Two ways to safely install grounding for a gas boiler with your own hands

Grounding a gas boiler is a necessary and mandatory condition when connecting gas to residential buildings.

This precaution will protect people and equipment from voltage and current surges, and will also serve as reliable protection against fires and explosions.

Who issues the grounding certificate according to the protocol?

The act on grounding according to the protocol is usually issued regional branch of gas service or an electrical laboratory.

During the inspection, representatives of this service are guided by Electrical Installation Rules (EIR).

Grounding methods for wall-mounted gas boiler

Distinguish two ways grounding by type of device and features of its manufacture.

By device type

To ground the gas boiler, they extend special requirements, since the grounding circuit must be connected with extreme care and in accordance with all standards.

Special requirements:

• Grounding resistance is not higher than 50 Ohm for sandy soils.
• 10 Ohm for clay soils.
• It is prohibited to connect to pipes and risers.
• The cable located in the ground, which leads from the electrical panel to the circuit, must have a cross-sectional area of more than 10 mm² for copper, 16 mm² for aluminum, for steel - 75 mm².
• Vertical metal structures are made from a profile pipe, angle, channel or I-beam.

By manufacturing features

This connection is made using special ready-made kit or using available materials.

Types

Before you start grounding your boiler, it is important to decide type of ground electrodeSuch equipment is in direct contact with the ground and is part of the entire system.

There are devices artificial and natural:

• Natural grounding conductors – these are various metal structures that have contact with the ground. This type of grounding is usually connected to the boiler by several conductors (at least two). Pipelines with hot liquids and sewer systems cannot be used as natural grounding conductors.

Photo 1. Natural grounding in the form of a small metal structure dug into the ground next to the house.

• Artificial grounding devices – these are steel pipes and angle steel embedded in the ground in a vertical position.

How to do it yourself in a private house. Rules and action plan

According to the Electrical Installation Code, to make grounding via a socket directly yourself, it must be connected according to the diagram not to the panel, but directly to the circuit.

One of the main requirements for the grounding circuit is the resistance of the system as a whole. should not exceed 4 Ohm. To do this, you need to correctly connect the circuit to the power panel using a conductor made of copper. One side of it is attached to the base of the house, and the other to zero on the shield.

Photo 2. A ready-made kit for grounding a wall-mounted gas boiler with all the necessary components.

To independently implement a grounding device, you can use the following methods:

• Buy a ready-made kit for grounding a gas boiler. It includes all the necessary components. Installation is quite quick and does not take much time. You will need a small area of 0.5x0.5 m²Grounding can be carried out in basements or a few meters from the house itself.
• Make a grounding conductor yourself. You will need a welding machine and a steel angle. The created structure, in the form of a triangle or inverted letter Ш, they dig into the ground to a depth more than 1 meter.

Tools and materials

The process is done thanks to the following tools:

• 

  According to the markings made with a shovel digging a trench.
• Into drilled pits The grounding conductors are driven in with a hammer.
• Using a motor drill, deep holes are drilled in the upper part of the trench.
• To connect corners between horizontal elements of the grounding circuit, use metal tape. To connect you need electric welding.
• At the end of the conductor entering the room, they weld bolt M6 or M8A wire ring is placed on it, which is responsible for the internal grounding of a private house.

Materials used:

• Metal corner (size 50x50x5 mm). The house grounding circuit is an equilateral triangle, into the corners of which metal grounding rods are driven.
• Steel tape 40 mm wide and 4 mm thickIn order to join the corners together, a metal tape is used.
• Metal wire rod with a diameter of 8–10 mm. It is laid in a trench and raised above the level of the blind area. by 50 centimeters.

How to ground a circuit: the process of work

For proper and effective grounding of a gas boiler, it is necessary to make outer contour.

The process of making the outline:

• Markings are made at a distance of one meter from the house. An equilateral triangle is drawn with sides of 2 m.
• A trench 50 cm deep and 40 cm wide is dug along the drawn lines.
• What follows is connection to the house using a trench of the same size.
• Deep pits are made with a drill.
• Grounding rods are inserted into the pits. The distance to the bottom of the trench should be about 15 cm.
• Connect the ground electrodes among themselves using 40x4 mm metal strips.
• They put a metal strip in the trench, leading to the house.
• Weld a strip of metal to the base using a metal rod.

Useful video

The video shows the process of installing grounding for a gas boiler in a private house.

Linear directly into the socket or using a surge protector?

Peculiarities:

• The trench will be straight and will run along the house. Its length is 4 m.
• Grounding conductors they dig in after 2 meters.

When using a socket or a power filter, the Electrical Installation Code recommends connect the device directly to the circuit grounding and network filter.