EPS

[Stinsy]

Just out of curiosity, following earlier comments, when we had a water meter fitted, the YW contractors removed the old metal stopcock and replaced it with a plastic fitting into which the meter was screwed. Given the water pipe spplying the gouse is copper and earth bonded near the Electricity meter, shoud the earth normally be checked by a sparky if you have a water meter fitted? Our house was completely rewired and a new non-smart meter fitted after the water meter was changed.

If the house has been rewired, the bonding would have been checked and improved if necessary. You can get a spark to check the water meter installer hasn’t disturbed the bonding clamp if you like. But this is “bonding” not “earthing”.

[Countrypaul]

Just out of curiosity, following earlier comments, when we had a water meter fitted, the YW contractors removed the old metal stopcock and replaced it with a plastic fitting into which the meter was screwed. Given the water pipe spplying the gouse is copper and earth bonded near the Electricity meter, shoud the earth normally be checked by a sparky if you have a water meter fitted? Our house was completely rewired and a new non-smart meter fitted after the water meter was changed.

If the house has been rewired, the bonding would have been checked and improved if necessary. You can get a spark to check the water meter installer hasn’t disturbed the bonding clamp if you like. But this is “bonding” not “earthing”.

The house was reweired after the water meter was changed and everything was checked then. The question was a more general one, if an older house is relying on the water pipe for earthing (rightly or wrongly) then changing the water meter could affect the earthing - so should a house's earthing be checked if a water meter is fitted that could redue the amount of earthing, ie. not having a metal pipe linked to all the houes in the street, but only a few feet to the palstic water meter housing?

[Stinsy]

Just out of curiosity, following earlier comments, when we had a water meter fitted, the YW contractors removed the old metal stopcock and replaced it with a plastic fitting into which the meter was screwed. Given the water pipe spplying the gouse is copper and earth bonded near the Electricity meter, shoud the earth normally be checked by a sparky if you have a water meter fitted? Our house was completely rewired and a new non-smart meter fitted after the water meter was changed.

If the house has been rewired, the bonding would have been checked and improved if necessary. You can get a spark to check the water meter installer hasn’t disturbed the bonding clamp if you like. But this is “bonding” not “earthing”.

The house was reweired after the water meter was changed and everything was checked then. The question was a more general one, if an older house is relying on the water pipe for earthing (rightly or wrongly) then changing the water meter could affect the earthing - so should a house's earthing be checked if a water meter is fitted that could redue the amount of earthing, ie. not having a metal pipe linked to all the houes in the street, but only a few feet to the palstic water meter housing?

I get your point. It is not permitted to rely on a water (or gas or anything else) pipe for earthing. The connection is for “bonding” to ensure that all possible sources of connection to Earth within the property are at the same potential. And it for exactly the reason you describe. What happens if the gas company swap the pipe from metal to plastic? If you were relying on that as your protective earth you’re in trouble and have no way to know that.

You can rely on your own earth spike or the earth connection provided by the power company. Even is a fault occurs with one of these you are protected within the property by the bonding. (Outside is a whole other problem).