Home inspections and Corrugated Stainless Steel Tubing code grounding requirements

[anne321]

I have talked to many people who have bought homes in the Villages and had them Inspected by Home inspectors before purchase. There are strict fire and life safety requirements as to the grounding of Corrugated Stainless Steel Tubing. The National Electric Code (NEC) and The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), The National Fuel Gas Code (NFGC) all require that Corrugated Stainless Steel Tubing Be grounded on the house side of the gas meter as close as possible to the gas meter and this ground should be attached to the main electrical panel ground. If this is not done there is a significant risk of fire and explosion caused by electrical arcing between the Corrugated Stainless Steel Tubing and the home electrical system. I have talked to many people in the Villages that have had there homes inspected for purchase here. Not one has said they have been informed of this problem by the home inspector's they have hired. It must be as close to the meter as possible on the house side and grounded to the electrical panel ground. That is the only thing that satisfies these codes and makes this homes safe. One home inspector said that there 24,000 in the Villages with Corrugated Stainless Steel Tubing that if you look from the out side at the meter this has not been done. I would ask the people of the Villages to look at there homes and look a the attached Codes to see if there home is in compliance with these critical Fire an Life Safety codes. This is all a extremely important safety issue when it comes Corrugated Stainless Steel Tubing and Lighting.

[villagetinker]

Anne, There is gas service to only a portion of the Villages. this may explain why some of the people you were talking to were no aware of this. I live South of 466a and no gas service here, so no CSST. However, you are correct in the grounding requirements. I ran into this back up North, and had to add additional grounding when I replaced some gas powered equipment.

[anne321]

This information is critical fire and safety issues. All parties in the villages are aware of this but refuse to talk about it. CSST has a not had very good safety record on its own. When not installed according to all codes and the CSST manufactures installation recommendations is down right dangerous. Google Corrugated Stainless Steel Tubing Class action law suits and you will find that there have been home completely destroyed with people in them who died. If this is a well known as it is and probably and could kill you why does it exist in 24,000 homes in the Villages.

[JGVillages]

After considerable research I replaced my CSST with "hard pipe" It may not be immune from a direct lightning strike but my research told me it is a far better alternative than CSST, plus I feel safer which is important to me.

[rubicon]

After considerable research I replaced my CSST with "hard pipe" It may not be immune from a direct lightning strike but my research told me it is a far better alternative than CSST, plus I feel safer which is important to me.

Did you replace yourself? If not what was the cost if I may ask?

[anne321]

Black iron pipe or CSST, it all has to be properly grounded. CSST was never tested to how it reacts with lighting when it originally allowed into code approval. It does not do well at all with lightning and had it been tested with lightning it would not have been allowed to be used as gas piping. If you go to TECO GAS Company website they will tell you the same thing. No one in the Villages Public Safety Department will publicly speak about this but they are well aware of the fire and critical life safety issues that CSST and CSST that is not installed to all Electrical, Fire, Mechanical codes presents to the safety of Villagers lives. It is well known that if people in the Villages Public safety Department want to keep there jobs they keep there mouths shut about this. If you do not believe this then why does the Villages Public Safety Department say nothing about this. What exactly are they getting paid to do. Who are they protecting in this matter. It does not look like they are looking out for the safety of the Villagers. If not the villagers then who are they protecting.

[anne321]

After considerable research I replaced my CSST with "hard pipe" It may not be immune from a direct lightning strike but my research told me it is a far better alternative than CSST, plus I feel safer which is important to me.

Why was this not done in the when these homes were built. It has been known for a very long time what needs to done to make homes safe. What do Home inspectors get paid to do. If they let something pass that could kill you what else or they looking the other way about.

[graciegirl]

From a prior thread on the same subject.
https://www.talkofthevillages.com/forums/villages-florida-general-discussion-73/corrugated-stainless-steel-tubing-attics-fire-safety-121781/index5.html
quote
Lightning

In the last 10 years 10 homes have been destroyed by lightning. Nine had CSST. The June fire in Pinellas was the first all electric home to be destroyed. There may be circumstantial evidence that CSST was involved in the nine events but as far as I have able to determine the homeowner insurance carriers forensic engineers report (assuming there was one) is a proprietary document. In once case even the homeowner was unable to obtain it. It is up to the insurance carrier to decide if they will initiate a lawsuit against the responsible party.

There is a lot of discussion on this thread about bonding and grounding. The current thinking (pending the outcome of some studies going on with the NFPA) this only applies to an INDIRECT lightning strike. That is one that strikes nearby your home but does not directly hit your home. The CSST industry says if you experience a DIRECT strike there is no piping that can stand up to forces that can be generated in such an event. The manufactures of CSST include rigid steel pipe in this category. Therefore, if your concern is a DIRECT strike you should consider a lightning protection system per NFPA 780, “particularly in areas prone to lightning”. See the July POA Bulletin that can be found on line for more information.

CSST, in spite of the 2007 class action lawsuit, is legal in all 50 states. The class action lawsuit was not a recall it was for failure to warn the users of the product.

One final point - there is a lot of discussion about TECO. TECO, like all utilities, is only responsible up to their meter. On the customer side of the meter the responsibility is between you the homeowner and a qualified and licensed gas plumbing firm and for bonding and grounding a licensed electrician.unquote