Did they ground my coax/dish properly?

[andyg]

Hi guys,

Yesterday I had people over to install dish network.
I have noticed that the guy grounded the coax cable to the cold water pipe, but a plastic pipe, not metal. I was surprised because there were also copper and galvanized pipes within reach, but he chose the plastic pipe for some reason. Was that guy a complete a$$hole for doing that, or is that one of the proper ways of doing it?

If it is wrong, I would rather fix it myself then to deal with all the hassle of making a service call for them again. So, what should I do?

Thank you,
andy

 

[qwert1515]

It should be grounded to a metal pipe, plastic doe not conduct electricity.

 

[vurbano]

metal water pipe connected to the network of city water pipes.

 

[Andrewwski]

Call him back out now...no, wait, call another guy, becuase he's just plain stupid to ground it to plastic.

Or move it to the metal COLD water pipe yourself.

 

[ff1520]

Water pipe is a poor ground at best and one hooked to plastic pipe is worthless. Many cities have been installing PVC water mains for years, as PVC doesn't conduct it makes a lousy ground, water pipe can't be counted on for a proper ground. Best to get to the electrical service ground.

 

[volkodav]

ground is a sour subject here because it changes from day to day.
how far away are is it from main water in? if it is grounded to water pipe it have to be connected 6 ft or under from where it comes from the ground. (at lest thats a law in my state) also make sure it is not PVS coming from ground

 

[WiCkeDuDe]

Plastic will not conduct current for use as a ground??? Your kidding me.....

 

[Jared Twomey]

ha, take a picture before you fix it... just in case you ever need it

 

[DirectDishNet]

Hey, That was me..... I used a plastic dish so I had to ground to plastic...duh

 

[shammer]

your just lucky he tried. my customers have to pay extra to actually watch tv. all that 100dollar a roll copper ground wire dont just grow on trees........ it comes from a place where they make wire.

 

[3ddi]

stuck on grounding questions???, wanting to keep all my connection inside & away from the elements [toronto], is it safe to install my grounding blocks inside where it just comes through the the wall, once inside, my grounding wire has a 50-60ft run with no sharp bends, thinking of using #10 or #8 copper wire [stranded] with a copper connector to copper 3/4" water pipe, all inputs are helpful, thx

 

[andyg]

Hey, That was me..... I used a plastic dish so I had to ground to plastic...duh

yeah right!

 

[andyg]

your just lucky he tried. my customers have to pay extra to actually watch tv. all that 100dollar a roll copper ground wire dont just grow on trees........ it comes from a place where they make wire.

well I am not a professional installer, he is. So he should know that kind of stuff. saving a roll of copper wire is not a good excuse to violating the code..and pissing the customer off!

 

[ddgtomahawk]

haha thats an oxymoron ground and plastic yeah right what a ....i would have him come back out just for laughs id walk over to the ground with him and say well do you think the plastic pipe goes 6 feet into the ground if not the electricity traveling through this PLASTIC PIPE into the ground my not be grounding maybe we should get plastic ground wire if the grounds not the same material there will be corrosion so lets be thorugh

 

[andyg]

haha thats an oxymoron ground and plastic yeah right what a ....i would have him come back out just for laughs id walk over to the ground with him and say well do you think the plastic pipe goes 6 feet into the ground if not the electricity traveling through this PLASTIC PIPE into the ground my not be grounding maybe we should get plastic ground wire if the grounds not the same material there will be corrosion so lets be thorugh

will grouding to the metal water pipe cause pipe corrosion?

 

[ddgtomahawk]

The following instructions apply to a ground block only. The ground connector material should match the ground source material to prevent corrosion which could degrade the conductivity qualities of the ground.

 

[andyg]

The following instructions apply to a ground block only. The ground connector material should match the ground source material to prevent corrosion which could degrade the conductivity qualities of the ground.

I see...so say if I want it hooked up to a copper pipe, then I would need a copper grounding block and a copper grounding wire?

and say if I need to connect to a galvanized pipe, I would need a galvanized grounding block and what kind of wire then?

 

[bhelms]

stuck on grounding questions???, wanting to keep all my connection inside & away from the elements [toronto], is it safe to install my grounding blocks inside where it just comes through the the wall, once inside, my grounding wire has a 50-60ft run with no sharp bends, thinking of using #10 or #8 copper wire [stranded] with a copper connector to copper 3/4" water pipe, all inputs are helpful, thx

That's pretty much exactly what I did, except I ran to the electrical entrance ground (preferred for a number of reasons, helps avoid "ground loops", etc.) vs. a water pipe that, as others have said, could be a dubious ground. I ran #10 stranded THHN (insulated) wire all the way from the dish itself, alongside the coax cables, through the hole in the wall then located the ground block there, out of the weather. The THHN was stripped at that point but otherwise unbroken. The stripped part is what the ground block contacted, then that wire continued to the panel, about 20' in my case. Avoid any excess wire, "coils", sharp bends (as you are doing), etc. to minimize the inductance. Use some "electrical grease" at the connections to minimize corrosion.

Putting the ground block inside is not in complete conformance with the NEC. I'm not sure what code would apply for you. My spin on it is that NO residential grounding scheme will protect me from a direct lightning strike regardless of where the block is located, so that is not really the intent of the ground. This type of ground will however do a proper job bleeding-off static that will affect performance, and could provide ample protection from an EMP caused by a nearby strike which is much more likely than a direct hit. IMO, the location of the block makes no difference electrically in either of those lesser cases and being out of the weather is better. Having NO ground could have implications as far as my homeowners insurance is concerned in the case of electrical damage that would otherwise be covered, but I really don't know if having the block inside vs. outside would matter in that case.

Welcome, BTW...

 

[ddgtomahawk]

you can use a galvanized ground strp to wrap around the pipe ill try to find a training link to post for you so you can do it correctly

 

[ddgtomahawk]

http://www.satelliteguys.us/attachment.php?attachmentid=19077&d=1190386458