Some CORGI fitter came in for a recent slagging-off hereabouts because he had committed some serious electrical errors, including not doing EP Bonding correctly.
OK - you guys. Will someone who KNOWS or can look it up, please confirm the following from IEE Ed 16 and related regs.
1. EP Bonding is NOT actually a requirement under boilers but SHOULD BE added IF there is 'excessive resistance' between the pipes involved. In other words, bonding should be done in OTHER places (bathroom, from consumer unit / earth block to water pipes, from CU to gas pipes, etc.) and only at the boiler EXCEPTIONALLY. (Of course, that begs the questions: what's 'excessive'? and how is your average CORGI supposed to find out?)
2. IF EP Bonding IS required under the boiler, must it INCLUDE a connection to an earth as such, and should this just be to a nearby CPC or back to the CU / E/block?
Most CORGIs DO put on EP Bonds under boilers but to my (uninformed?) view, they can hardly ever make any difference:
- immediately above the clamps there's usually a bloody great lump of metal called a jig plate which links all the pipes mechanically AND electrically, for all practical purposes.
- a metre or so away from the boiler it is now permitted (even common practice) to convert ALL the pipes EXCEPT the gas supply into (non-conductive) plastic barrier pipe. (Because they're easier to run under floors etc..)
So what's the point of the EP Bonds anyway?
OK - you guys. Will someone who KNOWS or can look it up, please confirm the following from IEE Ed 16 and related regs.
1. EP Bonding is NOT actually a requirement under boilers but SHOULD BE added IF there is 'excessive resistance' between the pipes involved. In other words, bonding should be done in OTHER places (bathroom, from consumer unit / earth block to water pipes, from CU to gas pipes, etc.) and only at the boiler EXCEPTIONALLY. (Of course, that begs the questions: what's 'excessive'? and how is your average CORGI supposed to find out?)
2. IF EP Bonding IS required under the boiler, must it INCLUDE a connection to an earth as such, and should this just be to a nearby CPC or back to the CU / E/block?
Most CORGIs DO put on EP Bonds under boilers but to my (uninformed?) view, they can hardly ever make any difference:
- immediately above the clamps there's usually a bloody great lump of metal called a jig plate which links all the pipes mechanically AND electrically, for all practical purposes.
- a metre or so away from the boiler it is now permitted (even common practice) to convert ALL the pipes EXCEPT the gas supply into (non-conductive) plastic barrier pipe. (Because they're easier to run under floors etc..)
So what's the point of the EP Bonds anyway?
