Tower Grounding Wire Size

[Bob Morris K2RK]

Wendell - W5FL wrote:
> 
> I bought and read the polyphaser book.  I am installing a 64 foot Rohn 45 Foldover tower.
> 
> Tomorrow I will weld the rebar cage for the Rohn 45 Tower section base and weld 6 12 inch pieces to the 4 inch dia pipe guy wire anchors.  I plan to weld or braze (whichever works) all the ground wires and radials to the rebar and guy wire anchors.
> 
> Question 1:  How do you weld #6 copper wire to ugly old rebar?
> 
> I am planning to use #6 copper ground wire for all radials for lightning protection.  Two 32 foot radials to each of the 4 guy anchor posts and two 65 foot radials to the tower rebar cage (ufer ground) and tie to one tower leg.  How should I tie the tower leg, the ground rod, and the rebar cage together?  Where should the #6 that runs 100 foot to the ham shack entrance panel tie to the tower?  All the radials will run away from the house.  Polyphaser seemed to indicate that you also needed to co
> 
> Question 2:  Is #6 awg solid copper ($0.20/ft) wire ok for the radial grounding system.
> 
> It meets NEC codes and the Inductance decrease for #4 awg ($0.30/ft) is negligible.  Polyphaser says #24 awg will fuse with a lightning strike, but no where could I ever find a minimum wire size that will not fuse.  Since this is a guyed tower, I at least get the benefit of a strike being split 10 ways (Tower, 4 guy wires, 3 feedlines, and two control cables).  How conforting that oly 50% of the lightning energy will come in your house if you can't strip it off of the coaxes and control cables!!
> 
> Ground Rods:  I have one sunk 8 feet in solid rock under the tower, and each of the guy pipes are sunk 5 1/2 feet in the ground.  Beyond that I see no further need for ground rods since they cannot be driven more than 2 to 3 feet under the surface horizontally (solid rock is 2 - 3 foot down)and they cost $10 each (same as 50 feet of #6 awg copper ground wire).
> 
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'Welding" gound wires......At a REAL GOOD electric supply store, ask
for "Cadweld" wigits. Ceramic forms with a powder mixture. Form is 
place over a ground rod, wires put in side holes, powder dumped in,
and light with a torch. Makes a brass looking "weld". Many different
types of forms...for rods, one,two, three wire holes etc....
Maybe get a catalog....Cadweld.... Erico Prouducts Inc. Cleveland Oh.
GL

ps - ground your guy anchors, per the Rohn pictures....Some say don't
tie the rebar,inside the cement, to the ground system ?

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