Tower grounding on rocky ridge
- Thread starter LAEE
- Start date
- Status
- Location
- Bremerton, Washington
- Occupation
- Master Electrician
Re: Tower grounding on rocky ridge
This copper sheets about 4" wide, extending out as in a radial. Could cover with Erico GEM and then soil. Or use 2 WAG and cover with ERICO Gem.
Take a look at the Polyphaser web site and their white papers on site grounding.
This copper sheets about 4" wide, extending out as in a radial. Could cover with Erico GEM and then soil. Or use 2 WAG and cover with ERICO Gem.
Take a look at the Polyphaser web site and their white papers on site grounding.
- Location
- Bremerton, Washington
- Occupation
- Master Electrician
Re: Tower grounding on rocky ridge
OK its AWG, GEM is ground enhancement material, a fine black powder that the conductor is surrounded with.
Can you use the tower foundation as your elecrical ground?
OK its AWG, GEM is ground enhancement material, a fine black powder that the conductor is surrounded with.
Can you use the tower foundation as your elecrical ground?
B
bthielen
Guest
Re: Tower grounding on rocky ridge
This is out of my league but one thought that came to mind: Your original post seems to suggest that the tower is not yet erected. How is the tower itself going to be secured to the rocky terrain? Is it possible to incorporate an effected ground along with the installation of the tower base somehow?
Bob
This is out of my league but one thought that came to mind: Your original post seems to suggest that the tower is not yet erected. How is the tower itself going to be secured to the rocky terrain? Is it possible to incorporate an effected ground along with the installation of the tower base somehow?
Bob
Re: Tower grounding on rocky ridge
The tower foundation is not busted out. A large backhoe mounted hammer will be used to break out the rock.
The concrete encased electrode is a concern with the possibility of damage to the foundation from a large direct hit. I considered installing a 4 ft ground rod on the small tower at the edge of the foundation. Multiple rods may not do much in a 4 x 4 ft area. This is not adequate and most of the current needs a path other than at the foundation.
The tower foundation is not busted out. A large backhoe mounted hammer will be used to break out the rock.
The concrete encased electrode is a concern with the possibility of damage to the foundation from a large direct hit. I considered installing a 4 ft ground rod on the small tower at the edge of the foundation. Multiple rods may not do much in a 4 x 4 ft area. This is not adequate and most of the current needs a path other than at the foundation.
Re: Tower grounding on rocky ridge
LAFE, I do a lot of ground designs on communications towers and have experience on rocky conditions.
There is no one-answer solution even if it is ideal conditions but rather a combination of techniques.
The first is concrete encased electrode. As long as the rebar is bonded by either double ties, welded, or Burndy Hy-Ground compression connectors, any possible damage by lightning is eliminated. From the concrete encased electrode you need two 2/0-stub outs, one going to the tower leg, the other to the ring/radials around the tower. Or you could just use one stub up to do both
Do not know your budget, but from here you can go a few different ways.
1. Remove all the dirt in the fenced perimeter lay a ground grid, back fill with bentonite clay and cover with crush-n-run. Leave stub ups where needed. This will form a equipotentianl ground plane for the tower and equipment hut.
2. If you have enough dirt, lay radials out from each tower leg and back fill the trenches with bentonite. At the tower base run a ring around the tower to connect radials to and sink chemical rods at each location where radials meet the ring. For the hut use a ring back filled with betonite and chemical rods at each corner of the building and at each cable penetration to the hut and all electrical services like AC power and Telco. Interconnect all GE's at sub-terrain level.
What ever you do, make sure it is an engineered system with very specific detailed notes with part numbers, installation methods, cable size, and materials.
Good luck
Dereck
LAFE, I do a lot of ground designs on communications towers and have experience on rocky conditions.
There is no one-answer solution even if it is ideal conditions but rather a combination of techniques.
The first is concrete encased electrode. As long as the rebar is bonded by either double ties, welded, or Burndy Hy-Ground compression connectors, any possible damage by lightning is eliminated. From the concrete encased electrode you need two 2/0-stub outs, one going to the tower leg, the other to the ring/radials around the tower. Or you could just use one stub up to do both
Do not know your budget, but from here you can go a few different ways.
1. Remove all the dirt in the fenced perimeter lay a ground grid, back fill with bentonite clay and cover with crush-n-run. Leave stub ups where needed. This will form a equipotentianl ground plane for the tower and equipment hut.
2. If you have enough dirt, lay radials out from each tower leg and back fill the trenches with bentonite. At the tower base run a ring around the tower to connect radials to and sink chemical rods at each location where radials meet the ring. For the hut use a ring back filled with betonite and chemical rods at each corner of the building and at each cable penetration to the hut and all electrical services like AC power and Telco. Interconnect all GE's at sub-terrain level.
What ever you do, make sure it is an engineered system with very specific detailed notes with part numbers, installation methods, cable size, and materials.
Good luck
Dereck
thomas zakotnik
Member
- Location
- Frderick, MD
Grounding enhancement material
Grounding enhancement material
I am working , for the first time with Erico's GEM material ,and anticipate a reading of 5 ohms or less, if that is not is not achieved then what do u recommend?
T.Z.
Grounding enhancement material
I am working , for the first time with Erico's GEM material ,and anticipate a reading of 5 ohms or less, if that is not is not achieved then what do u recommend?
T.Z.
- Status