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A cheap plumber converted my plumbing from galvanized to copper last summer. He disconnected the copper ground wire from something galvanized. But then, there was also an old galvanized pipe sticking out of the ground that is now gone. That copper wire inside the house that connects to the main electrical panel of the house is just dangling now. There is also a wire dangling outside the house from the phone box, that I think was connected to something.. I wish to have some simple but specific instructions to do this myself. Do I simply attatch the copper wire to the new copper plumbing?
I have never liked the idea of sending an electrical ground through the plumbing. It may be perfectly safe (I really don't know enough about electricity to tell) but it doesn't seem to me like it would be.
What I DO know, is that you can get a grounding rod from your local Lowes/HD to attach the grounding wire(s) to. This is a 6-8 foot long (I forget which) copper rod about 1/2" in diameter. You pound it into the ground near your house, leaving only enough above ground to clamp the wires to it (don't forget to buy the clamp, too). Both wires should be able to attach to the same rod & it seems much safer to me than sending it through your plumbing. But I'll leave it to the electricians to tell you for certain about that.
In the UK it is now law that both cold water pipes AND hot water pipes should be grounded and we use ground rods that will screw together so that they go deeper depending on what sort of ground your house stands on.
If it is a rocky area you live in then you need to go as deep as possible with your ground rods as the earth conductivity is not as good as if the ground was loamy or contains clay and is constantly damp and wet.
Also in the UK it is also now law that gas pipes should also be attached to the earthing system.
I guess its etter to be safe than sorry and have the peace of mind that you carried out all you could so if there were an incident you would n regret doing more.
One problem with grounding to the plumbing system is that sometimes pieces of copper or galvanized pipe are replaced with plastic, and the system is no longer grounded. A copper wire and a couple of clamps can be used to bridge the gap. Electrical do-it-yourself books will be available at your local library. There are some other options for grounding if you can't pound in the rod (if you have shallow bedrock). Your question would have been better placed in the electrical forum - good luck!
be aware that you might need 2-3 ground rods bonded together depending on the size of your service panel. The type of soil you have also determines how many/what size ground you need.
Sandy soil is less conductive than clay soil.
If you have a well, water pipes are not a good ground source,
One other issue, if you have copper plumbing, sometimes the water meter has PVC nipples on it. (This breaks the contintuty to the city water) If this is the case you need to place a ground strap around the meter.
If you're not sure what your doing get a licenced electrican out to do the work.
You'll avoid a lot of problems down the road, you might also avoid an electrical fire.
