Is There An Electrician In The House?

by Englishman 15 Replies latest jw friends

• 

  Englishman

  Just got a note through the door. Bristol Water are re-laying our streets water mains - in plastic. They say that this may mean that the electrical earthing system to our home will become non-functional, so, don't blame us if you get a belt Mr Englishman, you have been warned, and it's your problem to fix it! Hmm.

  Don't know about other countries, but the UK electricity system works on 240 volts with 3 pin plugs. Live , neutral and earth. The basic idea of an earth - or ground - wire is that in case of elctric shock, the current whizzes down the earth wire to the ground instead of going through you and making your eyeballs fry Green Mile style.

  Bristol Water says that their fitting of plastic piping will nullify this because, umpteen years ago, naughty sparks personnel would simply attached the earth wire to the water piping as this was a handy way of grounding electricty in an emergency. Plastic piping will, Mr Englishman, act as an insulator and stop this process, you must fit a new earth wire!

  So what I need here is advice please. My knowledge of electrics is on a par with my knowledge of ironing, I just don't know what to do and I'm blowed if I'm going to pay some so-called tradesman to sit and make banging noises with a hammer for half a day. I wanna do it myself!

  Any ideas?

  Englishman.
• 

  CoonDawg

  Simply go to the hardware or electrical supply house and buy a 1/2"X 8' solid copper ground rod. drive this into the ground near you foundation and hopefully near your fuse panel. Open your panel box and find the ground wire connection. (this is usually #4 bare copper either stranded or solid) trace this wire to find where it is attatched to your plumbing pipes. remove this connection and reconnect to the ground rod. This should solve the problem. (and this meets residential codes in the middle US, so it's not an unsafe fix.)

  Hope this helps.

  Coon
• 

  Farkel

  Mike,

  : So what I need here is advice please.

  It's the amperes that mess you up, not the volts. Volts are like the amount of "pressure" going through a water hose. Amps are like the quantity of water going through the hose. The more water going through the hose, the more dangerous it is to your health. When you get shocked by a 12 volt battery, it's like moving water through a straw at great pressure. When you get shocked by a utility line, its like opening a dam where the only "pressure" is gravity.

  Move to the USA. Although you will have to learn to speak a foreign language and will face a major culture shock (we don't have any), the good news is that if you are zapped, it will only be with 110 volts, instead of 240. The other good news is that we actually have food that (although not particularly good) is edible!

  Farkel
• 

  Beans

  Well here in Canada your main ground is on the city side of the water meter, this gives you your main ground. So if they are telling you this and you need a groung, yes drive a ground rod down attach a ground rod lug to the rod and find out the minimum size service ground conductor and run it to your panel directly for a sure connection.

  You must also check with your local utilities before you drive it down, if there is a lot of rock in your region you might want to get ground plates.

  I would also check with your Electrical Inspection dept!

  Beans
• 

  Sentinel

  Humm,

  I only know a little bit about this type of thing, and living in the United States, electricity is a bit different, but it seems to me that if they are effectively removing the "safety ground wire connection" that your home has to the "old pipes being replaced", you just have to make a substitute grounding deflector..

  To me, grounding a wire, simply means attaching it to something that will discharge current back down into the earth. If you simply locate that "end wire" that they removed, and put a metal stake into the earth, and re-attach the wire, wouldn't that fix the situation? (Of course, I'd probably turn off the electric while doing that.)

  I'm like you, I sure wouldn't want to pay a professional to do something that may be a very simple thing to fix. Even though I'm a woman, I have gone about finding solutions to a variety of things throughout life without having to pay someone else to do it. Sometimes, I just watched my husband, and put in my two cents worth, and together we solved many a household delemma.

  My best wishes to you in solving your problem. They sure picked a good time to do this, didn't they?
• 

  TruckerGB

  This could get interesting.I live about 200yds from Eman,in an upstairs flat.

  All the houses in our street where built around the 1890-1900s,so this could affect everybody.

  Watch this space.

  Cheers,

  Rich.
• 

  hillbilly

  Mike-- consult a good "how to" book that reflects the practices in the UK. Improper grounding of the neutral condutor can cause many safety issues for the folks in your home. Inadequate grounding can even cause stray current to appear in your neighbors home. Dont do anything unless you understand exactly how to do this job!

  If you attempt to do this work your self be aware that current may be circulating in the grounding system and may cause a current to flow across your body if it is placed in series between two "grounded" obljects.

  I dont know what your local rates are but I wouldnt think that a good electrical contractor would have over 3 hours tied up in doing a job like yours. It may be worth the cost - remember he is bonded or insured and responsible for any damage an improper job may cause. Not installing a ground (earthing) system correctly can cause a multitude of hazards in your builiding.

  HB ( a partial list of my credentials:over 20 years exp. as - Electrical lineman, Troubleshooter and licenced Electrician.)
• 

  Englishman

  Oh, thanks you luvverly people the advice you are giving me is really useful.

  Beneath my electric mains meter, which is downstairs BTW, we have wooden plank flooring. If I lift a plank, the ground below is just bare earth - well beach actually. I suppose that I could drive a copper rod straight down into this and just extend the existing earth wire (which is green coloured) and attach it to the rod with a suitable connector?

  Englishman.
• 

  hillbilly

  Englishman--

  That will likely work-- but you are likely by code not allowed to place joints or splices in the earthing conductor. And remember- how ever you do this you should maintain a connection from the grounding rod to the domestic cold water Plumbing system in the building. Go to your local hardware- electrical supply and ask a few questions. I am hesitant to offer much more advice as I do not know all the "ins and outs" of your area.
• 

  metatron

  You gotta find out what the electrical code regulations demand.

  Generally, it will be some kind of copper coated rod set deep into the earth
  that's commanded. Good Luck pounding it in if your soil is rocky. It then gets
  connected to the circuit breaker box ground.

  Plastic pipes are an unheralded modern invention - cheap, easy to work with,
  with an estimated lifespan of many decades - maybe more than a century if you
  sunlight, corrosives - and freeze ups away.

  metatron