- Location
- New Jersey
- Occupation
- Journeyman Electrician
And if it's a 10' rod?
I'll cut an inch off and you can try and prove that it's 9'11".
Replacing ground rod due to equipment relocation. Removal of old grounding rods?
- Thread starter thewire
- Start date
- Status
I'll cut an inch off and you can try and prove that it's 9'11".
I'll cut an inch off and you can try and prove that it's 9'11".
I'm sure there would be an inspector that would require you to prove it's 7'11".
- Location
- New Jersey
- Occupation
- Journeyman Electrician
Just as an aside has anyone seen a 10' ground rod that was 5/8"? The only ones that I've ever seen that are 10' long are 3/4".
hbiss
EC, Westchester, New York NEC: 2014
- Location
- Hawthorne, New York NEC: 2014
- Occupation
- EC
That's just the same rig that they set poles with. It has an auger and a "claw" that they use to pick the pole up and drop it in the hole. There is also a winch on the boom that they use to lift poles off the trailer and pull old poles. Usually they have to wiggle it back and forth with the claw to loosen it up then wrap a chain around it, attach the winch cable and out it comes.
Bit of an overkill for a ground rod. :lol:
-Hal
ggunn
PE (Electrical), NABCEP certified
- Location
- Austin, TX, USA
- Occupation
- Consulting Electrical Engineer - Photovoltaic Systems
I would argue that connecting it to a grounding electrode system is what makes it a ground rod. Otherwise it's just a piece of metal stuck in the ground.
hbiss
EC, Westchester, New York NEC: 2014
- Location
- Hawthorne, New York NEC: 2014
- Occupation
- EC
:thumbsup:
-Hal
-Hal
- Location
- New Jersey
- Occupation
- Journeyman Electrician
You could say the same thing about the rebar in the footing. IMO either way they're both present.
kwired
Electron manager
- Location
- NE Nebraska
- Occupation
- EC
My guess on the reason for two poles within a few feet of one another (something I have seen several times anyway) is POCO replaces pole, sets new one just a few feet away from original and transfers their equipment to the new pole. Below there may be communications lines or other equipment operated by others, so they cut of top of old pole so it is out of way for their lines near the top but leave that other stuff for operators of that equipment to transfer to the new pole sometime later. Then the old pole sits there for years sometimes with nothing attached to it unless someone complains enough to get it removed.
ggunn
PE (Electrical), NABCEP certified
- Location
- Austin, TX, USA
- Occupation
- Consulting Electrical Engineer - Photovoltaic Systems
Present where? How close does an abandoned piece of metal that used to be a ground rod need to be to a service to necessitate its bonding to the GES? 6 feet? 20 feet ? 1/4 mile?You could say the same thing about the rebar in the footing. IMO either way they're both present.
- Location
- New Jersey
- Occupation
- Journeyman Electrician
Present where? How close does an abandoned piece of metal that used to be a ground rod need to be to a service to necessitate its bonding to the GES? 6 feet? 20 feet ? 1/4 mile?
Good question that no one can answer and they changed to code wording a few cycles back to the word present to make it clearer.
petersonra
Senior Member
- Location
- Northern illinois
- Occupation
- engineer
put a tag on the abandoned piece of metal in the ground stating it is no longer associated with the nearby structure so the inspector will know that it does not need to be considered as a GE for that structure.
- Location
- Chapel Hill, NC
- Occupation
- Retired Electrical Contractor
Seriously, you are still on the ground rods. The code requires 2 at most so why continue with this. A well pipe is the best electrode (when they were metal) but we don't have to use that...
mivey
Senior Member
I agree. In service it is an electrode. Abandoned it is buried trash.
LarryFine
Master Electrician Electric Contractor Richmond VA
- Location
- Henrico County, VA
- Occupation
- Electrical Contractor
No they didn't.. . . they changed to code wording a few cycles back to the word present to make it clearer.
kwired
Electron manager
- Location
- NE Nebraska
- Occupation
- EC
When inspector asks if you removed the old ground rod(s) I guess you hand him a shovel so he can search for his answer. After all you could lie and say you did.Present where? How close does an abandoned piece of metal that used to be a ground rod need to be to a service to necessitate its bonding to the GES? 6 feet? 20 feet ? 1/4 mile?
And the inspectors I deal with would hand it back and say call me when you have excavated a 20' wide area around the building and BTW, there will be a re-inspection fee.
In reality I don't think an inspector would give a second thought to the abandoned rod(s).
Roger
- Location
- New Jersey
- Occupation
- Journeyman Electrician
I agree, although by the wording of the NEC they could.
kwired
Electron manager
- Location
- NE Nebraska
- Occupation
- EC
And as far as I'm concerned, inspector can dig that 20' all around the building if he is concerned there may be a rod that isn't being used, plain ridiculous to make such a request, my handing him a shovel was sarcasm for if you find one I suppose I will connect it. Meanwhile me and the rest of crew, maybe even other tradesmen will get a big cooler of beer and sit and watch you look for said rod(s).
I don't know how it works where you are but most places the inspector will withhold a final (meaning C.O.) or even have the POCO remove the meter if an EC gets to high up on his horse, even if they offered him a beer.
Roger
I don't see how that could even be possible.
Especially if there was no Code violation to back up those type of actions.
JAP>
- Status