Earth bonding cable?

Feb 02, 2004 7 Replies

Hi folks,



Just a couple of quick questions, what size earthing cable needs to be employed in earth bonding a new sink in the kitchen and a stainless steel bath in the bathroom- the choices from TLC is 6491 x 6.0mm / 10.00 mm, 6491 x 25.0mm, 6491 x 35.0mm Green Yellow Earth wire. I figure it'll be either 6 or 10 mm wire but thought I'd better check!



Secondly whats the difference between EC14 and EC15 Earth clamps, both are for the same size pipes?


Cheers



Jeff


the difference is 4pence each EC14 being the cheapest hope it helps

one has brass saddle other has phosphor bronze saddles

4mm would be what you want.

SJW A.C.S. Ltd.

A kitchen sink does not need to be earth bonded unless it has a metal waste pipe in contact with the earth outside. However the incoming water service should be bonded to the main earth terminal (in or near the consumer unit) with a minimum of 10mm^2 cable (16mm^2 recommended) unless both the water main and the plumbing installation are plastic.

In the bathroom bond between the bath and any metal water & heating pipes and the circuit earths of any electrical equipment which is within the defined zoned areas (zones 0 - 3). The wire size required is only 4mm^2 and this does not need to be run back to the main earth terminal (this is local supplementary bonding). If the water pipes to the bath are plastic then the bath does not need to be included in the bondng scheme unless it is in contact with metal parts of the building structure. Bear in mind the object of the exercise, which is to ensure that any metal items that you might touch simultaneously are electrically connected together. More details and example diagrams can be found in the IEE on-site guide (ISBN 0 85296 987 2).

EC14 (brass) is for dry indoor use only; EC15 (phosphor bronze) is suitable for indoor or outdoor use. Both of those accept wires between 2.5 and

10mm^2. If you need to do any main bonding you might need the EC16 which will accept up to 2 x 16mm^2.

HTH

Thanks for the info everyone, it was much appreciated.

Cheers,

Jeff

(16mm^2 recommended)

by who? Never seen this on normal domestic wiring

-- Adam

adamwadsworth@(REMOVETHIS)blueyonder.co.uk

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