Should outside earthing wire be covered?

[KeepTravelling]

Hi All,

I own a country Villa out in the Spain countryside. Was having problems with water pressure so local tradesmen advised to get a water tank and pump, he has installed this in the garage, and that has helped.

However, the electrical circuit in the garage is an old circuit and wasn't earthed, as I have two kids I want this to be as safe as possible. He said no problem,he would earth it using an earthing rod.
So he has done all this, but I am not convinced that this is safe. The earthing wire, is straight from the Junction box and not from the plug so I assume that the water pump is in fact not earthed. The uncovered earthing wire then goes straight past a huge tank of water. Then it goes outside through a woodshed connected right next to some water pipes (the woodshed does have a roof) and finally ends up outside, uncovered and straight into the ground into the earthing rod.
If someone (like my kids) were to touch this outside wire or if it gets wet from rain then isn't this quite a danger? (please see all pictures below).

Any advice would be gratefully received,

Trav,

 

[ipf]

Is that how he's left it, the finished article?
I don't know about bonding or work standards in the Spanish outback, though.

 

[KeepTravelling]

Yes, to be fair the junction box was already in that state (no cover etc). As the garage will be closed and locked anyway, I am more concerned about the uncovered earthing wire going outside etc. Is that safe?

 

[ipf]

Pvc covered so that's not a problem, although it could do with some protection externally. It's just whether the system operates and the spark should have done tests to ensure that. Fact is it's just totally haphazard but could be the norm.
I wouldn't rate any main earth (earthing rod) consisting of an open length of 2.5mm or 4.00mm, connected via a choc block connector. It's not up to standard here, as is the situation in general, with, what look like, open live terminals.

 

[brianmoooore]

Depends if there's a RCD rated at 30mA or less somewhere in the supply, otherwise if that wire broke away from the rod, the stripped end could become very dangerous.

 

[KeepTravelling]

Pvc covered so that's not a problem, although it could do with some protection externally. It's just whether the system operates and the spark should have done tests to ensure that. Fact is it's just totally haphazard but could be the norm.
I wouldn't rate any main earth (earthing rod) consisting of an open length of 2.5mm or 4.00mm, connected via a choc block connector. It's not up to standard here, as is the situation in general, with, what look like, open live terminals.

Thanks for feedback. So with regards to the earth wiring outside, it's not an issue if my kids were to touch it for example?
Where you say >>

open length of 2.5mm or 4.00mm

So should the earthing wire be thicker than this?
And my thoughts are that the earthing wire should be pulled through down to the plug, otherwise its pointless?

If he does that, and tidies up the junction box by putting a cover on it, etc then is going to be okay do you feel?

 

[KeepTravelling]

Depends if there's a RCD rated at 30mA or less somewhere in the supply, otherwise if that wire broke away from the rod, the stripped end could become very dangerous.

Thank you for feedback, to explain a little further.

The house and outbuildings (this garage that you see on the photos and a small shed) were all on old wiring. We have now had the house (where the main supply comes in) completely re-wired and this has a decent earthing all throughout and with a new RCD on the switchboard.

The garage and shed are still on old wiring, so that's what you see in the photo. The garage old circuit is connected to the house new circuit, and the garage can be switched off by flicking a switch on the new circuit board in the house.
So, while there is no RCD on the old garage circuit, this circuit itself is fed by the house circuit board which does have an RCD.
So should this be okay?

 

[brianmoooore]

If the house RCD is 30mA, not a delayed type and the garage loses power when that RCD is switched off, then it should be 'safe' in that the likelihood of electrocution is greatly reduced from what it was before.
The reason for a thicker wire to the rod is to increase its mechanical strength, so that it is less likely to become detached from the rod.

 

[Avo Mk8]

Your first post explained "the electrical circuit in the garage is an old circuit and wasn't earthed"
So I guess the question is - what did the electrician connect the earthing rod to?
Hopefully there is in fact an appropriate earth conductor from the garage to the consumer unit?
Apologies if I've misunderstood!

 

[KeepTravelling]

If the house RCD is 30mA, not a delayed type and the garage loses power when that RCD is switched off, then it should be 'safe' in that the likelihood of electrocution is greatly reduced from what it was before.
The reason for a thicker wire to the rod is to increase its mechanical strength, so that it is less likely to become detached from the rod.

Yes, it is 30Ma in the house RCD and yes if that trips or is switched off then there is no power to the garage.
So,if I understand correctly, touching an earthing wire end can cause electrocution? I thought it was just the live wire that could cause this, and that the earthing wire was to divert the electricity to the earth rather than through your body if a live wire was accidentally touched? Sorry if this sounds naive, I am new to all this.

 

[KeepTravelling]

Your first post explained "the electrical circuit in the garage is an old circuit and wasn't earthed"
So I guess the question is - what did the electrician connect the earthing rod to?
Hopefully there is in fact an appropriate earth conductor from the garage to the consumer unit?
Apologies if I've misunderstood!

Thank you for your reply, If you look at the photos, you can see the old wires in the garage. These do not have an earth back to the consumer unit in the house. That is why he has taken the yellow wire from the old junction box in the garage and extended it all the way outside (again see on the photos) to an earthing rod that he hammered into the garden. The end of the outside earthing wire that you can see on the photos attaches to the earthing rod in the ground.

 

[brianmoooore]

I thought it was just the live wire that could cause this, and that the earthing wire was to divert the electricity to the earth rather than through your body if a live wire was accidentally touched? Sorry if this sounds naive, I am new to all this.

That's how it works if the earth wire is connected to earth via the rod. If it becomes disconnected, and 'live' electricity leaks to earthed metalwork, and hence to the 'earth' wire, the disconnected end becomes an extension of the live wire, and a voltmeter connected between it and the neutral or a true earth will read the full mains voltage.
If the earth wire is connected to the rod, this voltage will produce a current in the wire, which, if it exceeds the tripping current of the RCD (usually around 20mA for a 30mA RCD) will will turn the RCD off. If the earth wire is disconnected from the rod, and no sufficient parallel path to earth exists, such as metalwork in contact with a damp concrete wall, then the RCD will not trip until your child picks up the bare end and completes the path to earth. This will definitely hurt, but in most cases the RCD will then trip before serious injury occurs.

 

[ipf]

Yes, it is 30Ma in the house RCD and yes if that trips or is switched off then there is no power to the garage.
So,if I understand correctly, touching an earthing wire end can cause electrocution? I thought it was just the live wire that could cause this, and that the earthing wire was to divert the electricity to the earth rather than through your body if a live wire was accidentally touched? Sorry if this sounds naive, I am new to all this.

You're not far off but it's about fault condition. The earthing system is a safeguard which, if not connected correctly could become live if there is a fault. If the fault is diverted, as you say, with no connection to earth, the cable would become live.

 

[KeepTravelling]

You're not far off but it's about fault condition. The earthing system is a safeguard which, if not connected correctly could become live if there is a fault. If the fault is diverted, as you say, with no connection to earth, the cable would become live.

Thanks very much for this I am more clear now.
My other question though is does the earth wire need to be pulled down from the junction box into the plug socket that the pump is plugged into? (see photos) As if the plug is not earthed then I assume that the pump is not earthed either and this could be dangerous ?

 

[brianmoooore]

It's difficult to see what wire goes where in your first pic, but I'm assuming the new green/yellow connects to a wire that goes to the earth pin of the socket.
TBH, the whole thing with the green/yellow wire looks like something I might do if I came across this just before knocking off time on a Friday afternoon and did this to make it 'safe' over the weekend, using parts that I had in my vehicle, before returning at the earliest opportunity to do the job properly.
Is this what's happening here?