Ground wires! Whats the deal with ground wires on copper water lines for my house? Im swapping totally over to Pex. I want every waterline to be Pex and every drain to be PVC. Can i delete all my ground wires? Is it safe if its all pex pipe with zero grounds? If not, where do i hook a ground and how often? Do i run them to my bus bar in breaker box?

1970 brick home on crawlspace. 1200 sqft, 2 full bathrooms and a kitchen. My electric water heater is the only appliance in the system. It has copper lines with a ground at the connections running into the attic to the breaker box i assume. No dish washer yet. . Everything is 3/4in copper lines with 1/2in copper service lines. I see a few ground wires on these pipes. Google isnt much help on this subject. I have an electrician friend i can ask but i dont know any real plummers. Figured id start here! So my questions are: Do i need ground wires attached to my new pex water lines? If so, where and why? Why are those grounds there? Are they there for the water heater accidentally electrically charging the system or like a dish washer? Any useful help is much appreciated.

You actually need electrical help. Drive 2 ,8ft ground rods at least 6 ft apart and ground to them . Your pex stuff cannot be grounded so just forget that one

That's good advice but be sure to bond each ground rod with a common conductor.
You need one common house ground.
The practice of using steel or copper water lines is outdated and no longer found in any building codes.

I would listen to what the guys above said. They still bond the water line on commercial jobs at the main panel, but that's just extra.

Back in the old days when them dresser coupling come out, people would use them to fix the main waterlines in the house. Then when they would get in the shower or run water in the sink it light that azz up, lol. That's what I always heard anyways. They had quit using them when I started doing that kind of work in 96, but would see it occasionally on older homes.

You need to get a professional out there or your gonna end up with alot of lectrical problems and possibly health problems.

Sounds like a good time to call the Man

So i still need a ground even though its completely pex? Im getting rid of every ounce of copper all the way up to each fixture by the way.

Yes!!

go look out by your meter and see if you have a ground rod in the ground, it'll have a bare copper wire run down to it.

Had them in the house I grew up in. Was told so you wouldn't get shocked by a lightning stick due to the metal pipes being in the ground. Folks wouldn't let us take showers if it was stormy.

i wont get in the shower if its lightning

Your ground isn't for the water lines. You really need to call the man. I'm out.

Ok.... and what does it attach to? I don't have any metal in the system anymore. This is my problem. I dont know how to attach a ground wire to a plastic pipe?

When you ground to the water pipe it's a bond, not a ground. So that a short cannot energize your whole water system. If it's pex this issue is moot.your electrical system definitely needs to be grounded and should already have one rod so just add a second one at least 6 'away. If you have a friend that is an electrician it would be highly advisable to get him to do it. Not real hard but needs to be done correctly

I have ground rods in the ground with ground wires attached that lead back to the copper water lines. Im just trying to figure out how to run it to my pex water lines since im removing my copper lines. Thats my problem. I dont know where or how to ground it to my water line. Im aware of why its there....from lightening and or electrical charged water line. Im lost on how to ground that end coming from the ground rod.

Jake I'm an idot when it comes to plumbing construction carpentery.Call the man before you get in too deep and hurt yourself.

No way to ground pex even if you wanted to.

at least one wire goes from ground rod to panel right?


probably just hook it into the panel and maybe into the other rod if possible.(let a pro look at it) I havent done residential in years, so i would take these other guys word over mine. But if you have atleast one ground rod your gonna be alright for now, unless some dumbazz used the water line as a ground for one of the circuits. But the only thing that'll happen then is a circuit will quit working.

Grounds are for your electrical not the plumbing. The two ground rods at the box will cover you if connected to the bus.

The original guy who posted about the PEX fittings with a ground was making a joke...

Meth?