>
> On Aug 14, 2006, at 1:32 AM, Allen R. Brier wrote:
>
>> What is the best/easiest method to sink ground rods? I know the
>> trick of
>> using water to fill the hole several times to make it easy, but I
>> have also
>> heard that the ground contact is not as good using this method vs.
>> pounding
It depends on the soil.
Here in central Michigan we have a mix, sand, sand lome, clay, clay lome, or
in my yard it's about a foot of top soil covering alternating layers of pure
clay and pure sand. It rains a lot.
If you have a rainy season then the hydraulic drill will work as well as any
of the others and in general is a lot easier. Some soils and in dry areas
the hole from the hydraulic drill would probably take a very long time to
fill in. Here, two days after you put the rod in you can't get it back out
without a really good engine hoist and the ground contact is good.
>> the rod in the hard way, in dry ground. Which is best?
>
> The best way is to pound them in. Doing that can be tricky. It all
> depends on the soil. I put a couple of ground rods in at W4AN (SK)'s
> superstation in Dahlonegah, GA. Soil there was undisturbed forest
> floor. The ground rods could be pushed almost a foot, and hammered in
> with a 20 oz hammer all but the last two feet. Really soft ground.
In that case the hydraulic drill would work well, but isn't worth the
effort<:-))
>
> Most of Georgia isn't like that -- around Atlanta it is hard clay.
> Back in the mid-80s, I broke three sledgehammer handles trying to put
> two ground rods in during a drought. After that, I built a tool.
>
Down there I'd wait for the wet season.<:-)) Then you can easily drive them
in with just a medium size hammer.
Roger Halstead (K8RI and ARRL 40 year Life Member)
N833R - World's oldest Debonair CD-2
www.rogerhalstead.com (Use return address from home page)
> My ground rod driving tool consists of a 12" steel pipe nipple with
> two couplers and a plug on one end. To this, I added a couple of
> collars and 15 lbs from a set of dumbell weights. The result is a 15
> lb hammer with about a 1 foot throw that cannot miss.
>
> It only takes about 10 minutes to put in a ground rod with this
> device, even in the hardest clay soil.
>
> When I put up my tower five years ago, putting in the four ground
> rods was a snap.
>
> Bill Coleman, AA4LR, PP-ASEL Mail: aa4lr@arrl.net
> Quote: "Not within a thousand years will man ever fly!"
> -- Wilbur Wright, 1901
>
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