The closest copper pipeis at least 15ft from panel.its the main coming in to the house. how do i run a ground to it?
as a plumber i prefer to use copper tube for drinking and bathing water as copper is a natural anti bacterial substance. however, i often use plastic on heating systems as the stuff comes in 50 meter coils (less joints to install) and is more resistant to sludge build up. the heating system must be high pressure though as plastic pipework is obviously very flexible and on a gravity system air locks are a risk even when clipped in place at the right tollerances. allthough less joints are used and it is generally quicker to install plastic pipe, the fittings needed to install it are generally twice the price of copper fittings. what i always do is explain all this to the customer and leave the decission to them. generally the older they are the more likeley they will avoid plastic and opt for copper. youwould not believe that i started using plastic tube 40 years ago and some people still dont like the idea of it. all new houses built now have the whole lot in plastic. however , the customer has the final word as long as what you fit is done legally,for example, if a gas pipe was found to be fitted using plastic, that would be a very,very, serious breach of regulations and could lead to jail and unlimited fines. hope this helps.
NEVER EVER ground you gas pipe. That is a direct code violation. Run a wire from your copper water pipe to your service and tie into the ground bar. If your service feeder wires are size 2 or smaller use a #8, if they are 1 or 1/0 use #6 if 2/0 or 3/0 use #4 size wire. that's per NEC Code 250.66
It dose not matter how far away your closest copper pipe is. To properly ground your electrical service you will need to determine the size of the wires that are feeding your panel. Then you can determine what size of grounding wire to use. You can't just use a #6 ground as the other guy said. it will vary depending on the size of your service wires. Typical, to ground a service you will need to bond the grounding electrode wire to the----- The gas pipe that feeds your house, on the piping just past the meter The water pipe that feeds your house, before the shut off valve. The hot and cold water pipes at your hot water heater (unless they are pvc). A ground rod, 8 feet long - driven into the ground by your service. And then attach he wire to the grounding bus bar in your main panel. This grounding electrode wire must be a continuous piece of wire with no breaks, splices, or joints - unless it is spliced in a way that is approved by the nec (ie. exothermic welding). When you do bond the wire to the above items, you must use approved clamps. For more information please read the National Electrical Code, section 250 deals with grounding. This is by no means a complete list of the things you need to be concerned with, just a basic overview. Good Luck
