More bonding questions...

[acmedone]

Having read many threads about bonding I am still confused.

The question is, when did all this stuff come in?
The reason I ask is because I now have my 4th property.

House #1, built 1947 - rubber wires in steel conduit, steel bath, no bonding to gas or water, no equipotentials. I rewired it in 1980 and the technician from Southern Electricity connected my CU without comment.

House #2, built 1956 - rubber T&E, steel bath, no bonding to gas or water. CH installed between build & 1984, no equi's. No other significant modifications.

House #3, built 1973 - PVC, bonding to secondary hot & cold only. Gas pipe & meter was repositioned and changed from steel to copper during previous ownership (before 1994) but not bonded. I have now bonded the gas pipe to CU and, after fitting a shower pump (with RCD), have also equi'd everything in the airing cupboard. Water supply pipe still not bonded (needs carpets & flooring raised to route a cable).

Flat #4, built 1982, 1st floor. Gas meter on ground floor bonded to electricity meter, water pipe not bonded. Original CH. Electric shower fitted with separate CU between build & before 2005. No equi's except H to C under kitchen sink.

In other words, all this stuff about bonding is comparatively recent. So what's the history? Even though the #4 met the regs at the time, should the supply pipe be bonded and the airing cupboard be equi'd now?

 

[EFLImpudence]

Even though the #4 met the regs at the time, should the supply pipe be bonded and the airing cupboard be equi'd now?

To answer that first -
I think the water supply probably should be bonded but can't say from here about the airing cupboard.
Are there any RCDs?

As for the general question -
It's the same as many other areas of life, increasing safety rules and regulations over the years.

On the one hand the Government don't seem to like us killing ourselves but on the other they don't give a toss about us.

I suspect they need to be seen to be doing something useful and need tax revenue to be as high as possible.

 

[acmedone]

Even though #4 met the regs at the time, should the supply pipe be bonded and the airing cupboard be equi'd now?

To answer that first -
I think the water supply probably should be bonded but can't say from here about the airing cupboard.
Are there any RCDs?

No. So I suspect the answer is yes. And as I intend to let the flat, someone will probably tell me a new CU is pretty much obligatory.

As for the general question -
It's the same as many other areas of life, increasing safety rules and regulations over the years.

On the one hand the Government don't seem to like us killing ourselves but on the other they don't give a toss about us.

I suspect they need to be seen to be doing something useful and need tax revenue to be as high as possible.

Whereas RCDs required a technical development, there was nothing to stop a lack of bonding from being connected to casualties and from being specified much earlier. A bit of cynicism here & there seems to make sense.

 

[EFLImpudence]

Cynicism - ME ???

The water (assuming metal) and gas supply should be bonded where it enters the property, i.e. the flat.

May not be as obvious where it is in a flat.

 

[securespark]

House #1.

If you rewired it under the 14th Ed., you should have fitted bonding to gas and water pipes (D10) and possibly supplementary bonding in the bathroom and kitchen or utility (D14).

Main Equipotential Bonding and Supplementary Bonding (listed as "Bonding") were in the original 14th Ed., issued 1966.

So, up to 1966ish, you would not expect to see earthing to pipework, but after that time, you should.

 

[ban-all-sheds]

It's the same as many other areas of life, increasing safety rules and regulations over the years.

On the one hand the Government don't seem to like us killing ourselves but on the other they don't give a toss about us.

I think you'll find that the Government have, and have had, sod all to do with the Wiring Regulations over the years.

They started out as an initiative by insurance companies who wanted to reduce their losses, and morphed into the ruminations of engineers who were not the best at joined up thinking and were often "challenged" in their literacy.

 

[bernardgreen]

and morphed into the ruminations of engineers who were not the best at joined up thinking and were often "challenged" in their literacy.

Concise and, after reading them some of them I have the opinion, very accurate.

"Thou shall not connect the CPC of a PME system to an earth rod"

"Thou shall connect the CPC of a PME system to an incoming water pipe"

"Thou, the water board, shall not use metal pipes buried in the ground for incoming supply pipes"

 

[acmedone]

Main Equipotential Bonding and Supplementary Bonding (listed as "Bonding") were in the original 14th Ed., issued 1966.

So, up to 1966ish, you would not expect to see earthing to pipework, but after that time, you should.

So it seems that in 1973 builders were hiring some dodgy contractors. Doesn't surprise me.

 

[acmedone]

Cynicism - ME ???

It's often healthy

The water (assuming metal) and gas supply should be bonded where it enters the property, i.e. the flat.

May not be as obvious where it is in a flat.

There is a stop cock on the water just above the entry point in the flat. Seems the most logical.

The gas pipe is not bonded in the flat but is at the meter on the groundfloor. It won't need an extra one.. ?

 

[EFLImpudence]

There is a stop cock on the water just above the entry point in the flat. Seems the most logical.

That would, indeed, be where it should be.

The gas pipe is not bonded in the flat but is at the meter on the groundfloor. It won't need an extra one.. ?

Not electrically.

However, it may be safer to install another one in case anyone should disconnect the present one, for whatever reason, and you did not notice.