House Earth

[Bazile]

Just seen a thread , which has prompted me to ask the following question .

The mains electricity unit in our house is not not up to date .
We have still got fuses which have the wires in them .
If the fuse blows we replace the fuse wire .

Is it likely that the house is adequately earthed

All i can see is, under the stairs there is a wire that comes from under the floor adjacent to the wall and is then connected to the gas pipe .

We have lived in the house for 30 odd years

[EDDIE51]

Our house was built 40 years ago, we had the same as you.
Last year it was inspected and we were told it needed a full rewire.
Luckily it is a Housing association property so they paid the bill. It took 2 men 4 days !

[EDDIE51]

Fuse boxes are out of date now you need a consumer unit with earth leakage trips.

[Old_Geezer]

Sounds like it could do with an update, but I've known worse. Why not get an estimate ?

[Old_Geezer]

I take it that the cable insulation isn't rubber.

[The Builder]

A surprising number of houses still have re-wireables, Baz. On their own, they don't constitute a hazard. It all depends on the earthing arrangement.

The cable to the gas pipe is simply bonding. It's NOT an earth.

You may well have an earth provided by the supplier. Or, you may have an earth rod.

[Bazile]

Thanks for responding all

The Builder
What do you mean by bonding ?

How do i check to see if i have an earth provided by the supplier. Or, that i have an earth rod ?

[Ryzen]

Baz...have a look around the water stop tap to see if there's a similar bonding wire to the one on the gas.Then check to see if there's a thicker earth wire going from the fuse box and terminating at or near to the service fuse.Have a look around the house perimeter to see if you can find evidence of a ground spike. If you're not sure then get an inspection done by a qualified contractor.

[TonyV]

Baz "bonding " is simply a term for getting a good earth connection it can be through water or gas pipe that goes into the ground- all my pipes are cross bonded including the stainless sink

[douglas9401]

If your water supply in the street has been upgraded in the fairly recent past then the previous earth may not be there with the water company using plastic coated pipes now instead of the older iron work.

If the work's been done, householders should have been notified about arranging to have suitable earthing installed as a matter of urgency.

[Ryzen]

'Bonding' is the term used for earthing conductive materials within a building...eg.copper pipework.ducting,steel structures etc. Dont confuse with earthing.Bonding is when the parts above are connected to the main building earth terminal to create an 'equipotential 'zone. If left unconnected ..and a live conductor touched them then they would become and remain live to touch.Exposed conductive parts should not be used as earths.

[neuron]

Ryzen, the OP will only find a ground spike if he lives in a property with a TT earth system (No distribution earth). As you should be aware, TT systems are usually in properties with an overhead supply again usually in rural areas. Sometimes TT systems are found in farm buildings, swimming pools or a building site where the client is not prepared to pay for conventional methods of earthing.

I see no indication from the OP question that any of the latter situations apply, therefore I think we can exclude a TT sysem installation and in turn, there will be no ground spike.

The chances are that the property is a TN-C-S (PME Supply) using the earth terminal on the distributors cut-out or just possibly a TN-S (Cable Sheath Earthing) system. Neither of these require a ground spike.

[Ryzen]

neuron....Where has Baz indicated that he has not got an overhead supply?
As areas develop old overhead supplies are changed to underground but still remain TT systems. Many D.N.O's are becoming reluctant to provide any type of T.N.system as their supply cables are fast becoming unreliable at best. As an 'adviser' to the I.E.T. you should be aware of this common practice....P.S.did you sort your shelf in your shed..or are you 'still out of ideas'..LOL.

[neuron]

Ryzen, where has Bazile indicated that he has an overhead supply?

You claim that "Overhead Areas Develop". Far from it - I know of a considerable number of properties in the the rural area around my urban area where there is no development or will be in the near future. Don't write off overhead T-T systems and your remarks only serve to demonstrate your unfamiliarity with them.

D.N.O's are NOT becoming reluctant to provide T-N systems and they are not unreliable. Give W.P.D a bell and the Distribution Liason Team will put you right. Repost and I'll give you the name of an individual to speak to if you so wish.

By the way, don't forget to seek the back up of Bright Spark when the questions are beyond your remit to answer. You may find the support useful in responding to this question given that you needed it during a previous thread question when you stated "Where is Bright Spark when we need him" or something similar lol. That was pretty basic stuff too.

[Ryzen]

neuron.....if the area has not 'been' developed then common sense dictates that the TT service may well remain.Western Power Distribution are fast becoming the 'Ryanair' of the network..but will be very reluctant to communicate details to someone cleaning tables in McDonalds. Thanks for the offer of the contact details for WPD.. lol. Mind you dont fall when climbing those lamposts to read the meters.

[neuron]

Ryzen, didn't you say that TT areas are being changed to underground? Doesn't make sense to me but they are your words not mine! Nothing wrong with WPD - there are other DNO's out there that are far worse. Wouldn't it be far simpler if you just admitted you don't work within a WPD area? Go on, it won't hurt.

Are you telling me that you work cleaning tables in McDonalds? Can't see any reference to anyone else in the thread. No wonder you need Bright Spark's opinions. The next time he posts, ask him why there are no meters on the top of lamposts. Always best to get an expert when you're not certain lol.

[Ryzen]

:-)

[BRIGHT SPARK]

Must agree with Ryzen on this one.