Water Bonding Maintenance

FlapjackMcCoy

Bronze Supporter
Aug 13, 2019
121
North Carolina
PB installed the water bonding device closer to the pool because the equipment is almost two feet above the water level and if it looses prime the bonding will not be effective. Will this device ever require any maintenance? It is going to be buried under two feet of gravel and 3-4 inches of concrete. If so I need to ask them to either put a maintenance access or move it closer to the pump. Thanks
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I don't have an answer about the bonding needing future maintenance, but there are two bonding points in your pic. One on the skimmer line and one on the spa drain line.
 
I would never bury a water bond connection under gravel let alone under concrete. No future buyer and owner of your house will ever be able to confirm if the pool has a water bond. Having inherited two pools with houses I bought I appreciate some decisions the prior owner made and curse others. For long term maintenance I never like burying key connection points. Someone will eventually pay the price for that decision whether it will be you or a future caretaker of the pool.
 
Why didn’t he just install the water bonding kit in the skimmer?? Burying that connection, as others have stated, is just a bad idea.

Tell the PB to cut those out and place them somewhere accessible.
 
Thanks, glad I asked. If it was not for construction delay I never would have given it a second thought. I will voice my concern to the GM and make sure it is moved. The only thing I couldn't find online is if by code it needs to be below water level in case it loses prime.
 
To answer my own question, found on another thread here as per ajw22 and NEC Section 680.26(C) it must be in contact with the water 24/7, whether the circulation system is running or not.

And there is no assurance that water will always be in that pipe and in contact with the pool water to have a water bond when your pump is off.

A water bond in the skimmer or a light housing will be much better.
 
What type of light do you have in the spa?
 

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It wouldn't bother me one bit to have those bonding devices buried. Every bond connection around the pool is buried and nobody worries about that. the water bonds are no different. The only thing I'd worry about is that it's where the pipe stays full of water.

Also, skimmer bonds aren't fool proof. When the water gets below the skimmer there's possibly no bond.

P.S. I would take pictures of all the services around the pool before they cover them up to ensure you can locate them in the future in case you ever need to.
 
My biggest concern would be a leak. Those are metal to PVC transitions and, overtime, thermal cycling can weaken that joint. If it sprung a leak, you’d never figure out why without jackhammering the deck.

Moving now is easy; digging up a deck later is no fun.
 
Will all the sides of the spa be under concrete?

I think you may need to use a water bond in a pipe for the spa water. But I would put it in one of the pipes on the side of the spa that lead to a return or jet and where the pipe is below the normal spa water level fo it will always be full of water. If it is in a location that is not under concrete all the better.
 
Yes, the spa is surrounded by concrete. The reason they put it close to the pool is because they would need to remove rock to run it deep enough to be below the waterline past the concrete, it is about 8 feet of concrete decking it has to run under before it gets past it. I didn't have a choice, it's just the way they did it. I would have preferred they just remove the rock (heck I'd do it myself with a sledgehammer, have done it before for irrigation). Back to my original question, is this thing likely to need maintenance. I have read about copper disintegrating, but I am not really sure what is in this thing and if it is a concern. I was just thinking with all the experience here someone can chime in if they have ever needed to fix this thing.
 
I think few folks here know if there pool uses that thing. And there is no way to know that something is wrong with it electrically and needs to be fixed unless it springs a leak.
 
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