Should this pipework be bonded?

[Steve T]

Hi,
I was changing my kitchen tap in the weekend and saw that the main incoming water supply was bonded. However it got me thinking whether it actually should be or not, as I was under the impression that the main water pipe should only be bonded if its extraneous, ie if the underground pipe is metal or if there are any other underground metal pipes. In my house the underground incoming pipe is plastic for its entire length to the stopcock in the street. Also the cold water pipe that is bonded then runs into the wall and is converted to plastic speedfit. So the only metal parts of the main pipe are what is shown in the picture. The rest of the plumbing in my house is all speedfit apart from the parts that are on show. There is no bonding to any other copper pipes in the house.

So do you think it should be bonded or not? Also, if it should not be bonded, are there any dangerous situations that can arise from it being bonded?

The bonding conductor does go straight to the consumer unit, it is not connected to that socket even though it may appear so from the pic.
Thanks for any replies!

 

[Pete999]

Hi,
I was changing my kitchen tap in the weekend and saw that the main incoming water supply was bonded. However it got me thinking whether it actually should be or not, as I was under the impression that the main water pipe should only be bonded if its extraneous, ie if the underground pipe is metal or if there are any other underground metal pipes. In my house the underground incoming pipe is plastic for its entire length to the stopcock in the street. Also the cold water pipe that is bonded then runs into the wall and is converted to plastic speedfit. So the only metal parts of the main pipe are what is shown in the picture. The rest of the plumbing in my house is all speedfit apart from the parts that are on show. There is no bonding to any other copper pipes in the house.

So do you think it should be bonded or not? Also, if it should not be bonded, are there any dangerous situations that can arise from it being bonded?

The bonding conductor does go straight to the consumer unit, it is not connected to that socket even though it may appear so from the pic.
Thanks for any replies!View attachment 64279

Hi,
I was changing my kitchen tap in the weekend and saw that the main incoming water supply was bonded. However it got me thinking whether it actually should be or not, as I was under the impression that the main water pipe should only be bonded if its extraneous, ie if the underground pipe is metal or if there are any other underground metal pipes. In my house the underground incoming pipe is plastic for its entire length to the stopcock in the street. Also the cold water pipe that is bonded then runs into the wall and is converted to plastic speedfit. So the only metal parts of the main pipe are what is shown in the picture. The rest of the plumbing in my house is all speedfit apart from the parts that are on show. There is no bonding to any other copper pipes in the house.

So do you think it should be bonded or not? Also, if it should not be bonded, are there any dangerous situations that can arise from it being bonded?

The bonding conductor does go straight to the consumer unit, it is not connected to that socket even though it may appear so from the pic.
Thanks for any replies!View attachment 64279

Has the pipework been tested to see if it is extraneous?

 

[Steve T]

Has the pipework been tested to see if it is extraneous?

Not to my knowledge, I'm aware that you can't give me a definite answer as to whether it should be bonded or not without testing but I'm posting to get your opinion on the matter and mainly whether or not it can be dangerous if it should in fact not be bonded. If it could be a problem, I'll have to get an electrician out to test it, as I don't think I can do it myself can I?

 

[pc1966]

Generally speaking having it bonded is always the safest option.

If the external pipes are indeed plastic then you don't need it bonded, but there is not really any case where being bonded makes it less safe (given it is almost certainly connected somewhere due to a boiler supply or immersion heater, etc).

Same goes for any gas pipes entering the home, if plastic supply you don't needed it, but if already bonded just leave it as you gain nothing from removing it and it might just save a fault from damaging other wiring in your home (e.g. via small cable for gas ignition supply, etc) or potentially presenting a shock risk.

 

[Pete999]

Not to my knowledge, I'm aware that you can't give me a definite answer as to whether it should be bonded or not without testing but I'm posting to get your opinion on the matter and mainly whether or not it can be dangerous if it should in fact not be bonded. If it could be a problem, I'll have to get an electrician out to test it, as I don't think I can do it myself can I?

If you have the know how you can, and of course the appropriate test equipment, google is your friend plenty of instructional vid there.

 

[Steve T]

Generally speaking having it bonded is always the safest option.

If the external pipes are indeed plastic then you don't need it bonded, but there is not really any case where being bonded makes it less safe (given it is almost certainly connected somewhere due to a boiler supply or immersion heater, etc).

Same goes for any gas pipes entering the home, if plastic supply you don't needed it, but if already bonded just leave it as you gain nothing from removing it and it might just save a fault from damaging other wiring in your home (e.g. via small cable for gas ignition supply, etc) or potentially presenting a shock risk.

Thank you, I'll just leave it as it is then, I thought I remembered reading somewhere that if its bonded when it shouldn't be it could cause a problem in some cases, but clearly I've got that wrong.

 

[pc1966]

I remembered reading somewhere that if its bonded when it shouldn't be it could cause a problem in some cases, but clearly I've got that wrong.

There are sometimes things that don't need bonding because they are unlikely to "introduce" a potential, either by contact with the outside world (i.e. true Earth), or by a fault causing the exposed metalwork to become live. An example might be some internal metal decorations, etc.

In those cases if you bond it AND something nearby becomes live you have introduced the risk of a shock where it did not exist before.

That is not very common, and pipe work is very likely to "introduce a potential" somehow, so here I would say it is best bonded. Also the above advice helps avoid the earlier approach where if you stayed still long enough someone would attach green/yellow wire to your boots!

 

[richy3333]

Testing is the only way to answer your question. However it looks like the incoming pipe is plastic before going to copper. If so bonding is not required.

 

[GBDamo]

Not sure if it is really properly bonded anyway.

Looks like the bond disappears into that socket, using the CPC of that Circuit?

Plastic = no bond.

 

[Steve T]

Not sure if it is really properly bonded anyway.

Looks like the bond disappears into that socket, using the CPC of that Circuit?

Plastic = no bond.

It looks like that and that's the first thought I had as well, but it does actually go directly to the consumer unit.
Why would someone have bonded it if it wasn't necessary? Although we don't know for certain as I'm not able to test it.

 

[GBDamo]

It looks like that and that's the first thought I had as well, but it does actually go directly to the consumer unit.
Why would someone have bonded it if it wasn't necessary? Although we don't know for certain as I'm not able to test it.

Because to bond is rarely if ever incorrect (maybe unnecessary), not to bond requires a decision to omit and some underlying understanding of the fundamentals to back up that choice hence a lot of unnecessary bonding going on.

Not the end of the world, keeps the copper price up...