[TowerTalk] Copper Pipe Ground Rods - Driving them in - How ?

[Jim Lux]

On 5/25/11 8:02 AM, Grant Saviers wrote:
> Unless the ground is very soft, the copper pipe will mushroom and not
> drive in, so a regular ground rod is the way to go as Jim mentioned.
>
> For SDS and spline hammer/chipper drills (e.g. Bosch), you can get a
> ground rod drive bit that fits over the end of the rod. If you have
> several rods to drive they are a worthwhile tool to rent at your local
> rental yard. (or find an electrician that will loan you his) I doubt
> that a lesser hammer drill has enough power and mass to drive a rod
> through any challenging soils. While you will be on a stepladder with a
> fairly heavy tool, it's a lot better than swinging a sledge hammer from
> that height!


Another way to deal with the driving a rod thing, if you want the 
sledgehammer approach. Get a short piece  of iron pipe that fits over 
the rod (a 4-6" nipple will work) and a matching pipe cap.  Put that 
over the end of the rod, and then bash on that. It makes for a bigger 
hammer target, and the pipe takes the abuse instead of the rod.  Yes, 
the end of the rod will still mushroom a bit, but I've always been able 
to get the pipe off (once, I did have to "unscrew" it with a pipe 
wrench), but copper is softer than iron, so it wasn't that hard)

That said, there's something kind of dicey about standing up on a step 
ladder waving a big hammer around.  While you probably won't kill 
yourself, the risk of untoward injury or damage is pretty high. 
Rent/buy/borrow the hammer drill if you can.