Ground Rods

[Mr Clean]

Got two of three copper 8 ft ground rods tied in to the tower. Took about 15 to 20 mins each is all to drive the rods in. Glad I got good ground. About the last 4 ft was alot easier. Guess it was wet. It was still a pain. Will post some pics later. I think you will like it.

 

[Captain Kilowatt]

Of course the last four feet went in easier. It didn't have to go as far down.

 

[Mr Clean]

They are all hooked up and it dont look bad. The grounds I made were three and a half ft and if I had it to do over may have made them alittle shorter. They look fine but this I guess would be a small error. On my next days off it will be antenna building time. Wish me luck.

 

[Moleculo]

Where I live the last 4 feet is always harder unless you get lucky. Usually I end up hitting rock

 

[mackmobile43]

Of course the last four feet went in easier. It didn't have to go as far down.

last time I drove a rod I hit a Chinese.

 

[Mr Clean]

They are all hooked up and it dont look bad. The grounds I made were three and a half ft and if I had it to do over may have made them alittle shorter. They look fine but this I guess would be a small error. On my next days off it will be antenna building time. Wish me luck.

I put 8 ft ground rods in. Im talking about the cable between the tower legs and the ground rod. I didnt explain it very well. My bad.

 

[SharpShooter]

I just installed my 8' ground rod without even a hammer

Just lift it up and then jam it back down....repeat..repeat..repeat:laugh:

Life on the " Sand Pile "

 

[hookedon6]

I put 8 ft ground rods in. Im talking about the cable between the tower legs and the ground rod. I didnt explain it very well. My bad.

not to be picky, but,..... a ground rod should be about its own length from the tower.... 8 ft rod = 8 feet away from the tower.

all 3 rods should be bonded to ONE common elect service ground. that way everything is at the same (earth ground) potential.

 

[W5LZ]

I haven't had to use a hammer on a ground rod in years. The last few ground rods I put in were only about 2 - 3 feet long and there were more than just a few. The hardest part was attaching the water hose with a hose clamp, and turning the water on. Don't remember, think those 'rods' were 5/8" hard drawn copper pipe? Distance between them was a couple of steps, whatever that amounts to. Can't tell you the size of the wire connecting all of those things, but it was something like 1/4" in diameter, wish I could remember where I got it! Oops, I lied! Last 2 or 3 inches was hammered down below ground level after making connections. Buried the whole mess maybe an inch or two. I think that was something like 15 years ago. It still works just dandy. Got rid of the copper 'waterfall' out of a window, there's just one cable now (a very large one). I use a board in that window for feed through's for coax and ladder line. Screwed up though, didn't drill a hole for that ground cable, went over the board. Can't close the window completely because of that cable now. Stuffed that gap with insulation, so it works well enough to keep heat/cold out. You ain't lived until you've looked up at some noise and stared one'a them 'tree-rats' in the face, looking through that gap. Generations of them 'tree-rats' have grown up being told, "Don't go up there, a monster makes loud noises and throws things at you!" .
- 'Doc

 

[Mr Clean]

not to be picky, but,..... a ground rod should be about its own length from the tower.... 8 ft rod = 8 feet away from the tower.

all 3 rods should be bonded to ONE common elect service ground. that way everything is at the same (earth ground) potential.

I never heard they needed to be 8 ft away from the tower. Just 8 ft between rods. They are going to be joined together before I bury them. Thanks for the info

 

[hookedon6]

I never heard they needed to be 8 ft away from the tower. Just 8 ft between rods. They are going to be joined together before I bury them. Thanks for the info

yeah, i just use the single length of the rod as a guide,.... some people recommend TWICE the length and i can't disagree with that, it depends on what you consider "conductive" soil.

Grounding for Lightning

Ground rods in a well-conducting soil have a cylindrical region of influence around them with a diameter that extends roughly twice the length of the ground rod. This is the region in which the ground rod disperses lightning strike energy. Placing round rods closer together than twice their length means their regions of influence overlap. That does not make it a worse grounding system, but there is no gain either and it is a waste of money to place them that close together. So, for 8 foot ground rods they should be 16 feet apart, for 10 foot rods it becomes 20 feet from one rod to the next.

 

[Mr Clean]

I guess you guys tie in to the electricial ground also? Most say they do.

 

[Captain Kilowatt]

I guess you guys tie in to the electricial ground also? Most say they do.

definately do that. It keeps all the grounds at the same potential in the event of a lightning strike. One thing that folks do not understand is that two different ground points may not be at the same potential (voltage) at the same time during a lightning strike as the current sweeps thru the ground. This imbalance in ground potentials can cause a voltage differance across your gear even tho everything is grounded albeit to two different ground points.