currently refurbing an old house. Had a sparky on the job to quote me for installing a new consumer unit. During his inspection he said that he couldn't locate an earth cable coming from the mains feed. No sign of earth entering from anywhere else. Where can I run a fresh earth cable from too my new consumer unit?
Cheers
Greetings Brian,
Your question doesn't appear complete enough for an answer but I am throwing something out there anyway in the hopes of getting a dialog started eventually leading to your answer. Let me first start by saying I don't know if I heard you right but I think you said the "mains feed" (aka Service Entrance Cable) doesn't have an equipment ground and that confused you. The equipment ground and neutral are bound at the main breaker box so a seperate equipment ground is not necessary in SE cable. (some people object to the use of neutral but we will use it here) You do however need to run a #4 bare copper wire from your main breaker box grounding lug to a grounding clamp on your metalic water pipe within 5 feet of where it enters your home. You should also continue this wire on to a grounding rod and connect it with an acorn clamp.
Hope this helps, William
PS: a) I live in the USA and so only know the NEC and even then only part of that. You could easily live in the UK, etc where the rules are different. b) You didn't provide enough information so I filled in some blanks. For instance, a #6 bare copper wire might work depending on your situation, you might not have metalic water pipes, etc. c) This is not a "full answer" but it might be enough to get you started on a google search.
HUH ??????????
He's probably in the UK.
sparky == electrician consumer unit == breaker panel earth == ground mains feed == electric supply fom power company.
His sparky should know what the rules are, and where to find a earth connection.
In the US, we would drive a ground rod, and bond it to the building water supply, and to the main service panel.
Yes, they do have some unusual terms.... No wonder I was lost with the original post ! I like Sparky, thats cute !!!
snipped-for-privacy@tantivy.tantivy.net
Sorry for the delay I have been on holiday and yes I am in the UK. Didn't realise this was a US forum, but thanks for your input anyway! I will look on UK site for more relevant info.
Cute??
Cheers
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