R
radiohead
this is where i get really confused. im going to get somwone to do the job anyway but for my own sanity is there an explicit definition of "extraneous metal part"? i thought it was a conductive "thing" that enters the location (house) which may introduce a separate connection to earth and therefore may have different potential to MET. in my case this is ONLY the gas pipe (assuming its metal) but NOT my water main as that is plastic at point of ingres to the house. BUT then the gas pipe connects to boiler along with all CH pipes so are those, up to any point at which they become isolated by plastic pipe are also extraneous?Is then the hot water pipe from copper cylinder are also extraneous along with any water pipe that has a conductive path eg.copper hot water pipe to brass tap mixer which in turn has copper connection to cold water pipe.... and so on? my head hurts
There is no need to be confused, it really is very simple and you are rather over thinking it. An extraneous conductive part is defined as a metallic part which is not part of the electrical installation but which may introduce a potential, usually earth.
Consider a 'normal' building. Floors walls and ceilings are generally constructed of materials with a high resistance and low conductivity. An external metallic service entering the building is likely to introduce an earth potential by virtue of being in contact with the ground, so it is main bonded to the MET at the point of entry, beyond this point any metallic pipework is likely to be within the confines of an electrically insulated building and so should not pick up an external potential. The hazard has been dealt with at the point of entry, it matters not what any pipework does within the building from an electrical point of view. The common misconception that bonding is to prevent pipework becoming 'live' is totally incorrect. Other requirements are in place to prevent that, such as wiring being kept apart from other services. Where a conductive part such as an immersion heater, or motorised valve is connected to metallic pipework the pipe will be earthed because it is physically connected to the conductive part, and so will be protected against a fault to earth, but that is not the same as bonding.
Supplementary bonding is an additional measure only likely to be required in special locations, which do not include kitchens. I cannot think of a single instance where bonding a kitchen sink would be required. Even if the sink was tested and found to be extraneous it is almost certain that whatever the sink was attached to (pipe...structural steel etc) would be extraneous...NOT the sink. And of course an incoming metallic pipe or structural steel will have been or should have been main bonded anyway.
Far too much is made of testing to see if something is extraneous. It is nearly ALWAYS possible to ascertain whether bonding is required simply be observation of building structure and incoming services. Testing is nearly always misleading because of parallel paths. For example consider testing a heating pipe. It is likely to to be physically but indirectly connected to a gas service which whether bonded or not will be 'earthy'. The gas service will clearly need bonding, but a test may show the heating pipe should also be bonded. Simple observation will show the gas pipe is coming in from externally, in contact with the ground and will require bonding, but the heating pipes are completely within the confines of the building and cannot introduce an external potential.