With the amount of ledge rock in my location, I know I won't be able to pound a rod in 8'.(I will try, but....) Are there any other options? It is for a sub-panel at garage that is 30 ' away from house. Wires are run out to garage underground through 2" grey PVC. No water lines in structure.
2007-02-07 00:11:58 · 11 answers · asked by John F 1 in Home & Garden ➔ Do It Yourself (DIY)
u can drive a ground rod at a 45 degree angle. i'm an electrical contractor in new england, lots of rock and ledge. i drive ground rods with a hilti te56 hammer drill. it sometimes will split thru soft ledge and stone. i also pull alot of ground rods back out and try a new spot. that being said, i hope that u ran 4 wires to your sub panel( 2 hots,1 nuetral, 1 ground) the nuetral must be isolated from the panel box(don't use the green screw that came with the panelboard(bonding screw) that screw is for main panels only. the ground wire must be connected to the panel box itself with a ground bar.(available at any major home improvement store.
2007-02-08 10:27:08 · answer #1 · answered by electric comando 1 · 1⤊ 0⤋
There are a few reasons for getting the rod in the full depth from a functional standpoint. One is the proportional electrical resistance in the rod to earth connection. This varies with the length of rod and moisture present. At deeper depths the ground stays moist and hence a better connection. In theory, the system would work with no ground rod at all provided that a ground wire does connect the two panels. Run a complete hookup with both ground and neutral leads. Make sure that all circuits run gfci protection. Use the correct wire.
2007-02-07 00:38:37 · answer #2 · answered by just jack 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
you can try a sledge hammer. you can try useing a "hilti" hammer drill. you can create a different type of grounding electrode like a plate (described in createing a grounding electrode "nec"). or you can bring the ground and neutral from your house ( don't bond them together in your garage). the grounding and bonding of that sub panel ( in a different structure) became an issue a few years back. for years before that it wasn't an issue. the ground you brought to the panel was enough. but you get a bunch of guys sitting around a table discussing things that have been fine for years if not decades, and deside to stir things up a bit a put their 2 cents in. anyway. I, as well as many others, had just brought a seperate neutral and ground to the seperate structure for many years before this code change. (as i look at my detatched garage with no seperated grounding and bonding and passed electrical 18 yrs ago before the change and is fine.. ) best of luck... oh- is it possible to bring along with your feeder a seperate grounding conductor that can go back to your existing grounding electrode system ( water pipe and ground rod).? which is what your doing with the feeder ground anyway.
2007-02-07 00:52:40 · answer #3 · answered by ritelec 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The power company or the approving agency will come out and put a meter onto the ground rod. They will determine if it has adequate conductance to ground.
Why are you using a ground rod on a subpanel? That is not required where I live for a secondary panel. Only the entrance main panel is groundrod grounded and that in our municapality requires a meter test as described above. No rod is required on sub panels. And, I dont see anything in Nat.Elec Code either.
2007-02-07 01:30:14 · answer #4 · answered by James M 6 · 0⤊ 1⤋
We pounded ours in at an angle. I wouldn't go more than about a 30 degree angle though. Inspectors said that was okay to do. We started off with a post driver and then went to a sledgehammer. If you can bond to the rebar in your foundation that would be great as a second ground.
2007-02-07 01:20:17 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
i worked on a job site near San Jose CA. the ground was extremely hard. we tried ever thing to drive the ground rods. even tried to push them with a backhoe. we ended up digging a trench and laying them in it. the inspectors (he called 3 or 4 other inspectors) had a fit, but all their collective minds could not find a code that said the rod had to be vertical, it said buried in earth.
i hope this was helpful
2007-02-07 03:46:36 · answer #6 · answered by RUSSELLL 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
thats an electrical code issue in the community you live in. Functionally could check the grounding ohms on the rod when youve driven it.
2007-02-07 00:15:01 · answer #7 · answered by David B 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It doesn't have to go down 8 feet. If you get it between 4-5 feet you are fine.
2007-02-07 06:23:08 · answer #8 · answered by jepa8196 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
LOL @ Russ. Man that's beautiful. Beat the inspectors at thier own game.
2007-02-08 11:08:51 · answer #9 · answered by speedgeek 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Drive it in as best you can and cut it off and tell them yes it's 8' down
2007-02-07 12:35:05 · answer #10 · answered by Chris 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