In some cases, seemingly minor steps are overlooked during the installation or replacement of constituents in an electrical system. But with these victories and the media coverage surrounding it, Chris Sloan became pigeonholed as an advocate of low-voltage lighting in pools and spas. In this article, industry and electrical professionals discuss whether high-voltage illumination should be banned from pools and spas, where problems exist, and what can be done to further safeguard installations. This guide shows how to add a new bonding wire to this grid when you are adding a new electrical unit to your pool system. Often, when pumps and motors are replaced, these items go missing, perhaps when the original is damaged and the technician doesn't have a replacement on hand. How to attach #8 bonding wire to IG steel pool wall panels. "So there are two hot [120-volt] conductors coming into the motor without protection around the conductors, " Brotz says. While the NEC specifies junction boxes should be listed for pool or spa use by a third-party testing agency, some local jurisdictions don't. The fittings can go on the pool pump water pipes or in the skimmer or by other means.
How To Attach Bonding Lug To Pool 8
There is a chance the pool was improperly bonded if the pool was built before recent changes to the electrical code were enforced. If you want to learn more about how to keep your pool up to code and safe to use, you'll want to research your specific area's code requirements. Grounding or Earthing is the process by which the bonded pool components are connected to the earth. Bonding wire around pool. Finally, the wire attaches to the ground bus bar in the circuit breaker panel, which itself is connected to earth ground through a combination of ground rods, cold water pipes, building foundation steel, etc. All requirements for equipotential bonding, including bonding of the pool water, can be found in NEC Section 680. They are not foolproof. "All I can say is there was an electrical short in our house, on our property, " says Sloan, who must choose his words carefully due to pending litigation.
How To Attach Bonding Lug To Pool Party
Dear Mr. Electrician: How do I fix my in-ground swimming pool bonding? In addition, all metal within 5 feet of the inside of the pool wall must be bonded with the equipment to form the equipotential bonding grid. Does anyone have any pictures of what all I need to use to attach the bonding wire to the steel wall panels? In another example, if the pool pump shorts, it can pass electricity through the internal water (pool water). Being tied together as such means each metal component carries the same electrical potential. Pool Electrical - Bonding Lugs & Bonding Wires For Equipment and Fences. An electrician, a pool maintenance person, a pool technician or a pool contractor often does this type of work. There are strict rules and codes to bonding of pool equipment and its surrounding objects (windows/doors). Drill through the bottom of the skimmer at the recessed pilot point. When you rub your feet on the carpet, you build up negative charge on your skin and clothes. By the same token, many industry professionals reiterate Brotz's statement that 120-volt lights are safe if installed correctly, with the appropriate components, bonding and grounding.
Bonding Wire For Swimming Pool
Answer: Although swimming pool bonding is not very difficult to fix if you know the National Electrical Code requirements, it is best left to professionals due to the high risk of injury or death if done improperly. SOLUTION FOR A LACK OF BONDING. Grounding is the process of providing a low-resistance pathway to ground for any powered device (like a pool pump, for example). If a person steps in the way, he or she could become that path, or conductor. The above swimming pool lighting transformers were all required to be bonded. "Even in recent history, in some cases the light's been blamed, and really didn't have anything to do with it, " says Bill Hamilton, Ph. To bond a component means to electrically tie it with all specified elements, such as the pump, motor, ladder and even the water, to create a "bonding grid, " and minimize the difference in voltage from component to component. How to attach bonding lug to pool party. NOTE: Before pouring concrete or backfilling dirt, have building inspector verify bonding. If items were not bonded, electricity could roam freely which can be deadly to someone swimming. An embedded copper wire exits the back of the skimmer and is perfectly located for connection to the pool bonding wire or grid.
Bonding Wire Around Pool
Isolated, that is until a big, pink, watery meat sack comes along to clean out the pump strainer basket... This is a predictable electromechanical process, and one that can actually be used to help protect your pool equipment. The reason that bonding needs to exist is manifold: If a difference in electrical potential exists, a current pathway can be created, which results in a sudden balancing of electrical potential in the form of an instantaneous current transfer. Bonding wire for swimming pool. At present it is necessary to equipotentially bond all exposed conductive parts of any electrical equipment in the defined zones. Though the National Electrical Code has instituted numerous safeguards to prevent 120-volt incandescents from emitting current into water, low-voltage lights have long been considered another safety measure. If both ends of the pipe have equal pressure the water will not move, regardless of the level of pressure.
