We are having difficulty driving rods into the dry ground as the copper coating peels off. If the purpose is to have a certain amount of contact with damp soil is it feasible to lay the rods in trenches 18 inches under the ground where they have more chance of encountering damp soil along their entire length. These rods are to earth six station decoder boxes on a country golf course and their main purpouse is to protect against possible lightning strike.
2007-04-11 11:19:27 · 3 answers · asked by poppamurray 1 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Earth Sciences & Geology
You are correct that the main purpose is to come into contact with a relatively large amount of damp earth. If they are shallow, then they may not work at all in times of drought. If you must go this route then make them as deep as possible and use two or three instead of just one per site. I was taught that one of the best electrical grounds known to man is a copper or iron cold water supply pipe, and these are laid horizontally. Could you attach it to a cold water pipe somehow? It would have to be metal, not the newer plastic ones. I wouldn't worry about the copper peeling off. It will still be an excellent ground if driven in properly.
2007-04-11 13:12:27 · answer #1 · answered by Sciencenut 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Grounding rods are best placed as straight as possible into the ground because lightning prefers the straightest path, however if your only choice is to bend the rod to make it get into the ground, it'll still work...it may be less-effective though.
There are electrical tests that can be done to determine it's grounding ability. In the bent ground case...the rod may need to be a little longer to make the best ground possible.
2007-04-11 18:24:22 · answer #2 · answered by Gary D 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
If you are res/comm electrical installation, I believe standards reference "driven" exclusively.
2007-04-13 19:21:54 · answer #3 · answered by PhilaBuster 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