Okay, I handled this poorly. Let me explain:
Where I am, we don't use a ground rod when there is a water line. Last week, I grounded a service to a water line that was 100 feet away from the service.
I think that is a bit far because I once bonded two buildings together that were 200 feet apart and the voltage between the grounds was over 100 volts. That was an unusual circumstance, but once bit, twice shy.
The topic comes up here, and I am interested in the comments. I don't want to take sides, because I don't know.
nesparky said:
A ground rod is not for clearing faults on under 600 volt systems.
In my clumsy way, I'm saying I agree with him.
Then, nesparky gave an opinion:
SO the question does a ground rod work? Yes for what it is designed for. No for clearing faults.
And iwire gave a somewhat different opinion:
a ground rod is of little use for the services I generally deal with.
From the context, I didn't think iwire meant that it was of little use "for what it is designed". Perhaps a direct question would help me understand.
Bob, how can I tell when a ground rod, in addition to the water line, would be of use?
tim