Grounding a 200 Amp electrical service?

Simply put, the inspector has the final say. My suggestion is just switch it out. Bigger won't hurt and its less trouble than getting an inspector pissed off at you for a simple fix. Inspectors can make you life miserable so it is best to work with them not against them. Some inspectors set standard higher than the books require because they see the problems that can arise daily, they are there to look out for your safety and will make decisions based on their experience. As far as the water line grounding it is very common in many areas contrary to your other responses. You need to follow your local requirements and the ground is usually connected to the water main before the meter with a jumper to the house side. This way if something were to short to a pipe it will trip your breakers / fuses before it boils you in the tub!

Hope this helps,

Grounding 200 Amp Service

The #4 wire you ran to the house water main is required as part of the electrical service. This wire is known as a grounding electrode conductor.Two eight foot ground rods driven in the ground a least 6 feet apart are also hooked up to a grounding electrode conductor.These are required according to the national electrical code in USA. Have done many services and have never sleeved this wire in a conduit. None the less, the inspector has the final say. Ask the inspcetor where it says it in the code book. Good luck.

It depends on the job, if you are installing an underground service, and the existing system is an overhead type, or the size of the service is much smaller, the price is not unreasonable for a qualified professional installation. The material for the panel, meter base, service entrance cable, grounding and breakers could be $2000, add 3-4 man days to do the work and the price is reasonable. Copper wire is very expensive right now and is not going to be cheaper in the near future.

I don't understand the inspectors concern over the conduit.

the ground wire is not insulated so the EMT becomes part of the ground also.

My concern would be grounding to the water line as the water line between my house and the side-walk meter is under-ground plastic so no ground exists except where the copper line goes thru the sidewalk which is not enough grounding surface. You should make sure the main line under ground is metal and not plastic..

In the front of the NEC an oft missed section sez: the authority having juristiction (your inspector) is the only one who has the power to ..'interpet' the code. This seems to be a small fix considering all that is to be considered in installing a new service.

I would first want to see a bond at each end of the conduit (making it part of the conductor). As a note we install a solid conductor, not stranded, and this is considered as not requiring further mechanical protection.

Hope this eases your pain.

The water main grounding is not all that hazardous as the ground is aslso carried to the utilities ground, however the ground is best on two 8' driven rods, about 6' apart.

you should never ground to a water line you could kill a bunch of people. the ground should be 1/2 ground rod driven into the ground at least 6 feet.

ROY is right, NEVER GROUND to the water main, "CODE" for my area is a ground rod like "Roy" said, WHY ? Because I work for the water dept., and what happens when I go to change the meter and get "BLASTED" from a short in your house that YOU didn't know about, if someone gets hurt from that ground, you're gonna get hit with a law suite that's gonna put you in the "POOR HOUSE" for SURE ! very dangerous ! USE THE GROUND ROD !

Talk with an Electrician to find out what he has to say, or pay off the Inspector