what method --driving ground rods?

[LarryFine]

In chronologinal order:

Sledge hammer
Fence-post driver, finish w/ sledge hammer
Bosch SDS-Max rotary hammer w/ rod driver

 

[kwired]

$1500 is cheap driver

$1500 is cheap driver

I used to use home made fence post driver as mentioned previously in this thread (probably for nearly 20 years)

about 2 years ago I was driving a rod with it everything was as usual raise driver, force driver onto rod, raise driver, force driver onto rod, raise driver, miss rod with driver - put rod right through hand. did not even hurt until about a half hour later.

went to emergency room got stitched up and got an infection a few days later that required a hospital stay to get under control.

I already owned a rotary hammer but no bit for driving ground rods, but I do now. they do not appear very expensive at all after paying the hospital bills.

 

[tkb]

How about the Erico Ground Rod Driver.
I have used these and they work better than a hammer but not as good as a rotary hammer.
Works great for the occasional ground rod.
You don't need a ladder or power to drive one.

• Lets you drive rods to ground level without heavy sledge hammers, without ladders and without deforming the end of the rod
• Integral insert prevents driver from slipping off the rod near ground level
• 5/8" and 3/4" inserts are interchangeable with standard driver body
• Can be used on all types of ground rods, including copperbonded, galvanized, and stainless steel
• Completely self-contained and easy to store
• Saves time and money

Eritech website
Eritech PDF

 

[bradleyelectric]

I actually use my Hilti to drill through brick, block, and concrete also. If you don't have one that you can put a ground rod bit on, how do you drill through brick, block and concrete? Are you still using star bits?

 

[busman]

In chronologinal order:

Sledge hammer
Fence-post driver, finish w/ sledge hammer
Bosch SDS-Max rotary hammer w/ rod driver

What Larry said, with home-made sds-plus driver between fence-post driver and SDS-max.

 

[1793]

I start with this, it get me about 3' deep then I remove the probe portion, push the 5/8" CU ground rod and drive the grd rod further


then finish with the Sluggo Ox and sledge hammer

 

[480sparky]

Another tool that is extremely important in driving ground rods is a telephone.

You use it to call for utility locates.

 

[daleuger]

The only way to fly.

THAT'S the one right there! Done that lots.

 

[Ohmy]

Hammer drill all the way, but when you don't have power (t-poles, etc.) the mini sledge works OK. The fence post driver is nice but you have to keep up with it while you generally have a hammer somewhere in the vehicle.

 

[MarkyMarkNC]

Harbor Freight SDS hammer drills were on sale a little while last Summer for $59.99. I use it all the time. Paired with a homemade ground rod driver I made out of a chisel bit, it has never failed me. The only problem I've had is the plastic trigger tip falling off.

The only reason I would buy a Hilti is if I had a big job where I had to drill a whole lot of large holes in a row. For intermittent use, the HF drill does fine, at a really good price point.

 

[480sparky]

............The only reason I would buy a Hilti is if I had a big job where I had to drill a whole lot of large holes in a row...........

The Hilti I posted (TE-905) is not a hammer drill, but a demolition hammer.

 

[220/221]

Demo hammer w/ ground rod bit.

 

[LarryFine]

Demo hammer w/ ground rod bit.

Yes, but can it spin a core bit? :wink:

 

[480sparky]

Yes, but can it spin a core bit? :wink:

It's a demo hammer. Hammer is the key word.

 

[220/221]

Yes, but can it spin a core bit?

No, but it can take out concrete and asphalt and dig trenches with the spade attachment.

For a few years I use a medium sized Bosch hammer drill with a G rod bit

but the demo hammer is WAY faster and will drive into almost anything without using the G rod adjuster tool.

I can't believe that someone would actually pound one into the ground using a 3# hammer unless it's sand, marshland or a houseboat.

 

[Mr.Sparkle]

Most of the time a 3# hammer here. (Its sand, most of the time....)


psssst 220, I think that is a sawzall not a demo hammer

 

[kbsparky]

....but the demo hammer is WAY faster and will drive into almost anything without using the G rod adjuster tool.

...

Ummm ... that's deWalt's version of a cordless SAWZALL! Are you implying that you are cutting off those ground rods without driving them down all the way?? :-?

 

[vinster888]

i was wondering the same thing with the sawz all. i just use the muscles god gave me and then i step on them for the last foot or two.

 

[hurk27]

I have used a Milwaukee spline drive for years, the first one cost me over $800, and about a year ago it finally bit the dust as the armature was in too bad of shape to fix any more, so it was back to driving with the home made drivers. after a week I got a catalog in the mail, that had a Milwaukee spline drive in it for $230, I about flipped, ordered 5 of them, I like the spline drive because you don't need a bit to drive 5/8 rods, the spline is just a little bigger, and the spline trims off the mushrooming of the rod, but now only after a year we only have 3 of the 5 because of a disk in the back or the motor on these newer version keeps failing, its called a speed governor. so as the other ones fail I'll be looking at something better.

Oh and a little funny story driving a rod with the old Milwaukee (not the beer) I was driving a 10' rod while my helper was setting up the meter to install it, as I got close to the ground I pulled the Milwaukee off the rod and it just disappeared into the ground, we even dug for it but could not find it, we were about a 2 hour drive from the shop too. try to explain "why you didn't finish a service because you lost a rod into the ground and now you have to drive 2 hours to put another rod in" to your boss. I think he though we were having to many old Milwaukee's

 

[billdozier]

Why are we even driving ground rods. If you ask the inspectors in my area all you need is the uefer ground. So why waste time fighting with a ground rod? Before they stopped enforcing ground rods we used a small sledge. Gotta love sand.