I'm just your average homeowner and I'm reading this post on grounding. I purchased a foreclosure property in Southern CA that was in really bad shape, and one of the first things I did was to run new water service in copper (the old service, just up to the point where there was a union and it converted to copper, was PVC). The original grounding wire was bonded to the pipe leading into the house, and in addition to that, the water heater, which was in a laundry room, had a separate ground to both of the copper pipes on it, and that same ground was jumped to the galvanized gas line running to the water heater. My plumber noted the jumping of the grounding wire between the copper water pipes and the galvanized gas line and had a fit, saying it was totally incorrect and disconnected the ground from the gas line. He cited the recent gas line explosion in San Bruno, California as one of the reasons for his actions. I'm deep in the midst of work on the house, so to have to run a separate ground to the gas line isn't a big concern for me, but I want to know if it is necessary. Was what the plumber told me wrong,only partly wrong, or totally correct. Thanks.
