[TowerTalk] Driving ground rods in rocky soil

[Peter Dougherty]

Hi

4 hours of back-breaking labour has resulted in my being able to get 
a ground rod down 14" using a 10# hand sledge. My soil is extremely 
rocky and this rod MUST go in within a foot of a 100+ year old oak 
(for a K9AY loop - Gary sez it must be right at the base). I don't 
know if I'm hitting roots or rock, but I can tell you I'll do 
anything or pay anything to get this driven in, no questions asked. 
I've tried 6 tool rental places, Home Depots, etc, and nobody rents 
ground rod driving tools in this part of the state (no idea why, they 
just don't).

I've come this close to hospitalizing myself over this project and 
don't know where to turn. I've run the hose for two hours and it 
loosens up that top foot of earth real easy. I've tried driving it 
within about a 2' circle and the best I can do anywhere else is about 
6: before hitting something.

Is there a trick to getting this done that I can try, or am I looking 
at hiring a heavy construction firm for thousands of dollars?



Cheers,

Peter,
W2IRT