Water on its own isn't a terribly good conductor. Stick your test meter terminals in your cup of tea and you'll see what I mean. Than add salt and watch the resistance drop. The plumbing's supposed to be attached to earth where it enters the house, even if the water comes in via a plastic pipe (typically black in the 1970s and blue more recently). You need a fair amount of contact between the conductor and the soil to keep the earth resistance low, hence the hammer-in earth rods usually being 4ft long. At the consumer unit you usually find the earth attached to the outer casing of the incoming cable, which seems to suffice for most electricity suppliers.
 
Stanleysteamer said:
It's doing its "earthing" job as soon as it touches the ground so I wouldn't be worried about continuing in plastic or whatever takes your fancy. There must be still some touching the gound.

Our house in the UK is crossbonded as per and whenever I change a sink or anything I do the same.
But where the mains comes through the slab it is in a big, thick, black, plastic-looking pipe. (timber frame house on a full slab). So wtf is the point of the cross bonding? Or are they actually trying to rely on the water IN the pipe to do the earthing?

I have often wondered.

didn't they used to earth to a big metal peg rammed into the earth?
Click to expand...
It depends what type of supply you have some the earth comes through the negative
 
Brown said:
Water on its own isn't a terribly good conductor. Stick your test meter terminals in your cup of tea and you'll see what I mean. Than add salt and watch the resistance drop. The plumbing's supposed to be attached to earth where it enters the house, even if the water comes in via a plastic pipe (typically black in the 1970s and blue more recently). You need a fair amount of contact between the conductor and the soil to keep the earth resistance low, hence the hammer-in earth rods usually being 4ft long. At the consumer unit you usually find the earth attached to the outer casing of the incoming cable, which seems to suffice for most electricity suppliers.
Click to expand...
I was of course aware of this, which is why I asked the question and phrased it as "trying". An "electrolyte" is needed to conduct electrickery.
 
Stanleysteamer said:
?????
I thought wiring was :
Positive (brown)
Neutral (blue)
and earth (yellow and green)

This being internal,

but wires to the house I think are still red and black, red +ive, black -ive. With no special provision for earth.

So I will need more hexplanayshion!
Click to expand...
Some property's have over head supply if you look thear is only 2 wires if you look in the fuse box some times you can see the earth comes from the negative or a ground rod I think this supply is called dde? As we make are own electric we have a ground matt because we have stone and soil
 
My Old Landy said:
He means TT, TNCS, TNC and there are a few others too
Click to expand...

Stanleysteamer said:
Which really helps a bod like me who has no idea what any of this means.
Can I BA to check it out ont tinernet? In this heat?
Hmmm!

Forgot about triple phase, etc. :(
Click to expand...

Stone56 said:
Some property's have over head supply if you look thear is only 2 wires if you look in the fuse box some times you can see the earth comes from the negative or a ground rod I think this supply is called dde? As we make are own electric we have a ground matt because we have stone and soil
Click to expand...


All this talk of electrickery makes my hair stand up.

This is what I am led to believe.

In the UK. the Neutral goes back to the "station" the earth goes to a ground stake at the property be it a pipe in the ground or a stake in the ground.
Cross bonding is done for different reasons and should not be called an earth. And I believe it stems from the fact when all houses had metal pipework. today with all the fancy breakers we have in our fuse boxes an earth leak will trip it.

Also 1 should understand that in europe, neutral is earth. We have 4 wires come into our house. 3 live, 1 neutral/earth because it terminates at the pole to a big ground spike.

No I don't have 3 phase although that's what they call it cos we have 3 live wires that can only carry a small amount of load. so the house is split with which wire the supply comes from.

I am not an electrician but have not spiked my hair yet, or let any smoke out of the wires. but a real screwdriver wielding, tiewrap cutting non clearing up after yourself person will be along soon:).


J
 
derwendolly said:
Let me first say that my ignorance of these matters is tip top BUT what I don't understand is what you have said about the 'earthing' work that would be necessary when the changeover to plastc piping becomes the only option.
Click to expand...
Currently (no pun intended) the house electrics earthing is attached to the copper incoming water supply pipe. If the water supply pipe is changed to plastic, the house will have no earth. Not very pleasant if one was to accidentally come into contact with the live leccy, or if an appliance went live. So an alternative earth point would be required, usually via solid copper rods (coated for corrosion protection) driven into the ground. The earth rod(s) then have to be tested to confirm they are adequate for the job.
Had some experience of this in my previous life as a worker :p ranging from multiple earth points on large industrial buildings, to earthing grids spread over wide areas on power generating plant.
 
Wimblowdriver said:
Currently (no pun intended) the house electrics earthing is attached to the copper incoming water supply pipe. If the water supply pipe is changed to plastic, the house will have no earth. Not very pleasant if one was to accidentally come into contact with the live leccy, or if an appliance went live. So an alternative earth point would be required, usually via solid copper rods (coated for corrosion protection) driven into the ground. The earth rod(s) then have to be tested to confirm they are adequate for the job.
Had some experience of this in my previous life as a worker :p ranging from multiple earth points on large industrial buildings, to earthing grids spread over wide areas on power generating plant.
Click to expand...

But running a new plastic pipe, but leaving the copper in ground would be fine as an erf?

J
 
In my house the earth goes to the outer casing on the incoming supply cable, which seems to be a fairly commonplace way to do it in the UK. I assume the earth and 'neutral' are connected at the substation, because they aren't in the house. At my off grid property the electricity comes from solar panels and a generator so I've banged a couple of those 4ft earth rods into the ground and fortunately didn't bend them on any big stones. Also, on this installation I've not connected the earth to the neutral as it confuses my inverter-charge controller, so you can get a shock (and make your little light up screwdriver glow) from both the brown and blue wire.
 
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