People PLEASE!!!!!

[Eigenvector]

While I'm sure it's my own fault for getting the anecdotal facts wrong, so far I've only heard one person actually address the basic question - which is why is bonding wire so much larger than grounding wire.

But come on, let's try to stick to the question here and not get bogged down by the anecdotes!

Let me be clear, I DO NOT MISTRUST OR SUSPECT THE WORK AS BEING SUBSTANDARD OR NOT TO CODE. I'm sure it's perfectly fine, to code, and more than adequate for my service. It was performed by a bonded and licenced electrical company. Please ignore my mistaken eyeballed measurements about wire sizes, ground rod distances.

[HeyBub]

Because a dump truck is bigger than a bicycle. Because a 747 is bigger than a kite.

They do different jobs, for different reasons, and have different requirements.

[Steve Barker LT]

The fact is, that he may have created the plumbing bond wire by "cabling" several smaller bare wires (that he had already) as opposed to buying another x number of feet of #6.

[John Grabowski]

I agree. He may used what he had on the truck to get rid of it. Sometimes electricians get stuck with short pieces that are too expensive to throw out.

You can always go out and buy your own code book and look up the requirements yourself.