Welp tried it (Tiger Ground Rod Driver 3/4

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Tony S said:
..I found and used a 600Ft long redundant iron gas pipe that ran the length of the street. Unconventional maybe, but it gave exceptional earth loop results. ..I don’t know about the stipulations of the NEC but BS7671 allows using buried steelwork as an electrode.
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When Zeus and Poseidon need somewhere to strike their lighting bolts, your house may light up, especially is resistance is relatively low.

Stateside NEC only allows customer side bonding electrodes, building steal, pipes, & foundation steal, since utility side services are prohibited.
 
Nothing says you have to drive the rod straight down. The rod has to come in contact with the earth (and obviously you can't just lay it on top of the ground). I live in a mountainous area. Every time you stick a shovel into the ground you hit a field stone guaranteed !!! For years I've been driving both rods in on a severe angle with a lump hammer. Never had a problem and never been tagged. If I did work down near the seashore where the soil is all or mostly sand I'd drive them straight down.
 
goldstar said:
Nothing says you have to drive the rod straight down. The rod has to come in contact with the earth (and obviously you can't just lay it on top of the ground). I live in a mountainous area. Every time you stick a shovel into the ground you hit a field stone guaranteed !!! For years I've been driving both rods in on a severe angle with a lump hammer. Never had a problem and never been tagged. If I did work down near the seashore where the soil is all or mostly sand I'd drive them straight down.
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Not fully true, see 250.53(G).
 
kwired said:
Not fully true, see 250.53(G).
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So that we're all on the same page here's the section you cited :
250.53 Grounding Electrode System Installation.
(G) Rod and Pipe Electrodes. The electrode shall be installed
such that at least 2.44 m (8 ft) of length is in contact with the
soil. It shall be driven to a depth of not less than 2.44 m (8 ft)
except that, where rock bottom is encountered, the electrode
shall be driven at an oblique angle not to exceed 45 degrees
from the vertical or, where rock bottom is encountered at an
angle up to 45 degrees, the electrode shall be permitted to be
buried in a trench that is at least 750 mm (30 in.) deep. The
upper end of the electrode shall be flush with or below ground
level unless the above ground end and the grounding electrode
conductor attachment are protected against physical damage as
specified in 250.10.
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Which part was I incorrect on ? Except for about the last 3 " where the acorn clamp gets attached the entire rod is in contact with the earth. If an EI cites me on not having it all the way down I'll go back and pound the rest into the earth. The rod(s) are usually installed in a shrub bed. Very rarely are they installin in a lawn where a mower can come in contact with them.
 
goldstar said:
So that we're all on the same page here's the section you cited :Which part was I incorrect on ? Except for about the last 3 " where the acorn clamp gets attached the entire rod is in contact with the earth. If an EI cites me on not having it all the way down I'll go back and pound the rest into the earth. The rod(s) are usually installed in a shrub bed. Very rarely are they installin in a lawn where a mower can come in contact with them.
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If you read carefully, 'driven to a depth of 8ft' means 8ft deep in the ground. So if it's an 8ft rod then that's straight down, because, you know, length of the hypotenuse, and so on, geometry. The 'except that' part applies when there's rock at less than 8ft depth. So if you have an 8ft rod and there's no rock underneath, straight down per the code.

A 10ft rod could be driven at an angle of 36 degrees (Inverse cosine of 8/10. ) whether there's rock or not.

:p

Now what if I have a house built on the side of a hill, and I send an 8ft rod into it at a 45deg angle, but the grade goes up above the entry point at 45deg, such that the vertical distance from the bottom point of the rod to the soil vertically above is well over 8ft, but the vertical distance from the bottom of the rod to the top is well under 8ft? They need to revise the code to address that! :roll::lol:
 
I would think that someone could even drive a rod horizontally through a basement wall, as long as the 30" depth is maintained. (How could they prove you didn't try vertically first?)

Back when I was a helper, it was always a 3/4" RGS conduit sledge-driven. I usually use the 1/2" copper-clad steel rods from HD, and always start the sharper end first.
 
LarryFine said:
I would think that someone could even drive a rod horizontally through a basement wall, as long as the 30" depth is maintained. (How could they prove you didn't try vertically first?)

Back when I was a helper, it was always a 3/4" RGS conduit sledge-driven. I usually use the 1/2" copper-clad steel rods from HD, and always start the sharper end first.
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How do you drive it vertically through a wall other than from the top side?:)
 
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