Just My 2 cents worth: or : Galvanized won't work in South Louisiana.
I am located in one of the "Hot Spots" South Louisiana. I have over
40 + years in underground construction. In the Late 60's The Pipe
Line Safty Act was passed. Steel Gas Pipe was required to be
protected against corrossion.Underground Galvanized Pipe was
not used. Several methods of doing this were available. Anodes,
on isolated sections were most common methods and connecting
material was copper and ir brass, still is today. Not wanting to get into
procedures taken just saying that never ever allowed to use Galv.
In this area of the country, I have seen Galvanized pipe destroyed
in less than 6 months. In over 40 years I have yet to see a piece
of copper destroyed. Have seen many a time, a copper water line
and black steel or galv steel gas line , side by side and the steel line
every time was damaged due to corrossion. Distance between them
did not matter. From 1" to 50 feet at same depth, it made no difference..
About 35 years ago I used a Galv. rod for a
property corner. Replaced it later with copper as it was gone.
Lasted maybe 10 years, at the most, Copper one is still there.
I was not aware of EIA standards reg. Galv. Steel Rods. This
is not the first time a mistake has been made if it is so.
Maybe we need to get the Corrosion Engineers on this one.
Might need to see if we need anodes on Towers> This might
open a wild new thread.
BTW one of my property corners is a piece of copper dating back
to 1912 when this land was acquired. It is still there.
For Installing Ground rods: Use a copper rod ........
Forget the Sledge Hammer, use a coke bottle full of water and
jig it up and down, goes in easy. If that's too hard, get a piece
of pipe , put a sleeve on end and connect the water hose of the
other end and jig it up and down, washing a hole as far down as
you want to go If you are in rocky terrain, it won't work but does
real fine down here. In the old days, we bored roadways for pipe
crossings with a few five gallon buckets of water.
And I am in acid area, strawberrys, azealeas, etc love it. Galv.Don't.
73 Brad KZ5Q
Long Live CW
My Preferred Mode
Bob Wanderer wrote:
> While Anchor Guard was one of the major forces behind EIA/TIA 222 F
> which precluded the use of copper in the grounding system, I think they
> tried to solve a complex issue simplistically. There is more to the situation
> than dissimilar metals (copper and galvanized [zinc]) being near each other.
> Unanswered in my mind is how close to (or actually how faraway from) each
> othjer they have to be before problems might occur.
>
> The corrosivity of the soil is another issue left unaddressed. One should
> measure
> the pH of the soil, preferably at the depth at which the grounding system is
> to be
> installed. The pH testers sold at spa and swimming pool places will suffice
> for
> ascertaining whether your soil is acidic or alkaline. If your soil is acidic
> (most of
> the eastern US is), you want to go with galvanized because the acid will
> attack the
> copper. If your soil is alkaline, however, you want to avoid
> galvanized/tin/aluminum
> grounding components because those metals are quickly attacked in that
> environment.
>
> 73,
> Bob Wanderer AA0CY
> ex PolyPhaser Sr Appl Engr
> now (Thank God) back in the cable television industry
> but had to leave Nevada and move to Seattle.
>
> ----------
> From: k0il@qsl.net[SMTP:EEDWARDS@oppd.com]
> Sent: Friday, May 01, 1998 6:54 AM
> To: rfi@contesting.com
> Subject: Re: [RFI] Copper clad or Galvanized steel ground rods???
>
> >Another question, which is better in clay type of topsoil? I currently
> >have several copper clad one out and I assume I should continue to use
> >copper clad on the ones I am soon to add?
>
> I've used only copper clad rods since pure copper won't go straight into the
> ground here with clay soil. I usually have to use a sledge hammer to get 'em
> all the way in. At home I use 8 ft copper clad. At work I use two coupled 10
> ft rods for 20 feet total.
>
> Remember to add grounding to tower guys also; yet another path for lightning
> to follow away from your shack.
>
> I understand the new EIA tower standards now specifies galvanized steel rods,
> but I think that is due to corrosion of tower anchors in certain parts of the
> USA. Copper clad should work okay for radials in most of the USA.
>
> There's a company that specializes in this area called "AnchorGaurd". They
> have a good web page with lot's of pictures of corroded tower anchors and the
> catastrophic results. Also shows a map that shows the areas of the country
> that have corrosive soils. You may want to use galvanized steel rods on your
> guy wire's ground rods if you live in those areas. Apparently Norht & South
> Dakotas have really bad corrosive soils as does alot of Texas/Louisiana. See:
> www.anchorgaurd.com for lot's more info.
>
> 73,
> de ed -- K0iL
> k0il@qsl.net
>
>
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