Bonding Lugs For Pool
If the pump is bonded and grounded properly, that minimizes the hazard because the breaker will trip; however, this safeguard should be done observed. What is Pool Bonding. Hamilton relates the story of a California inspector who found two installations where the. The equipotential bonding conductor must be connected to the earthing conductor associated with each circuit supplying the pool or spa. But, especially for those such as Sloan who have suffered a loss due to pool and spa electrocution, the point is that these deaths seem avoidable.
If low-voltage lighting will reduce the chances of electrocution, they ask, then why not require it? "And if nobody's testing them, then you've got a problem. In addition, according to article 680. The bonding lug is a pressure wire connector with a screw to secure the bond wire. 7 of the Wiring Rules. To get this backward is to send potentially hundreds of volts to the lights. If your pool is shocking you, contact your pool company or a certified electrician to solve the problem.
These outlets detect when your electrical equipment may be drawing too much power (such as during a short or fault) and interrupt the circuit. From a theoretical standpoint, each individual component could be viewed as "one component" even though in the real world they are spread all over your backyard. If one piece of equipment becomes energized from a fault in the system, then there is a difference in potential from one element to the other, causing current from the more energized component to seek a path to the less energized component, in order to equalize. Every pool needs to be fun, every pool needs to be well built and every pool needs to be safe. "I have come to the point where I strongly believe there needs to be an electrical certification class for pool people who touch electrical work, " he says. "GFI circuit breakers can fail, " says Irv Chazen, Builder's Committee chairman and government liaison for the Associated Swimming Pool Industries of Florida. Instead, he's found incidents related to inadequate, damaged or absent bonding in concrete pools, as well as concurrent sources of stray current related to the wiring in other premises. The water and mostly outdoor locations create their own challenges, which often must be met by special components. One issue should be put to rest immediately, lest it cause distraction: It was not a high-voltage light that caused the death of Chris Sloan's son. Article 680 in the National Electrical Code (NFPA 70) has all of the grounding and bonding requirements for all types of in-ground and above-ground swimming pools, hot tubs, fountains, and similar types of artificial bodies of water. In some ways, this is the same basic concept as a static shock from touching a doorknob.
This often results in a tingling or stinging sensation when a person touches the handrail, ladder, pool coping, or water from outside the pool. Hayward, Water Bonding Kit, Skim Master Skimmers | SP1070BOND. This is how a sacrificial anode can help to protect important (and expensive) pool equipment from damage and this is something that all pools should have, and all salt water pools must have. His passing left his parents with a new aim: to advocate for electrically safe pools and spas to spare others the same tragedy. A true examination of electrical safety merits a holistic approach, they say, one that accounts not only for safeguards surrounding the vessel, but those around the home as well, because current can travel to the pool from outside its immediate area. It will naturally flow from an area of higher pressure to an area of lower pressure. Lid should not be more than 2" longer then support arm. When a short occurs, this path could be through a piece of bare metal, wood framing, or a person touching a piece of equipment. "Instead of knocking it down by a factor of 10, the transformer is now a step-up transformer. 5″ Hose Barb on one end with a 1. 3 of the Wiring Rules for sizing of the earth bonding conductor. High voltage then could be sent to the low-voltage light.
I drilled and tapped holes in the strut and used stainless steel 10/32 screws with nuts to attach the lay-in lugs to the strut. If you have made the switch to nicheless lighting or plastic niches with no changes to how you are bonding a pool, then that pool is not safe! But, as a home owner and real estate agent, you might be able to better understand the importance of bonding when your home inspector calls this out on their report. Secure plate with supplied nut. First, electrical work can be dangerous, especially around swimming pools. Grounding enables faster circuit breaker action, and bonding ties conductive metal parts together so they have the same electrical potential. I bought some of these and was planning to use them with the same self drilling/tapping screws used to attach coping to top of wall panels. On April 13, 2014, 7-year-old Calder Sloan, a deft swimmer and intense liver of life, was in his Miami backyard pool when stray current entered and caused his electrocution. As discussed, this will provide cathodic protection to your pool equipment, which results in increased rust resistance. It seems the goal was increased brightness; however, the alteration flew in the face of the NEC, not only because the voltage exceeded the 150-volt limit, but also because it involved components not listed for use with the lights. An equipotential bonding conductor in accordance with clause 5. That ground rod actually connects to the rebar inside your home (if you have a concrete block home), and to all the electrical panels, and your pool equipment! For other grounding and bonding topics written by me click here. In Hamilton's observations inspecting pool and spa electrical systems, the light itself was rarely the problem.