Jimmie D wrote:


Hopefully you are not really using the water pipe for a ground for your
electrical service. Hopefully your plumbing is just bonded to the electrical
ground. Dont even think about using this for lightning protection. Nothing
like having lightning run in on your plumbing while taking a bath or have it
run in on yor ground and eat about $7K worth of test equipment(my bad).

Jimmie



Electrical service grounding via water pipes is common and acceptable.
Quoting from the 2005 NEC, which is the standard used in many or most
jurisdictions in the US:

250.52 Grounding Electrodes.
(A) Electrodes Permitted for Grounding.
(1) Metal Underground Water Pipe. A metal underground water pipe in
direct contact with the earth for 3.0 m (10 ft) or more (including any
metal well casing effectively bonded to the pipe) and electrically
continuous (or made electrically continuous by bonding around insulating
joints or insulating pipe) to the points of connection of the grounding
electrode conductor and the bonding conductors. Interior metal water
piping located more than 1.52 m (5 ft) from the point of entrance to the
building shall not be used as a part of the grounding electrode system
or as a conductor to interconnect electrodes that are part of the
grounding electrode system.


I agree this is not a good solution for lightning protection.

73,
Gene
W4SZ