Someone mentioned that SS splash backs should be earthed, are there any sensible reasons for this really being necessary? I certainly didn't earth mine and since the hob isn't installed *into* in and is not touching it (20mm gap) and no cables run behind it, I can't see the point. Noting that the SS extractor hood I fitted came with dire warnings and specifically *forbids* it being earthed...
There's no requirement for earth bonding in a kitchen. Having said that, I have earth bonded around my stainless steel kitchen sink. The sink is probably earthed through the plumbing anyway, but the bonding makes sure that it and the tap and the local socket earths are all bonded, so there should be no electrocution risk between them.
As for what's safest - that's a difficult call. If there's no way the panel can ever become live, it's better to leave it floating. If there's any chance it could become live (screw into buried cable, etc), then it's better to earth it. The cooker hood is probably designed such that it can't become live, by double insulating.
There is no one right answer.
the modern thing to do is to use plastic plumbing.
[Snip]
Eeewww...
Nope - it is not an "extraneous conductive part" and it's a kitchen, not a bathroom.
Pipes are bonded to other pipes and the CPC within a bathroom or shower (not kitchen) because they may bring in a potential difference from another part of the house and because being nude and wet, you are at a higher risk of even small potential differences.
You would not need to bond a stainless splashback in a bathroom - unless you felt there was a significant risk of it becoming live (eg wiring right behind it).
This harks back to the 1970's or so when people were bonding anything and everything in sight because the concept was not well understood.
Thanks, as usual clear and straightforward reply.
The cooker hood mentioned is indeed double insulated and since it's mounted on the panel in question there would have been a conflict of instruction should the panel have been needed to be earthed :)
Indeed :) I have seen metal shower rails and wall mounted bath hand grips with an earth wire attached in the past and wondered if it was more an ass-covering exercise than anything else.
Lee
You need to ask the electrician why he missed out bonding every link in the bath plug chain.
Are there any statistics for hospital admissions due to lacerations from the metal warning labels?
Due to bad wording of the 15th edition
earth bonding - I hate that term.
I cannot find anything that says the splashback should be earthed or be part of any supplementary bonding.
No not usually...
Assuming this is in a kitchen, then (contrary to popular belief) this is not a location that normally requires supplementary equipotential bonding, and the possibility of the splash back by itself introducing any potential (even earth) into the zone seems slim if its not in contact with any other conductive parts of the building.
It was probably a double insulated (class II) appliance...
+1
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