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Ground rods intalled.
3 September 2024 | by 
This ground rod took forever to pound in.
I had the opportunity in the spring to pick up free of charge 2 copper-clad 8-foot ground rods free of charge as long as I picked them up. It was about an hour's drive for me but free ground rods were well worth the trip. Also, I was able to meet one of the hams from our contest club and have a coffee and a nice chat. As things go I had many things to do around the house and installing ground rods was low on the list. Well, September was here and I did not want to wait any longer and the decision was made to pound in two ground rods.
I did some online searching for ways to install ground rods and one way was to rent a tool that basically pounds them in. It's like a concrete hammer drill but for ground rods. I contacted the local building store who rented them and I was told for 1/2 day it was about 250.00!!!! Well, it first was time for plan B to see how that worked out. Plan B was to put the ground rods in on my own steam! Online there were many videos of folks who lifted the ground rod and slammed it into the ground. They kept doing this and added water into the hole as they went along. When the ground rod was close to the surface they used a hammer for the rest. Another common thread in the videos was best case was to do this job after a few days of rain as this also helped out. As plans would have it did rain here for a few days and just after the rain I thought "It's a nice day to pound some ground rods in". Out I went with my trusty water bottles, work gloves and lots of ambition. I have to say the first ground rod at the base of my Hustler 4BTV went in very easily. So bubbling with confidence I moved to the second location which was for a ground rod that was to ground my station.
This spot was not as smooth going, the first attempt came to an abrupt stop at about the 4-foot mark. The only thing I could figure was I hit a tree root from one of our Maple trees. The second attempt was a charm BUT it was not easy going. I added water and slammed the ground rod down and it did go in but very very very slowly. Finally, success and both ground rods were in and connected to the antenna and the other to a ground bus in my shack.
20 Responses to “Ground rods intalled.”
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One way to insert a rod into the ground is to connect a length of hose to a pipe as long as the depth you want to go to plus a bit so you can handle it and use the water to make the hole, if it turns out the hole is a bit bigger than the rod insert the rod and pack coarse salt around it. Ive used this method many times and it works.
Good morning John and very nice to hear from you. Very good ideas and one I was thinking of trying if my one method did not work was to use my power washer to bore a hole.
73,
Mike
VE9KK
Hi Mike,
If you can get a drill with rotation stop (ie hammer only) you can get a driving head. You get a driving head with a hex head and threaded onto the rod. The hex head will fit a socket with a SDS connector for your drill.
A couple of days before, I diverted an irrigation pipe to dribble water around the hole site to soften up the soil.
I like the comment about salt, as it increases the conductivity, but I worry about corrosion. The copper goes green and usually stops corroding, but maybe the salt exacerbates this, and then you are down to the steel. The copper cladding is very thin.
I don’t know how to attach photos to this message but I can show the driving head and socket / SDS thingey if anybody wants the info.
By the way, despite all the EU going metric, the earth rods here are still UNC threads, mostly 5/8″ and some of the bigger ones 3/4″
Good morning Chris and thanks for taking the time to read and leave a comment. I do not own a hammer drill, well large enough to hammer in a ground rod so looking for an attachment is out of the question. They do offer the drill you speak of to rent but they are very pricey. I wanted to at least give the way I tried to see if it would work before I put out the money to rent the drill.
Have a great weekend,
73
Mike
VE9KK
I use my SDS drill, on hammer setting, with a modified bit on it, basically an old pick bit with pipe welded to it..cost little to buy the pick bit at a local store selling used gear.
At 60, too old for several years to swing a sledge, with the marl stones here.
Mike,
If you can find a welding supply house, you ought to check for an exo-thermic (“CadWeld”)connector kit for your ground lead to ground rod connection, and replace that clamp. Fusing the conductors will lower the resistance at that point, and will not come loose over time. I’ve installed hundreds of those and have never heard of one failing, even after lightning strikes they remain securely connected.
Mike, I have used the pressure washer approach and it works very well. Also great for straightening up flag pole bases that have shifted over time from the frost.
Good afternoon Adam my drill is just a plain old chuck type and not SDS. It is a pricey and very good hammer drill and I would not want to burn out the motor trying to drive a ground rod in. I am 64 so I just took my sweet old time doing it.
73 and have a great weekend,
Mike
VE9KK
Good afternoon John and thanks for taking the time to leave a comment. I am familiar with Cadweld products. I don’t plan on being at this QTH for a long time and I hope the clamps will last the few years I plan to be here.
73,
Mike
VE9KK
Good afternoon Ed nice to know the pressure washer approach works. I had it in the back of my mind and who knows when I go down this road again I may just use the pressure washer instead.
73,
Mike
VE9KK
Another idea is to use those tools used to hammer in fence posts – they are like a closed end pipe (one end only) and a “T” handle near the top to slam down with – Made of heavy iron pipe, they help hammer in posts nicely and should work with ground rods.
Question from a newbie. Is it alright to connect to the ground rod that my house electricity is attached to or does the ground for antenna and shack need to each have their own ground rod? Thanks for any and all help.
I have a Harbour Freight “SDS” hammer drill with the bit that goes over the ground rod. That worked great until I hit rock, a lot of shale here. I went to the ACE hardware store and rented the “SDSMax” hammerer drill for about $40-60 dollars, I forget, but it drove that thing in like it was butter.
I’ve since then picked up a Hilti “SDS” hammer drill at a yard sale and I want to see if it will drive better then the Harbour Freight drill but have not had a chance to use it but have a ground rod setting here waiting to get the chance to put it in.
I may not be able to give a good comparison since it will be in a different spot in the yard. Also be careful to be out fare enough from your house that you don’t hit the footer, that will stop you also. Make sure you get the “SDS MAX” not the “SDS” they are different and take different bits. I usually use the longest bit I have, about 24 inches, to drill a starter hole, before I start the ground rod in.
Bob. K3ADU
David KK7TAA:It is possible to connect to the mains ground. I have metal poles and the fence of the estate connected to the zero wire, as well as all the antennas and equipment. Everything is working perfectly!
RA9UU- My understanding (limited) is that that is actually the best way to ground your system. A little research should verify this.
Good afternoon Bart and thanks for leaving a comment, that is a very good idea but at the time I had nothing like that. As a side note a few weeks ago next door had a new chain link fence put in and they had some kind of gas-powered pounding device to put in fence posts.
73,
Mike
VE9KK
Good afternoon David and a very good question. From what I have read (Ward Silvers Grounding and Bonding for Amateur Radio book) most of the time your house ground is a distance from your radio location. The idea for the grounding of your station is to keep the length of the ground wire as short as you can. For this reason, I put a ground rod just outside my shack. I then ran a bonding cable (a cable that goes from my radio ground rod to the house and antenna ground rod) to the other ground rods. From the reading I have been doing it is more advisable to put in a separate radio room ground rod and bond them. Now having said that if your home service panel is installed correctly then any radio room three-prong plugs will be connected to the house ground and thus the electrical ground rod as well.
73,
Mike
VE9KK
Sergey (RA9UU) very nice to hear from you and thanks for taking the time to leave a comment and giving David some advice.
73,
Mike
VE9KK
Good afternoon Lee and as Sergey did thanks for your input on the subject.
73,
Mike
VE9KK
Sorry Bob I seemed to miss your comment in the answering of the lot of them. I guess you could say I saved the best until the last…:). Well, I am familiar with the Hilti product as I used a lot of their drills at work. They are a great product and when you finally use yours I am sure you will be very pleased. If the price up this way was only 40-60 to rent one I would have done that for sure but they wanted way too much for a rental.
Have a great week Bob and thanks for the in put.
73,
Mike
VE9KK