Electrical Grounding to Copper Pipe

[Ericrosey]

I own an older home, and there are three places that I can see where the electrical system is directly grounded to the copper water pipes. One of those wires comes directly from the electrical panel, but two others seem to come from individual circuits. The one that comes from the panel is directly connected to the water pipe where it enters the house. Right after the water main enters the house - right after the shutoff - the copper changes to PVC for about 15 feet, then back to copper. Are the circuits that are grounded to the copper pipes "past" the PVC actually grounded? I am asking because I would like to replace some of the copper with PEX, but I'm not sure what to do with the grounding wires.

 

[Don Farrell]

The electrical code calls for at least 10' of metal pipe from the connection point to the outside of the house.

My concern is the use of the PVC pipe. This breaks the bonding and grounding connections and puts you at risk of being shocked by touching metal (faucets, sinks, electrical cabinets).

However, since I cannot see exactly what you have, the other connections to metal piping may do what you need, provided they are not interrupted by any PVC pipe.

The way to fix that is to connect a bare copper wire to the metal pipe before the PVC and then after the PVC. This effectively jumpers around the PVC to protect the connection.

 

[Herrick]

There

The electrical code calls for at least 10' of metal pipe from the connection point to the outside of the house.

My concern is the use of the PVC pipe. This breaks the bonding and grounding connections and puts you at risk of being shocked by touching metal (faucets, sinks, electrical cabinets).

However, since I cannot see exactly what you have, the other connections to metal piping may do what you need, provided they are not interrupted by any PVC pipe.

The way to fix that is to connect a bare copper wire to the metal pipe before the PVC and then after the PVC. This effectively jumpers around the PVC to protect the connection.

There should also be a jumper across the water meter as well.