxing in that runs down the side of the boiler and then under the work surface to the tags. I reckon it could be cut just before it goes under the work surface leaving enough cable to fasten to the pipes about 6 inch below where they enter the boiler. This is only about a foot further along the pipes than the original tags. Would this be OK ?

 

[jj4091]

Even if he cannot see them he should be able to establish whether they are there or not.

They should always be accessible, otherwise it is entirely possible that they cannot be guessed at.

 

[securespark]

Had an install where there was no bonding, but the continuity readings between the pipes and the earth terminal were very low...How's that, then?

 

[TopTrumper]

Had an install where there was no bonding, but the continuity readings between the pipes and the earth terminal were very low...How's that, then?

because it was probably same scenario if you couldnt find them.
At the end of the day if they are bonded, (confirmed by OHM test) the visual should take a back seat...does this electrician think a person is going to demolish their kitchen so he can see if a clamp is there?

 

[RF Lighting]

The spark can see if the main bonds leave the MET, and if so, confirm them with the ohm test. (although this does not tell you if the bonds are within 600mm of the stoptap / meter as prescribed by BS7671)

If there are no bonds leaving the MET then I would suspect it is not bonded at all, and if it is, it is not bonded correctly anyway.

 

[RMS]

The bonding to the gas, water and any other services should be tested and visually checked.

The point of bonding should be accessible for inspection. A continuity test between the pipe and the earthing terminal can be carried out but there should be a note of this made on the relevant test sheet and coded if on a PIR.