My usual supplier was out of a few urgently needed items yesterday, so I had to go to the nearby B&Q (big DIY store, very similar to HD even down to the orange color scheme).

Here's the entire printed wording on my individually wrapped earth clamp:


Ah well -- So much for bonding to the PVC water pipe!

Yes that's a good one Paul.
Just how do you bond those PVC pipes?.

Geeeez,
I thought YOU two were better than that.

WITH A PLASTIC BOND BUSHING!!!!!!!!!!1

Don't they mean a painted surface?

C-H, You might have it there.

Does it have a smooth contact area Paul?
Or 'teeth' that might dig in?

Bill

It seems that plastic, not necessarily PVC, pipes are being used absolutely everywhere in domestic installations here for both hot and cold water systems.

This house is still fully plumbed in copper. It'll be interesting to see how well the plastic actually lasts

Plastic water mains and cold water systems have been common for quite a long time though and I've never seen them give any problem.

These plastic piping systems make plumbing more like wiring. No more bending copper pipes

[This message has been edited by djk (edited 03-27-2004).]

Good point about painted pipes -- Maybe that's what they're trying to warn against.

The typical British pipe clamp has a saddle and a metal strap, like this:

Polyethylene (I am sure that is what we use here), works well for us, and lasts quite a long time.

Have you seen the new type of earth clamp made by MEM ?



Looks a bit ropey to me but the 2 field reports Here say different, might look into getting a couple, and give them a try.

San,

No, I haven't seen those before.

That's my initial reaction on seeing them. My first inclination is to categorize these along with "push-wired" receptacle terminals and such like.

I've seen hose clips to that design which seemed very effective indeed.
The pressure at the contact area will be high, giving a good chance of breaking through any oxidation, etc, on the pipe.
One snag could be that they are not really re-useable as taking them off damages them. At least with the old design you can hope that the plumber will straighten them out and put them back !

Earlier on in the thread there was a statement about painted pipes.
If they were Metallic, I'd be out with the Emery tape and sanding the thing down to achieve a good connection.
Also, I would never trust plastics as a clamp used as part of an Earthing system, it's just too un-reliable.
Give me Brass or Steel any day!.