iwire,
gfretwell asked, "Point me to a place in article 250 that says a water pipe is an acceptible equipment grounding path."

Quote
Exception: In industrial and commercial buildings or structures where conditions of maintenance and supervision ensure that only qualified persons service the installation, interior metal water piping located more than 1.52 m (5 ft) from the point of entrance to the building shall be permitted as a part of the grounding electrode system or as a conductor to interconnect electrodes that are part of the grounding electrode system, provided that the entire length, other than short sections passing perpendicular through walls, floors, or ceilings, of the interior metal water pipe that is being used for the conductor is exposed.
I realize it's a long way off, but that did sound like a water pipe used as a grounding path?(And no, I wasn't trying to pick a bone, so to speak.)But like I said, before historicaly, and not too long ago, until it changed, and in the many existing installations out there, a cold water pipe has been considered a ground path. Maybe the instructions posted on the link above, haven't caught up to current code. Or maybe, I'm starting to think, that the installation of this ground is outside of the NEC all together???? (Although note 6 on that diagram says it is.) Becomes part of listed equipment past the plug in transformer?????

Anyway, there seems to be some disagreement as to the answer to shortciruit's original questions. As the Code isn't clear enough to convince 8 well qualified persons here on the absolute correct answer to this. We might need to vote on it, if we could figure out what to vote for... [Linked Image]

Mark Heller
"Well - I oughta....." -Jackie Gleason