A couple of gripes then I’ll make my point.
First, I’m delighted this thread is starting discussion 😁. That’s what forums are for.
I do wish the board saw greater participation by the folks who actually do the work. They have a different perspective from others, different concerns.
It’s interesting to step back and look at how our views about the ground rod have changed over time. Electrical power has been with us a fairly short time — about 150 years — and, frankly, for the first fifty years nobody really knew what they were doing. This is reflected in the conflicting concepts about grounding.
Why all this fuss about ground rods? Ultimately the ground rod is there only because lightning exists. The ground rod is completely irrelevant to the power company — notice how Norway gets along just fine without them.
Has anyone ever seen an instance where the existence of a ground rod really mattered? Yet look at the minutia in the code on the topic. I can think of no other code section where yesterday’s theories have so often been contradicted by today’s doctrines. But I ramble ….
As to the means of connecting the first ground rod to the second:
— Don’t forget that the two rod requirement has been around only twelve or fifteen years. This means that most service upgrades will require a second rod.
— Acorns are relatively cheap. There’s nothing wrong with using two on a rod ( one for the wire to the panel, another to connect the rods to each other).
— Multiple wires under clamp just seems wrong.
A further general observation about grounding: Got CSST? Let the argument begin!
IMO, when CSST is used in place of iron gas pipe, you need to somehow connect the meter end to the EGC.
