[TowerTalk] ground rods and angle...

[Grant Saviers]

I don't think the Erico Ground Enhancement Material (GEM) is betonite 
based, given the dark black color.  I suspect a conductive carbon filler 
of some sort, coke byproducts were mentioned in one article I skimmed.  
Betonite shrinks on drying so perhaps it was the "competitive material" 
in the Erico video.

Betonite has the same conductivity sensitivity to moisture as concrete, 
so it seems like a stretch to expect it to improve concrete conductivity 
much when dry.  If the concrete stays moist then the betonite isn't 
needed.  As in a Ufer ground.  This article has readable information 
http://www.electrochemsci.org/papers/vol8/80911429.pdf   although the 
"dried out" condition of concrete with betonite filler is not adequately 
addressed.

Fly ash added to concrete is primarily to make "greener" concrete - 
recycle a waste material and improve the concrete properties. 
http://www.ashgroveresources.com/showcase4.html    I read the previously 
referenced article re fly ash and conclude that "F Grade" fly ash with 
high carbon content makes negligible improvement in concrete 
conductivity without additional carbon fibers added to the mix.

After perusing some of the literature, it seems to me that if a GEM is 
required to achieve adequate grounding then use a commercial product 
that has predictable results rather than some ad hoc backyard chemistry.

There are a lot of articles about carbon fiber conductive concrete if 
you google it, but that sounds like an expensive additive and difficult 
to source.  Snow melt seems to be a target application as well as EMI 
shielding of structures.

Grant KZ1W

On 1/19/2016 11:06 AM, jimlux wrote:
> On 1/19/16 8:22 AM, Grant Saviers wrote:
>> There is also the conductive material from Erico for pouring around
>> conductors https://www.erico.com/category.asp?category=R2387
>> Interesting videos.
>> Fillers of something carbon increase the conductivity.  I think others
>> may supply fillers for adding to your concrete but I haven't found
>> sources/references.
>>
>
> yeah, that's the bentonite/cement mix, I think.
>
> It looks pretty interesting, for those wanting a "better" ground, but 
> not interested in the full on UFER.   According to the literature on 
> their site, you can either do it as a slurry (like the videos) or just 
> dry, and let soil moisture do it's work.
>
> I don't know if it's dark because of the material (bentonite that I've 
> seen is very light tan color.. cat litter color, without the colored 
> pieces).
>
> Maybe they also add fly ash or carbon to it?
>
>
>
>
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