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Bonding the Hot and Cold of a Water Heater

I take electricity very seriously and lack of proper grounding/bonding can cause electric shock. Almost 2 years ago today I was sitting with my mother in her hospice bed as we awaited the inevitable. I received a phone call to assist the police on a Saturday which was extremely rare since we were only contracted with the City for occasional service that called me. There was a fatal electrocution of a 14 year old boy who was playing hide and seek and decided to hide behind a dryer with wet shorts while his playmates were searching for him. According to the girls, they ran into the laundry room and heard a popping noise. At that time the boy stood up, clutched his chest and said he was going to die. He did. He dropped right there and his life was over. I was asked to collect evidence and help them to determine what, if anything went wrong. Every aspect of the circuit for the dryer and the washer was looked at, photographed and methodically taken apart. What I found out was that someone had changed the location of the dryer from its original location and installed a 4" metal junction box, 2-1'8" deep to extend the NM circuit to a back wall. In the process, they failed to ground the metal junction box although they did continue the ground to the washer but reduced it to a 3 wire. The NM connector for the 10/3 coming from the basement was overtightened and cut through to one of the phases. This made the junction box "hot" but with no ground, it was no more than another conductor without insulation. Until someone touched it and a grounded device or piece of equipment, no one would ever know. Had the quasi electrician ever grounded the box as required, it would have tripped the breaker but he did not. So there it sat for months while in use, one phase always making the junction box hot just waiting for the wrong moment when someone makes the connection. As he hid behind the dryer his wet shorts and his body eventually leaned against the junction box as he touched the back of the dryer leading to his death.

So, if it can happen, it can happen and did. A lack of 1 simple ground screw and there is a set of parents grieving the loss of their 14 year old son. Lack of continuity in the grounding and bonding of the circuit.

The code says the metal water pipe system is to be bonded therefore the system shall be bonded and I don't care how literal one wants to get with the codes, intent is simply intent which is safety, the entire existence of the codes. For safety. I am not going to compromise safety because I get a high finding problems and living in literal world.

Something not many of you know about me. I worked part time as a Paramedic, then a Flight Paramedic on a critical care helicopter and in emergency rooms from 1995 until 2008 and continue to teach today on a part time basis. In my time working on the helicopter I had the unfortunate experience of watching death on a daily basis from some of the most bizarre circumstances that only fate could bring. With thousands of calls under my belt from thousands of flight and from time spent working in emergency rooms I have seen a lot of misfortune and electrical shock was no exception. Many fatal, many not but the fact is there were many. I have seen more than I could stand and wish I never saw half of what I did.

If it can happen, it probably will. Just because you have not seen it in your world does not mean it has not happened and won't happen again. There is a whole other, much larger world outside our own.

So go ahead and play judge, jury and executioner with your one man crusade. In the mean time, I will be keeping people safe. You choose your battles, I'll choose mine.

Click on the first link, look at his face and tell him just how right you are.

http://virginislandsdailynews.com/susquehanna-county-teen-dies-in-electrical-accident-in-wilkes-barre-1.1173726

http://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local/Teen-Electrocuted-in-Hide-and-Seek--125418608.html
 
jwelectric said:
I thought we were talking about bonding of water pipes not the Equipment Grounding Conductor of a dryer.
Click to expand...
Let me make an attempt at this for you. it was lengthy on Mike Holts and you did not agree with me.
lets start with
What are the 6 separate types of grounding electrodes approved by the NEC?


Common grounding electrodes include rods, plates, pipes, ground rings, metal in-ground support structures and concrete-encased electrodes. All grounding electrodes at each building or structure shall be bonded together to form the grounding electrode system.


Are the hot and cold water lines pipes?. I would say yes.
Is the copper water main entering the building a common EGC? I would say yes.

​

Now lets look at 250.68(b)​

B) Effective Grounding Path​


The connection of a grounding electrode conductor or bonding jumper to a grounding electrode shall be made in a manner that will ensure an effective grounding path. Where necessary to ensure the grounding path for a metal piping system used as a grounding electrode, bonding shall be provided around insulated joints and around any equipment likely to be disconnected for repairs or replacement. Bonding jumpers shall be of sufficient length to permit removal of such equipment while retaining the integrity


Around insulated joints and around any equipment likely to be disconnected for repair or replacement.
Insulated joints rubber gaskets on water meters. The need to repair or replace? I say yes.
A water heater is a piece of equipment that needs to be repaired or replaced by removing it? I would say yes.

