[TowerTalk] Tower grounding

[David Gilbert]

Your hysterics aside, almost all of that is patently false, and in most 
locations is directly contrary to code.  You really need to study what a 
Ufer ground is and why they work.

By the way, this same old wives tale comes up every so often here and on 
other forums, and each time it does I spend about a half hour doing 
Google searches to find any documented instances of a block of concrete 
exploding because of steam expansion from a lightning strike.  I have 
found TONS of discussion and endless repetitions of the same old 
exhortation you just made, but not a single first hand account of 
exploding concrete due to steam.  Concrete is quite brittle and 
fractures easily, and I could far better imagine that the intense 
thermal shock generated by a lightning hit would instead be the 
culprit.  I have indeed witnessed first hand a lightning strike blasting 
a chunk out of solid granite rock alongside the road I was driving on 
(scared the hell out of me), and I guarantee that rock was dry as a bone.

Dave   AB7E




On 7/17/2013 9:18 AM, Skip K3CC wrote:
> I'm not sure I understand the thread however,  NEVER EVER, ground 
> anything
> into the concrete base !!!!!!!    NEVER use any ground rods in 
> concrete !!!!
>
> If you would get a lightening strike, the current would carry into the 
> concrete
> and boil off the water.  When this happens the concrete will explode !!!
>
> de Skip K3CC _______________________________________________
>