[TowerTalk] Exothermic Welding

[WarrenWolff@aol.com]

Greetings  TTalkers,
 
I going to purchase wet stamped drawings for an AN  Wireless Tower topped by 
a pair of
OptiBeams.  My grounding plan has been  discussed by my home 
designer/architect with
the City Engineer.  I had noted that I would  probably use stainless steel 
clamps to connect
my radial field to the base of the tower.  My  electrician commented as below:
 
"Warren,
     I have been reading  your emails and just wanted you to know that 
exothermic
     welding CAN join  copper to steel and aluminum. I have used this process 
to
     weld bonding wires to  steel columns in high rise buildings.
/s/"
 
I am no master chemist, but I thought that exothermic welding  actually
melted/bonded the copper into one integral mass.  Seems to me  that
what he has done, as stated, is to just create a mass of copper stuck
very tightly to some steel/aluminum tower which would sooner or later
deteriorate.
 
Comments please,
 
Warren; W5KKW