Steel Tubing Need Earthed?

[Guest]

The walls are all metal and the tubing is screwed to it. i know that the screws may rust and stop conducting though.

Yeah, that's the thing. The saddles and fixings aren't classed as a reliable means of earthing.

Also, have you checked the effectiveness of the earthing on the building structure?

[tinnitus]

i have checked nothing to do with earthing. i thought i was doing him a favour now i think its going to cost us to get a sparky out. we cant touch the live side of leccy.

[Guest]

Earth rod?

Exisiting earth block, main earthing terminal accessible?

Still need to be able to test it though so maybe you will need a sparky to do it.

[luggsey]

Earth rod?

Don't add a earth rod!

That could be electricaly unsafe if there is a fault with the local PME earth.

Despite what was said earlier in the thread about a saddle not being a good enough earth path, is the conduit continous without breaks? If it is have you screwed any of the conduit boxes to the building steel structure? If you have and the building it's self is earthed then I would suggest that with all the fixing saddles which are a nut and bolt connection not much different to an earth clamp, metel screws through conduit boxes (supposed) that adding another earth cable is overkill, but if you feel you should then just cross bond it to the nearest local metelwork you know is already bonded, like a cold water pipe or main building steel frame. I would be happy with that if I tested the electricial safety of the site.

[camerabloke]

But is'nt it classed as an extraneous conductor? I often see structural steel work in buildings with earth clamps etc on them, so I wonder if this is why it should be earthed. It could potentially become live could'nt it?

QFA

[tinnitus]

i still don't know. it wasn't mentioned today. I'm going to leave it. it cant become live all on its own and what ever could potentially make it live could just as easily(or not) make anything else metal live. its steel tubing running along the outside of a metallic walled building, connecting a container, what could go wrong? lol

[luggsey]

only on a domestic.

Sorry I thought it an obvious joke! Wrong smiley I suppose.

Thinking about it a little more I suppose as an electricial safety conductor it should be connected by a sparks in theory?

Tell him to use bloody plastic conduit next time! Oh, that won't comply with reg 34422837, subsection 474645645, ias ssis nacoss playschool little boys club paragraph 9.3 letter ii page 239973 of the Who swollowed the book club!! He He, I hate bloody rules really!