[TowerTalk] Chucking the ground rod

[Nick Pair]

Placing a 5/8 ground rod in a 5/8 chuck will work till you hit a hard rock of dense clay and then the mushrooming will get ya. That's a been there done that tip. 
  I have also seen on some hammer drill models that in the hammer mode that the shape of the rod compared to the bits made for the hammer does not allow the rod to contact the hammer piston follower and enable the hammer only mode. The follower has to be pushed up about 3/16 inch to contact the hammer through the cushion between them. That's why the rod adapters are mandatory on some models.
  The clay up here in the north west is only about a 100 years short of being rock. It chips just like it and is impermeable to water. A 16 lb sledge just mushrooms the rod after a foot or so but the larger hammers will do the job albeit slowly though.
  I would complain to where you rented it as they instructed you as to its usability and it was unsuitable. A rent reduction at least, or another 4 hours on them with one that works.
   
  Good luck,
   
  Nick
  WB7PEK
  Skookum clay country
   

 		
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