ECN Forum Forums General Topics of the Trade General Discussion Area 20 ft Ground Rod

Prints I'm looking at call for driving 20 ft ground rod. I'm not sure of the composition of the ground. Anyone have a good (fast, cheap, easy?) way to run same.

Joan, why not try a UFER?
http://www.scott-inc.com/html/ufer.htm

How about 2 10 foot rods?



Or you could lay the 20 foot rod horizontally in a ditch before backfilling.

Joan,
The ground ring around the Pentagon requires ground rods 1" X 20' every 15 feet, most contractors use an air compressor and jack hammer for the task. BTW, did I tell you guys one of the reasons I've been scarce around here is the move from Dulles to the
Pentagon ? Surprise !!!!!!!

George,
good grief! that would take a while...

Joan,
I just had to install some 10" rods in an area with rock at 3'. I had a soil testing company drill 4" holes 11' deep and installed the rods with sand mix concrete as back fill. The drilling cost about $400 per rod.
Don(resqcapt19)

Sparky,
It takes a bit, but the old building was poorly grounded when built (1941-43) and patched here and there since. This is the first major remodel and lotsa things that were taken for granted years ago will not be overlooked this time. Course, uh.... we also have to fill the hole.

Are 20' ground rods readily available or do you have to Cadweld two 10'?

You can use sectional ground rods to get just about any length. You will need something heavy to drive them-air comressor and jack hammer- depending on the local earth at the job site. Most supply houses will be able to order them for you
Good luck

There's one I had to drive to 140' for a company that produced equipment for MaBell in the '70s. Using 10' sectional rods and a 60# jackhammer, it took all of 2 days in fairly easy dirt.