Posted on 03/18/2011 11:35:19 PM PDT by smokingfrog
Federal regulators are no longer advising people to replace the electrical wiring in homes containing tainted Chinese drywall after a study found no safety hazard if the wiring is left in place.
The Consumer Product Safety Commission and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development said Friday that a study found it safe to leave the electrical wiring in homes. Still, some electrical components should be replaced, such as switches and circuit breakers.
A year ago, regulators advised removing the electrical wiring along with drywall, fire-alarm systems, carbon-monoxide alarms, fire sprinklers and gas pipes.
Large quantities of defective Chinese-made drywall were imported during a past housing boom and after a string of Gulf Coast hurricanes five years ago. The drywall has been linked to corrosion in thousands of homes, mostly in Florida, Virginia, Mississippi, Alabama and Louisiana.
The study on electrical wiring was done by the Sandia National Laboratories in New Mexico. Sandia exposed wiring and other electrical components to hydrogen sulfide gas, the chemical emitted by problem Chinese drywall.
During the tests, corrosion of electrical components occurred, but Sandia found no "acute or long-term electrical safety events, such as smoking or fire," the report said. Because of the corrosion, regulators say it would be prudent to remove electrical-distribution system components, including receptacles, switches, twist-on splicing connectors and circuit breakers.
Ray Kothe, the chairman of a Chinese drywall task force with the National Association of Home Builders, said not having to remove the wiring would save about $4,000 for the average homeowner.
(Excerpt) Read more at bradenton.com ...
National Electrical Code requires a certain amount of spare wire to be left as pigtails in an electrical box that has yet to have its device(s) added. There’s a reason for this — if corroded ends are cut off, it may be difficult or impossible to reconnect to the new devices. Replacing all wiring (which is typically well protected from corrosive gases by its insulating sheath) as a universal policy may be overkill, but each individual installation needs to be evaluated, especially as electricians may have already trimmed the pigtails to the minimum when doing the original installation in order to fit everything in a crowded box with deep devices (e.g. timers, GFIs) in it.
Closed windows after installing these sheets can make you sick. I’ve been there and done that. Did it for free a few years ago. As of last week it will still affect most people and pets.
Turns out that big copper wire was my GROUND! The guys that put in my new plastic pumping had disconnected it from the now extinct metal pipes! I looked online and turns out I could put in two 8-foot (IIRC) ground rods separated 10 feet apart or something. Does that make sense? (Along with sending the re-pipe company a nasty note!)
Hey, they were plumbers — “not my yob, mon.”
If the buried city main is still metal, you could extend the ground wire to there. Your electric meter may already have a ground stake next to it, tied to the incoming neutral. It’s easier to pound these things into wet soil, if you have to add them. Galvanized pipe may do if copper rods are so difficult to pound that they bend before they penetrate. So many regions have parochial variations on the generic National Electrical Code that it probably makes sense to go to the office that issues building permits and ask what they want for grounding a home electrical system.
Note: never ground anything to a gas line even if it’s metal.
Yes, ground rods make sense...seen them alot in the South with older homes, I guess for additional lightning strike protection?
This is just one site I found discussing the matter, the 4th post/answer gives some details.
http://www.askmehelpdesk.com/electrical-lighting/where-install-grounding-rod-13649.html
This one is a DIY...
http://www.doityourself.com/stry/how-to-install-a-ground-rod
Your main water feed is plastic?
Mine is. I have a well, 1 1/2 " PVC from the well head into the pressure tank in the basement. Pex throughout the house.
Thanks for the suggestions. Yes, they replaced the old feeder line to the house with plastic too. I’ll have to think about running copper out to the street or the ground rods. I think there is a ground rod by the meter next to the house, but from my little net searching I don’t think that is enough. At least not enough to meet code! (Which I suppose is code for a reason!?)
The ground is hard till (hardpan) so I might have to go with steel rods instead of copper - thanks for the suggestions! Will check with the local city office to see what is needed.
Thanks a bunch! (Yeah - not my yob!! I thought the same thing, idiots!) And I imagine that they do it on EVERY job they do!
Sounds like a big cover-up.
Instead of admitting that the Communist Chinese drywall is moldy crap, they will deny any wiring problems to protect the builders who prefer Communist Chinese crap to American-made products.
It is sad to see so many Florida homes that are un-livable because of the Communist Chinese drywall
Sounds like protecting the Free Trade Communists who support Free Trade with Communist China is more important than honoring a contract to build a proper home.
You can bet your lifes savings its a coverup. If in doubt don’t buy at the China mart.
I have never seen any precise trustworthy quality in any Chinese product...period.
Look at what the government did with the re-make of Red Dawn, they had it edited so the Bad Guys wasn’t China but North Korea.
I bet the Feds are lying right through their teeth.
Lobby Nation
Not to mention another $10,000 the homeowner would have to spend on batteries because his wiring has been removed.
Do you realize that you can’t separate the grounds in a house? The WHITE (or neutral) wire is physically attached to the incoming neutral of the power drop and in turn, the white wire is grounded within the main power disconnect.
Open your distribution box and see for yourself.
Note to self: Forgot to say the green ground wire is also physically attached to the white wire at the power distribution box and the ground rod. They are both physically the same.
While they are at the same (zero volt) potential at that point, being connected and all, the green and white insulated conductors are apt to be at different potential as you measure at greater and greater distance from their common point. This is because the white-insulated conductor is carrying load current, and the green-insulated conductor is idle.
Yes, that makes all kinds of sense. Driven ground rods are a very common way of creating an NEC-compliant system ground.
I’ve been reading a bit about this Chinese drywall thing and my opinion is that they have been taking the spent effluent from coal-burning power plant wet scrubbers and shipping it off to drywall plants as their feedstock.
The wet scrubber effluent is gypsum slurry, the stuff drywall is made of, and it would be acidic in nature as well as contain a lot of other nasties (heavy metals, etc.) that would be the result of burning coal.
Just my 2 cents....
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