[TowerTalk] ground rods and wells

[Roger (K8RI)]

On 1/4/2011 10:19 PM, john at kk9a.com wrote:
> Is the pump wiring bonded to the top of the casting?   Perhaps doing so with
> MOVs would minimize lightning damage?    The well at my previous QTH was 350
> feet from the tower and never suffered any failures do to lightning strikes.
> Unfortunately it's not always possible to keep towers and wells far apart.
Our 150' well is just slightly out of line between the tower and service 
entrance ground. Probably about 60' from each.
The tower and service entrance grounds are tied together with a total of 
33 ground rods for the station system grounding and two for the service 
entrance.

We've never had a problem with the well.  However about 6 years ago the 
city ran city water out here so we no longer use the well.  I should 
have kept it operational just for backup.

73

Roger (K8RI)
> John KK9A
>
>
> To: Cqtestk4xs at aol.com
> Subject: Re: [TowerTalk] ground rods and wells
> From: jimlux<jimlux at earthlink.net>
> Date: Tue, 04 Jan 2011 07:10:41 -0800
> List-post:<towertalk at contesting.com">mailto:towertalk at contesting.com>
>
> Cqtestk4xs at aol.com wrote:
>> In a message dated 1/4/2011 7:24:43 AM Greenwich Standard Time,
>> K8RI-on-TowerTalk at tm.net writes:
>>
>> I say  the well casing is a bad idea as many wells have submersible pumps
>> which  are easily damaged by lightning strikes the local electricians
>> tell me and  it does sound plausible.
>>
>    Those submersible pumps  are
>> expensive to replace and a 165 foot  4 inch casing makes a great path  for
>> lightning.
>>
> I wonder what the actual fault path was?  Assume for a minute that the
> pump wiring were bonded to the top of the casing.  If lightning hits,
> everything should rise and fall together? or maybe not.. differential
> current flows in the power wires and the casing, so there's a potential
> difference?
>
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