[TowerTalk] Cadwelding and grounding nightmare, continued

[Gary Schafer]

Seeing as how you are installing multiple ground rods on your ground system,
I would just put the rod in where it would drive without hitting the rocks.
A few feet one way or the other will not make much difference in the overall
ground system.
The other thing you could do on the rod that you put in at an angle is to
place a piece of pipe over the end about 3 or 4 inches and bend that part of
the rod so it is vertical so the cad weld mold sets square.

73
Gary  K4FMX

> -----Original Message-----
> From: towertalk-bounces at contesting.com [mailto:towertalk-
> bounces at contesting.com] On Behalf Of Peter Dougherty
> Sent: Monday, June 18, 2007 7:03 PM
> To: towertalk at contesting.com
> Subject: Re: [TowerTalk] Cadwelding and grounding nightmare, continued
> 
> 
> >Actually, the stuff you need to seal cadwelds is made by cadweld and is
> >called "Mold Sealer"  part # T-403.  It's a heavy putty that doesn't
> allow
> >molten metal to flow outside the mold.
> 
> I'll see if I can get some.
> 
> I ran into another real problem today. Well, TWO problems, actually.
> 
> 1) I have **extremely** rocky soil. For most of where my ground wires
> run I can't get an edger blade in more than 1/2 an inch to an inch!!
> How can I even hope to accomplish a ground with this kind of soil?
> What if I just dump 2" of earth on top of the wire and put down grass
> seed?
> 
> 
> 2) After trying for 3+ hours, one strategically-placed ground rod
> would only go in on a 45 degree angle. I tried a cadweld shot on
> there and it just ran out the side hole in the mould, melted RIGHT
> THROUGH the wire and, when it all cooled down, I had two wire ends
> and a heap of slag in the hole, and the thin wire from the mold
> welded to the top of the rod. It was NOT possible to drive that rod
> in anywhere within 5' vertically.
> 
> 
> 
> Cheers,
> 
> Peter,
> W2IRT
> 
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