When removed without a bonding jumper would leave the potential for the pipe to become energized and the possibility of electrocution.
Now for the question of an repair with plastic, there should be a jumper required across the repair the same as should be across a water filter or conditioner.

Ground-Fault Current Path. An electrically conductive path from the point of a ground fault on a wiring system through normally non–current-carrying conductors, equipment, or the earth to the electrical supply source
GEC
Normally non current carrying conductor
 
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250.4(A)
(4) Bonding of Electrically Conductive Materials and Other Equipment. Normally non-current-carrying electrically conductive materials that are likely to become energized shall be connected together and to the electrical supply source in a manner that establishes an effective ground-fault current path.

(5) Effective Ground-Fault Current Path. Electrical equipment and wiring and other electrically conductive material likely to become energized shall be installed in a manner that creates a low-impedance circuit facilitating the operation of the over-current device or ground detector for high-impedance grounded systems. It shall be capable of safely carrying the maximum ground-fault current likely to be imposed on it from any point on the wiring system where a ground fault may occur to the electrical supply source. The earth shall not be considered as an effective ground-fault current path.

Two things about the highlighted portion of (5):
1. Metal water pipe is an electrically conductive material.
2. If a metal water pipe has ever become energized, then it will likely happen again. It has and it will.

The rest of the arguments against a jumper between a cold and hot pipe at a water heater are related to semantics and a lack of an explicit code section that requires water pipe to be electrically continuous.

250.4(A)(4) has this: "likely to become energized shall be connected together." It doesn't say anything about separate bonding jumpers for isolated segments of a water piping system as one might find with hot and cold water pipe. It says to connect them together. How about raceway systems that encounter obvious gaps… aren't there jumpers for that pipe?

Jeff likes to point to mixing valves as the point of connection between cold and hot water pipe. I will now toss in the gas pipe which is also required to be bonded. The code allows for any gas fired, electrified equipment to provide an equipment bonding jumper for the gas pipe via the equipment ground of the circuit that supplies the equipment.

In the wild we are tasked with ensuring that water and gas pipe is bonded. I performed a multitude of service panel upgrades weekly. Sometimes three in a day. There are two ways to verify code compliance.

1. I can take a tour of the dwelling to find a shower mixing valve and then find a working forced air, gas fired furnace. The mixing valve would be easy enough. The furnace might require attic access. And after finding that furnace I would have to make sure that it works and that the circuit equipment ground has been installed.

2. I find five feet of wire and three clamps at the water heater.

Do you still need convincing? If so then consider this... the path for an equipment bond shall be low impedance. What's your guess of the impedance of a shower mixing valve... or the best effort of a HVAC tech that installed the forced air unit in the attic. You can't know any of that. How about that five feet of #6 copper wire? There's documentation for that. Somebody already did the thinking part for you.

It is for those reasons that even on new construction where I see the mixing valve and know for certain that there is a legitimate equipment ground at the furnace... the horror of being a stubborn inspector.

Electricians, inspectors and building officials that want to argue the point... well they just want to argue about something. It happens rarely... I listen... they install the jumper at the water heater... we all move on to the next one.
 
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250.68(B) Effective Grounding Path.
The connection of a grounding electrode conductor or bonding jumper to a grounding electrode shall be made in a manner that will ensure an effective grounding path. Where necessary to ensure the grounding path for a metal piping system used as a grounding electrode, bonding shall be provided around insulated joints and around any equipment likely to be disconnected for repairs or replacement. Bonding jumpers shall be of sufficient length to permit removal of such equipment while retaining the integrity of the grounding path.

Therefore, water meters, water heaters and water filter systems are examples of equipment likely to be disconnected for repairs or replacement. Shorter bonding jumpers are more likely to be disconnected to facilitate removal or reinstallation of a water meter or filter cartridge. The bonding jumper must be long enough to permit removal of such equipment without disconnecting or otherwise interrupting the bonding jumper.
 
jar546 said:
250.68(B) Effective Grounding Path.
The connection of a grounding electrode conductor or bonding jumper to a grounding electrode shall be made in a manner that will ensure an effective grounding path. Where necessary to ensure the grounding path for a metal piping system used as a grounding electrode, bonding shall be provided around insulated joints and around any equipment likely to be disconnected for repairs or replacement. Bonding jumpers shall be of sufficient length to permit removal of such equipment while retaining the integrity of the grounding path.

