Water meter and house earthing responsibilities.

[Dano]

Sorry to be a bit vague on this one, just got off the phone to the GF who is seeking advice from her suppliers and CAB tomorrow but wanted to see if anybody had knowledge of this situation before hand.

She has just been informed by her water supplier that she is having a water meter fitted in the next four to six weeks, from the paperwork it appears that she has no choice whatsoever in the matter and further to this in the small print it goes on to mention that she must also make sure that her electrical system earthing in the house does not use the water pipes, which it currently appears to do, it's quite an old house.

I'm not sure of the exact details so may very well have the details wrong but from what I can tell she has been informed by the water supplier she has to have the house rewired (in the next four weeks) so as to make it safe for them to fit the water meter.

Can the water supplier actually fit a meter and leave the property in a potentially unsafe state like this and can they force her to accept a meter when to do so safely she would need to spend money she does not have on an electrictian to sort out the earthing issues?

 

[The_blue]

I had a water pipe earth. I ended up just getting a spike from Wikies and a length of earth wire plus 2 pipe/spike clamps.

Job done for £20.

 

[C.R.A.Z.Y]

I had a water pipe earth. I ended up just getting a spike from Wikies and a length of earth wire plus 2 pipe/spike clamps.

Job done for £20.

I hope you researched it heavily and hired out the relevant testers to check the installation was electrically sound

Creating a TT Earth system isn't as simple as banging an earth spike into the ground and running some cable to your MET!
Lots of calculations and tests need to be caried out and it's paramount that it's done perfectly, the Earth is an extremely important safety part of an electrical system and you won't know that it's not working until it's too late i.e you're dead
Also if it's not done correctly you then run the risk of becoming the earth for your entire street

Always get a professional in when dealing with gas/electrics, especially when it's the part of the system that is their to make it safe

 

[MeEsH BaKkA]

OP, get a sparks round to make sure that you are not confusing the main bonds as the main earthing. Both your gas and water pipes should have an earth clamp with earth wire leading from it, but this does not mean they are being used as the earth just that they are bonded to the rest of the earthing.

How old is the house and is in out in the middle of nowhere, if its ancient and in a field you may have a problem.

 

[Dano]

House is around c1950 I think, would need to check to be sure, will take that advice of getting a sparky in to double check, she had one in a while back to diagnose a dead light in the kitchen (no, it wasn't the bulb ) and he was the one who told her it was an old style wiring system with no earth.

Thanks.