Unbonded pool

[bpolczyn]

Hi everyone,

I have been building a semi inground pool. Started mid July and finished the plumbing yesterday. I would like to swim a the few days before the weather gets colder here in Ohio, so I am curious about swimming in an unbonded pool. I have mounds of dirt all around the pool that I need to move before I can run the bonding grid. That will require renting a dingo/backhoe (it’s a lot of dirt) and I planned to do it in the fall when the weather wasn’t good for swimming.

So my question is - if I turn off all electrical at the breaker panel, there should be no stray currents that need the bonding grid, other than maybe a stray static shock, right? It would be “safe” to swim with all electrical off at that point, correct?

Just want to check if I am understanding the whole bonding thing correctly and if my assumption is correct.

Thanks to anyone for any advice!

 

[darinclifton]

What specifically is the pool construction? (gunite, vinyl fiberglass) It helps if you put pool specs in your signature...

Pool bonding is about creating Equipotential. A fancy word that means making any potential energy (short/shock/transient voltage) the same across all equipment and water, so that if there is some energy, that is has the same potential to go to through a lot of things (equipment/water) that conduct energy better than you...

Just shutting the power off to the pool does not necessarily eliminate all potential energy sources. There can be energy in the ground for nearby transmission lines, lighting, a fault in you how power system can in face bleed back to a pool because water is a great conductor if energy

I am not sure how you are planing on bonding the pool if it is already constructed, but a well bonded pool system is very important.

 

[CrystalRiver]

Lightning is "just" a little static electricity discharge.

 

[JamesW]

Bonding is like wearing a seat belt. Not having it doesn't make a difference until there's a problem and then it makes a big difference. Not having a bonding grid doesn't necessarily mean that there will be an issue. It's a safety feature like gfci, fire extinguishers, sealt belts, airbags etc. You can be ok without any of those things, but they make a big difference if there's an issue.

Bonding is required by NEC code, so it's not something we can say that you can do without.

Only you can decide if you want to take the risk.

 

[bpolczyn]

Thanks for the help everyone!

It’s is a resin saltwater pool. Basically an above ground type just buried halfway. Vinyl liner with one stainless steel pane where the return and skimmer are. Unsure what the rest of the wall is made of, felt like thick aluminum or some kind of metal. The top ledges, and all base components are resin.

I do plan to do the bonding, just curious about skipping it for a couple weeks, until I get a backhoe in to backfill outside hole around pool walls. I can currently easily bond pump to pool as that’s all exposed at the moment, it’s just the ring around the outside I can’t create as there is 4-5 ft high mounds of dirt around the sides from where I dug out the pool hole, so I can’t put the ring in 18-24” out as the mounds are in the way.

Didn’t consider extra unknown voltage leaking through the ground that might be in contact. There are overhead power lines (NEC safe distance away) so potential current bleed might be an issue, but I have touched the water already from the outside of pool and didn’t get zapped so also might not be an issue. I understand bonding needs to be done to be totally safe and will be bonding it.

If I were to bond all the equipment, pool, and water together with a continuous wire, would that work for time being? Or does the large ring around the pool create most of the equipotential?

Thanks everyone!

 

[JamesW]

We really can't "approve" of anything less than full NEC compliance.

Most likely, it won't be a problem, but it's your choice to take whatever risk not being fully compliant presents.