Can you ground your gas line to the lighting rod coming off the roof of your house

NO!

Why do you need to ground your gas line in the first place?

It not allowed to use the gas piping as the Grounding Electrode for the residential grounding system. 2008 NEC - 250.52(B)(1) Gas Pipe: Not Permitted As a grounding electrode

However, you can and should bond the gas line together with the hot/cold pipes. This will serve to keep all of the pipes at the same level of potential.

2008 NEC - 250.104 (B) Other Metal Piping:

"Where installed in or attached to a building or structure, a metal metal piping system(s) including gas piping, that is likely to become energized shall be bonded to the service equipment enclosure, the grounded conductor at the service at the service, the grounding electrode conductor where of sufficient size, or the one or more grounding electrodes used.. . "

Before we provide any more answers, let's wait for Enjo to provide answers to Stan's question as to what the situation is, and why the question is being asked.

Bonding is greatly different than grounding.

And, before any gas piping is bonded, the local gas utility must be consulted as to what their requirements are.

TK,

I am not trying to be argumentative, but I am really curious about your answer because there is so much I do not know.

I can think of no logical reason why anyone in their right mind would bond a gas line to a lightning rod. That's a recipe for an explosion, is it not?

2008 NEC (250.104 (B)) requires that the gas line be bonded to the service panel? Why do you need to consult the gas company? They should know the code as it affects their residential gas lines. Is the requirement the same on earlier additions of the NEC? I ask this because this section of code is not highlighted to indicate that it has changed.

Sometimes " grounding " questions can be so exasperating.

I did not say the gas should be connected to the lightning ground rod, and it should not be.

And I am not saying that gas lines should not be bonded.


NFPA 70 is for electrical systems. Once you deal with natural gas, you now are dealing with another system and utility. It is wise to check with that utility, and they certainly are aware of NFPA 70. You now need to deal with NFPA 54 National fuel Gas Code. I chose not to deal with another code, I chose to contact that utility.

Here is at least one gas utility that does not want their gas lines bonded:

Do not use the gas meter for electric bonding (http://www.parisnaturalgas.com/PHCPUD/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=78:gas-meter&catid=38:emergency&Itemid=56)

If there is one, then likely there are more.


NEC Section 250.104(B) also states:
"The equipment grounding conductor for the circuit that is likely to energize the piping shall be permitted to serve as the bonding means".

250.104(B) also states to bond gas lines "that are likely to be energized".

In other words, most times the gas line serves something that is connected with a power feed, such as a gas furnace. The EGC in that circuit is sufficient to bond the gas pipe, as there is no way to avoid it from happening.


While your giving advice to connect a bond, I am giving advice to check with the gas utility first.

Here is one with an explanation of the confusion.

Is Gas Pipe Grounding Legal? (http://ecmweb.com/nec/code-basics/electric_code_basics_20/)

I responded recent to a bonding issue with the corrogated gas tubing. This tubing has created HAVOC with what's supposed to be done with respect to the NEC and the NFPA.

The concern is lightning strikes, where the strike passes through the corrogated tubing rupturing it which means the corrogated tube cannot serve as the bonding means.

So what if you use a piece of corrogated tubing to solid gas pipe and:

1. The equipment has an electrical connection?
2. The equipment does not have an electrical connection?

TK,
Thanks for the clarifications, most appreciated.

I've lived in 5 different sections of the U.S.A. and have never had a home with "Gas".

Kiss,

I don't understand the base situation. Are you saying that someone bonded a plastic tubing gas delivery system to the metal piping system within a home. Why? Plastic is not a conductor or is it now-a-days?

Do you think he was trying to ask if you could ground your lightning rod to a gas pipe, but just worded it funny

Either way you word it, it's just as potentially lethal.

CSST tubing is coated. Corrugated Stainless Steel Tubing (CSST) for Gas Distribution (http://www.toolbase.org/Technology-Inventory/Plumbing/corrugated-stainless-steel-tubing) It doesn't mean it's an insulator.

SUPPOSE a window was open and lightning struch an old ungrounded stove plumbed with CSST. It would find the gas line and rupture it.

Now suppose that same stove had a ground. It would find the path of least resitance, the ground and follow that and hopefully not travel down the CSST tubing.

This would say that in one case a ground should be run to the panel or hard plumb or use lined copper tubing.

In the case where there is a ground, it should be used. Question is, what size should it be?

What if the appliance is served with a 15 A circuit?
Is that little puny ground in NM-B cable adequate. SHould it be sized to the service ground?

Should it go from the appliance to the rigid pipe? (remember hard plumbed was OK and hard plumbed with lined copper (copper is OK in some places) is OK)

Plastic coated is not the same as plastic. At that energy and with metal fittings he coating is guaranteed to be compromised.

Yes, but if the gas line is bonded to the main service ground, the exposure would be appreciatively lower,

No, the equipment has to be if it's CSST. If it's black iron throughout the house then it doesn't matter. (My opinion).

CSST grounded at the service panel has almost no use.

Kiss - Not grounded, "Bonded"

If you keep all pipes at the same level of potential to earth ground, then the charge will dissipate into the earth ground. (Am I missing some principle here - Another Sr. moment?)

Remember, the purpose for the earth ground is to protect against surges?

You have me questioning myself, thanks. Back to the books I go!

There are a number of functions of grounding and bonding.

Lightning
Reasons for ground rod at remote buildings
Reasons for why lightning rods exist
Aerial wires
CSST tubing (the problem child)

Equipotential bonding
Swimming pools
Plumbing
Exposed metal.
e.g The device the CSST is connected to.

Fault currents
The "third prong"
Lightning strikes
It can't take the path of the CSST seeking the earth.

In order for this to work, you need a "reference".

What you don't want to happen is for CSST to be that path. It cannot support it. Particularly a lightning strike.