Therefore, water meters, water heaters and water filter systems are examples of equipment likely to be disconnected for repairs or replacement. Shorter bonding jumpers are more likely to be disconnected to facilitate removal or reinstallation of a water meter or filter cartridge. The bonding jumper must be long enough to permit removal of such equipment without disconnecting or otherwise interrupting the bonding jumper.
Click to expand...
And faucets....Those get replaced all the time....Without permits too....
 
jar546 said:
I may have better luck trying to pound sand up my *** with a rubber mallet than getting you to accept a point.
chris kennedy said:
Absolutely classic, thats funny stuff right there. :D
Click to expand...
I like the one about getting his pink panties in a bunch!
 
jar546 said:
Where necessary to ensure the grounding path for a metal piping system used as a grounding electrode, bonding shall be provided around insulated joints and around any equipment likely to be disconnected for repairs or replacement.
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The above text refers to ensuring the grounding (earthing) path for a grounding electrode. As such, for a metal water piping system, it would only cover the portion of the piping system between the 10 feet of underground length that qualifies the water piping as a grounding electrode, and the point of connection of the GEC and any bonding jumpers between electrodes. In other words, unless 250.68(C)(1) exception is being used, it does not apply beyond 5 feet from the entrance of the water piping to the building.

As to the topic of this thread, a hot/cold/gas bond at the water heater is a local practice in some areas that is a convenient way to demonstrate compliance with some of the bonding requirements in the NEC, but is not the only option for compliance and is not an NEC requirement.

Cheers, Wayne
 
wwhitney said:
The above text refers to ensuring the grounding (earthing) path for a grounding electrode. As such, for a metal water piping system, it would only cover the portion of the piping system between the 10 feet of underground length that qualifies the water piping as a grounding electrode, and the point of connection of the GEC and any bonding jumpers between electrodes. In other words, unless 250.68(C)(1) exception is being used, it does not apply beyond 5 feet from the entrance of the water piping to the building.

As to the topic of this thread, a hot/cold/gas bond at the water heater is a local practice in some areas that is a convenient way to demonstrate compliance with some of the bonding requirements in the NEC, but is not the only option for compliance and is not an NEC requirement.

Cheers, Wayne
Click to expand...
The metallic cold water pipe is bonded to the GEC so the cold to hot jumper is a continuance of that.
 
wwhitney said:
The above text refers to ensuring the grounding (earthing) path for a grounding electrode. As such, for a metal water piping system, it would only cover the portion of the piping system between the 10 feet of underground length that qualifies the water piping as a grounding electrode, and the point of connection of the GEC and any bonding jumpers between electrodes. In other words, unless 250.68(C)(1) exception is being used, it does not apply beyond 5 feet from the entrance of the water piping to the building.

As to the topic of this thread, a hot/cold/gas bond at the water heater is a local practice in some areas that is a convenient way to demonstrate compliance with some of the bonding requirements in the NEC, but is not the only option for compliance and is not an NEC requirement.

Cheers, Wayne
Click to expand...
And I think that is part of the problem...even "we" professionals continually blur the line between grounding "water pipe" and bonding "metallic piping systems"......
 
jar546 said:
The metallic cold water pipe is bonded to the GEC so the cold to hot jumper is a continuance of that.
Click to expand...
But such a jumper is not part of the grounding (earthing) path. If you removed it, you would not impair the performance of the grounding electrode system.

Note the opening remarks of 250.68: "The connection of a grounding electrode conductor . . . and associated bonding jumper(s) shall be made as specified 250.68(A) through (C)." Here "associated bonding jumpers" is referring to bonding jumpers used to interconnect the grounding electrodes.

The upshot is that 250.68(B) only applies to equipment between the underground portion of the water piping system and the point(s) on the water piping system where GECs and/or electrode bonding jumpers are installed.

Cheers, Wayne
 
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