High Impedance Earth, advice

[JohnW2]

yep that's all I can see

Oh dear. It's a very long time since it was permissible to use a water supply pipe as an earth (if that's what you have) - for the main reason that one day the supply pipe will become plastic and you'll have no earth at all.

I think you need an electrician - but close your ears when he/she first gets sight of that wiring!

Kind Regards, John

 

[Lareon]

the worst part it, the house was renovated 15 years ago, so i assume this was all done then...

ok so forget the dno, get an electrician in?
what should i ask him to do exactly and how much very roughly (hertfordshire) just so i know.

 

[John D v2.0]

water supply pipe as an earth (if that's what you have) - for the main reason that one day the supply pipe will become plastic and you'll have no earth at all.

From the latter photo it looks like there is already a blue water supply pipe. That doesn't look like a water supply pipe with the clamp (maybe it used to be!)
What's the difference between an earth rod and a redundant water supply again?

 

[JohnW2]

From the latter photo it looks like there is already a blue water supply pipe. That doesn't look like a water supply pipe with the clamp (maybe it used to be!)

Yes, maybe - but there's no telling where that bit of pipe comes from. You're certainly right that the water supply pipe appears to be plastic - I hadn't noticed that.

What's the difference between an earth rod and a redundant water supply again?

Well, the main difference is that one would hope that an earth rod would have a lower resistance than 2.7kΩ

But, seriously, as above, one just doesn't know what that bit of pipe is, how long it is, or whether it actually goes 'into the earth' at all.

If it were a redundant water pipe that had been shown to be adequate as an earth electrode, it would be essential that it had one of those metal warning thingies attached to it - since, otherwise, someone could remove the pipe, thinking that the attached G/Y was just an old ('redundant') bonding conductor.

Kind Regards, John

 

[JohnW2]

ok so forget the dno, get an electrician in? what should i ask him to do exactly ...

I would suggest that you ask him/her to look at the earthing arrangements, which you believe are inadequate, and to explain to you (with costings) what needs to be done to make it safe.

Since you do not appear to currently have a DNO-supplied earth, there's probably not a lot of point in talking to them. The electrician might suggest that to try to get a DNO earth would be the best option, but they could well charge you for that (if they can do it).

Kind Regards, John

 

[securespark]

I found quite a few subterranean TT supplies in Staffs and many of these had an earth rod buried in concrete under the floor.

One guy i met was told by his spark to wet the floor round the concrete-bound rod every day!!

 

[John D v2.0]

One guy i met was told by his spark to wet the floor round the concrete-bound rod every day!!

I bet you could achieve that with some creative plumbing modifications!

 

[JohnW2]

I bet you could achieve that with some creative plumbing modifications!

I once saw a branch from a gutter drown pipe that was directed towards an outdoor earth rod.

Kind Regards, John

 

[echoes]

Time for this again:

Untitled

• echoes
• 22 Jun 2011
• 1

 

[ban-all-sheds]

Try that on clay soil and you will soon realise the farcical nature of the preference for soakaways over surface water drainage connections.

 

[Lareon]

Just an update for you guys,

The DNO came out and had one look and said it was pme and took a reading from source of 0.33 ohms.
they were quite annoyed that the guy installing it hadn't taken a reading from the consumer unit and also that he'd told me to ring them.

the earthing to the pipe they said was just to bond the central heating.

they fitted an earthing block with an earth wire going into the cutout for the installer to come back and wire into.

Just an update for everyone that helped out.

Thanks guys

 

[ban-all-sheds]

Just an update for you guys,

The DNO came out and had one look and said it was pme and took a reading from source of 0.33 ohms.
they were quite annoyed that the guy installing it hadn't taken a reading from the consumer unit and also that he'd told me to ring them.

But why did they come, given

I rang the DNO and they said the electrician should have taken a reading from the cutout and they couldn't do anything until he does that.

I did ring the dno and they said they wouldn't do anything until a reading was taken from the cutout.

?

 

[ban-all-sheds]

Just an update for you guys,

The DNO came out and had one look and said it was pme and took a reading from source of 0.33 ohms.
they were quite annoyed that the guy installing it hadn't taken a reading from the consumer unit

That would have made no difference - you may well have a PME supply provided, but you are not using the earth from it. There is no earth conductor from here to your installation:

the earthing to the pipe they said was just to bond the central heating.

Well, it would be doing that if there was an earth to bond the pipes to.

But there isn't, what that conductor is doing is providing the only, and woefully inadequate, earth you have.

they fitted an earthing block with an earth wire going into the cutout for the installer to come back and wire into.

They would have had to come out and do that anyway. There's no indication anywhere to tell someone that it's a PME supply, so an electrician can't just decide to connect the installation earth to the incoming neutral.

And if they didn't connect that block to the earth bar in the CU then you still have no earth, and you must get that resolved as soon as you can, if not sooner.

Great time of year - you should DIY if you can't get somebody out.

 

[aptsys]

As above. I don't quite understand what they expected the electrician to do, no earth is provided and I assume they cannot tell the network is PME by just looking at the service head.

 

[ban-all-sheds]

No, they can't.