I’ve completed the job and hope to soon have pics to post, as an aid to discussion.
The ground was firm, best described as compressed mud. Digging maybe nine feet of 8” deep trench with two 12” pocket holes was a snap.
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Driving the rods with an SDS-Max roto-hammer was a snap. I’d estimate a total of fifteen minutes for both of them. I was able to start them by pushing the first six inches in by hand. My shiny new roto-hammer runs on a pair of 18V batteries.
I saw an original variation of the pile driver on the internet. Imagine a very big sledge with the handle replaced by a one-inch pipe. By slipping the pipe over the rod, you can hammer the end of the rod without getting on a ladder. Looks to be a great way to start the rod; I might have to make one!
As to burying the wire: I don’t see any depth requirement in the code; applying the usual conductor burial table seems improper. Your thoughts?
About the wire itself: When the requirement for a second ground rod was instituted, a speaker at the local IAEI seminar explained that it was NOT the intent of the code to require a single continuous wire to run from panel to rod to rod. Using one wire to run from the panel to the first rod, and a second wire between rods.I note that NONE of the usual fittings have their terminals oriented to facilitate a continuous wire passing through.
