Electrical Bonding or Grounding of Autocover Brackets and Trays

[mikeyliny]

How should autocover brackets with metal trays be electrically grounded or bonded?

All pools needs to be properly grounded. Since autocovers arent installed with every pool, I am going to provide some of the details of construction and masonry sitting over the brackets. The manufacturer instructions for autocovers (attached below) don't include instructions on grounding the brackets or the trays.

Autocovers covered with masonry usually are constructed using metallic brackets and sometimes metal trays sit above the brackets. The masonry sits above the tray/brackets.

Autocover box anatomy from bottom to top
1. Autocover sits in a box at one end of pool
2. Metal brackets sit above the autocover
3. A metal tray sits above the brackets (sometimes)
4. Pavers sit above the tray


Metal Brackets (usually steel, sometimes aluminum)



One metal bracket (close up)

One Tray (usually steel, sometimes aluminum - trays may vary in appearance)


Masonry sits in tray



Tray sits over brackets



Electrical Grounding Instructions for Installation of the Autocover

 

[ajw22]

How should autocover brackets with metal trays be electrically grounded or bonded?

Thanks for sharing but your post adds to the confusion between bonding and grounding.

All pools needs to be properly grounded.

All pool equipment needs to be grounded following the Installation Manual electrical instructions.

The NEC specifies the types of pools, equipment, and surrounding area that need to be bonded. Pools with an autocover will require bonding.

Since autocovers arent installed with every pool, I am going to provide some of the details of construction and masonry sitting over the brackets. The manufacturer instructions for autocovers (attached below) don't include instructions on grounding the brackets or the trays.

The manufacturer instructions for autocovers (attached below) don't include instructions on bonding (not grounding) the brackets or the trays.

Autocovers covered with masonry usually are constructed using metallic brackets and sometimes metal trays sit above the brackets. The masonry sits above the tray/brackets.

Autocover box anatomy from bottom to top
1. Autocover sits in a box at one end of pool
2. Metal brackets sit above the autocover
3. A metal tray sits above the brackets (sometimes)
4. Pavers sit above the tray

Metal Brackets (usually steel, sometimes aluminum)

One metal bracket (close up)

One Tray (usually steel, sometimes aluminum - trays may vary in appearance)

Masonry sits in tray

Tray sits over brackets

You describe how the brackets and amsonary are installed but I don't see any steps to bond the trays, brackets or masonry other then if you are implying simply by surface contact they are bonded to the housing where the #8 bonding wire connects to.

Electrical Grounding Instructions for Installation of the Autocover

I think you mean Bonding not Grounding.

 

[mikeyliny]

"You describe how the brackets and amsonary are installed but I don't see any steps to bond the trays, brackets or masonry other then if you are implying simply by surface contact they are bonded to the housing where the #8 bonding wire connects to."

That's basically my question. I havent seen any instructions on the steps to bond trays or brackets. What I'm thinking is that you can connect lugs/bugs to each bracket and then run a #8 bare coper to connect the brackets to the ground. Since all of the trays are in contact with the brackets (some of the trays are screwed into the brackets) I think the trays will all be grounded as long as the wire is running from the brackets to the ground.

The individual trays that are not screwed in need to be removed to get access to the housing of the autocover, so I dont think it would be practical to attach a #8 to each of these and probably is not needed since they are already directly in contact with the brackets.

Does this make sense?

 

[ajw22]

I have never looked closely at how the brackets and trays connect tp the frame. It looks like it may all be metal connections. I would use a multimeter to check continuity and resistance between the brackets and trays to the bonding point in the manufactures instructions.

If there is electrical continuity then they are all bonded together.