Originally Posted by Lady Diana
Building codes address grounding. New construction in most cities require copper clad 8 foot grounding rods.
Things I knew even 50 years ago when I also discuss AC wires entering a building unearthed. Homes are earthed for human safety. Earthing for transistor safety means other wires - every wire inside every cable - must connect short (ie 'less than 10 feet') to single point earth ground.
Did you know gas lines inside the house are insulated from gas lines outside the house? Do you know why? Relevant to your examples. Meanwhile, those local codes were in violation of long standing National Electrical Code requirements. The local jurisdiction simply ignored well proven knowledge?
It varies by local gas companies. Some want an interior gas line safety grounded to earth. Others do not. That says nothing about exterior gas pipes. And says nothing about earthing for surge protection.
In another rare case, a home had a problem seen too often. AC electric ground was compromised. It had no earthing. A failure inside the street transformer caused electricity to seek earth via the gas meter. When a gasket failed, fortunately nobody was home when the house exploded. And that is only earthing for human safety. Earthing for surge protection demands more.
AC electric wires enter the building ungrounded - if only meet code. Those wires must be earthed before entering the building. Gas line implies your town did not even require National code requirements. Some towns cannot be bothered until someone dies.
Did you know all phone lines already have superior surge protectors installed for free? But again, protection only as effective as the single point earth ground that you must provide. No just any earth ground. Even water pipe earthing is (finally) considered insufficient by code. Required is single point earth ground.
Why do no plug-in protectors claim surge protection? Where is a dedicated wire for that always required short ('less than 10 foot') connection to single point earth ground? Does not exist.
A protector is only as effective as its earth ground. Therefore informed homeowners upgrade the earthing. Waste no money on plug-in protectors. Divert that money to what actually does protection – a ‘whole house’ protector connected short to single point earth ground. The only reliable protection for sewing machines.