[TowerTalk] Driving ground rods

[Gary K9GS]

All good advice Patrick.  I especially like the idea of slipping pipe 
over the ground rod.  I used 5/8" ground rods so bending wasn't a 
problem.  I also had a friend helping so had an extra pair of hands to 
steady the ground rod while driving.

Interesting that you should mention using the demo hammer without a 
bit.  I have a Home Depot 5 miles from my house.  The bit that they had 
was for 1/2 " ground rods.  I ended up driving to another Home Depot 12 
miles away and they had one with a 3/4 " opening.  I had thought about 
not using a bit.  Glad I didn't!

The end of the rod did mushroom a bit but really a negligible amount.  
Much less than if I had used a sledgehammer.

Someone asked me off the list if I knew the model number of the demo 
hammer and the type of bit used.  Here is my response to him:



I should have written down the model number but did not.  Home Depot had 
several different sizes but I think this is the one I rented:

http://www.makitatools.com/en-us/Modules/Tools/ToolDetails.aspx?Name=HM0870C 


I do remember that the information plate on the demo hammer said 10 amps 
if that helps.

This looks like the driver bit that they had.

http://www.makitatools.com/en-us/Modules/Accessories/AccessoryDetails.aspx?ID=34237 


They included the bit with the rental along with 2 X 50 ft very heavy 
duty extension cords (they were ~ 1" in diameter).

One of the ground rods was ~175 feet from the nearest outlet.  I had a 
100 ft heavy duty extension and the two cords they supplied made up the 
difference.  By the way, they also use these driver bits to drive tent 
stakes in asphalt parking lots.  They may be more familiar with the bit 
being used for that purpose.

The whole thing cost me $44 to rent for 4 hours.  The trip to and from 
the Home Depot took longer than it took to drive in the ground rods.



On 10/13/2013 9:20 PM, Patrick Greenlee wrote:
> Ditto, I use a Harbor Freight demo hammer and a home brew insert (to 
> avoid $80 + shipping for store bought AKA COTS.)  Works good but in 
> really hard ground takes a while and don't forget the hearing 
> protection.  When driving rods with a sledge in hard ground the rod 
> tends to bend.  Before driving in these conditions slip a piece of 
> pipe over the rod to keep it from bending. You may need 2-3 different 
> lengths of pipe to accommodate the shortening ground rod as it is driven.
>
> Warning: do not try to drive the rod with a demo hammer by inserting 
> the end of the rod into the hammer.  The rod may mushroom and then be 
> locked inside the hammer, PERMANENTLY. I came close, hence the home 
> brew attachment for rod driving.
>
> Patrick AF5CK
>
> -----Original Message----- From: Gary K9GS
> Sent: Sunday, October 13, 2013 8:13 PM
> To: Towertalk Mailing List
> Subject: [TowerTalk] Driving ground rods
>
> While on the topic of ground rods.
>
> Today I had to drive some 5/8 X 8 foot ground rods.  I live on top of a
> ridge that was part of the glacial push South into Southern Wisconsin.
> Think sandy rocky soil with many rocks about fist sized plus hard clay.
> 25 years ago I had to dig a hole for a mailbox post and it took me all
> day with a post hole digger.
>
> Anyway, to drive these ground rods I rented a demolition hammer from
> Home Depot.  Think small electric jack hammer that looks like a big
> drill.  Made by Makita.  In place of the chisel that is usually used,
> they had a bit made for driving ground rods.  Basically a hollow sleeve
> that fits over the end of the ground rod.
>
> Used an 8 ft stepladder and a friend to help.  The ground rods went in
> like a hot knife through butter.  Each one took less than 5 minutes and
> no pounding with a sledge hammer, water pipes, post driver, etc. Truly
> amazingly fast.  The best money I've ever spent.
>

-- 


73,

Gary K9GS

Greater Milwaukee DX Association: http://www.gmdxa.org
Society of Midwest Contesters: http://www.w9smc.com
CW Ops #1032   http://www.cwops.org

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