Deal made Bob... (Everybody)It is not my opinion! But for a while I got hit on inspections for taking the full sized GEC to the rods instead of water. (With the guise that the rods were suplimenting the water.) Take a look at 250.66(A) through (C), notice that water, and stuctural steel do not have a minimum size exception... They are always full sized. I learned the hard corrective way about this. Rods on the other hand, need only be in #6....
So back in the day, learning the hard way to break the thinking that I could go full sized to any one of the electrodes, and only #6 to whatever the other was, several Inspectors reffered to it as the "Primary". (Not that I am of that opinion....)
So as mentioned before both electrodes are part of the "system'! (As a whole, the way I see it, there is no primary, or seconary.) So now, why is the water always full sized? Why are the rods allowed to be only #6?
(You might mention that water is in a "Pipe" as listed in 250.66A, then why is an "Metal Underground Water Pipe" listed seperately in 250.52A, and 250.53?)
Although some of the wording has changed a little over the years, and 250.66 used to be 250.94 back in '93, it hasn't changed much...
Roger, I know a few GC's at this point who are well aquainted with chipping hammers to find that Ufer they forgot....
