ECN Forum Forums Code Related Discussion NEC & other Code issues Ground Rod Woes...

Sorry to digress, but here is a better link explaining the physics behind the lomcevak maneuver...

lol,you guys r killing me with your ways of driving ground rods.try using your big hammer drills the rod fits right into the chuck.it drives it right down no hassle.i havent owned a sledge for 10 years now ,since i found how easy and less strainfull the hammer drill is.

One last thing, then I'm gonna save my money for a big rotary hammer... (or a bosch jack hammer) and no services for less than $1500... In the meantime I'll just keep bending rods when I have to...

'nuff said?

Man this thread makes me glad to live in God's country....Nebraska!!!

No bedrock, no big rocks, if you hit something in the ground it's because there was old construction on the site.

GJ

I've still got an old Phillips 747 hammer drill that I used to use for driving ground rods. It is bulky enough to drive in hard dirt and the chucks for the self drilling anchors hold to the rods pretty good. One of the things about using a hammer drill is the mass of the drill has to be pretty good because of the mass of the rod. Takes a while to get a rod in caleche though. That is where using a 45 degree angle works better. It is also easier to drive at a 45 with a hammer drill than a sledge or slide driver. I got the 747 from a pawn shop for $300 back around 1990. It was the whole outfit and 2 or 3 carbide bits.

[This message has been edited by gpowellpec (edited 07-15-2001).]

Be careful putting the ground rod directly in the hammer drill chuck. I totaled a drill that way. Some manufacturers make a ground rod adapter, if so you should use it.
Don

Some manufacturers make a ground rod adapter, if so you should use it.
Don

Yes, we have a ground rod driver for our 1 1/2" milwaukee thunderbolt. Usually it's not worth dragging it out for one ground rod, but recently we did an RV park, 35 sites. Man that day saved enough labor to pay for the driver and the hammer drill both.
It's the only way to go!

GJ

I feel for you guys. Living on a big sand bar (Long Island) has it's benefits I guess.
I can usually get the rod halfway down just by pulling on it.
Sometimes I would have to tap it down slowly for fear of losing it. Honestly!


Bill

I'm with you, Bill. Living here on the Outer Banks of North Carolina (also a sand bar) makes for easy ground rod driving. I, too, have lost many a ground rod by giving it that last little tap only to have to dig down and pull it up to grade. Most of the time, I can drive them in by hand depending on the area.

C.Urch,

I'm glad you wrote that!
I was thinking that some of these guys just would not believe it. When I use my small 3 lb sledge it will sometimes go down a foot at a time or more. So I have to take it easy sometimes and just tap it.


BTW,

We've been going down to your area for the last 5 yrs or so for family reunion week (Nags Head). Didn't go this year though. All I can say is you've got some HOT Sand there! I've been to the Dune several times (tallest in the Us? or biggest?) but only at night (I'm not crazy). Stay cool down there!

I also think of your area for the Saturday traffic and the "Brew-thru"


Bill

[This message has been edited by Bill Addiss (edited 07-16-2001).]