[TowerTalk] getting the ufer ground effect with a burried painted section

[Dick Blumenstein]

Hi Jeff-

Whether it screws up the ufer ground, I really don't know.

I just poured a 5'x5'x8.5' hole and was advised to not paint the rebar.  
However, because of the requirements of the engineering drawings brought 
my top rebar within 1 inch of the top surface of the concrete, I did 
paint the top 3 horizontal rebar hoops with galvanizing "compound". As 
told by others to me at the time, I also connected 20' of solid #4 cu 
wire suspended in the concrete. It was connected to the rebar cage at 
one point as well as to all suspended anchor bolts to help improve the 
ufer ground. I made sure that the free end of the copper wire did not 
touch the bottom of the hole.

BTW- There are two types of galvanized "paint" that Rustoleum sells.  
The plain lower zinc content that is usually stocked in Lowes or Home 
Depot and then there is this "High Performance Galvanizing Compound" 
that you can buy from Lowes but has to be ordered in quantities of 6.  I 
opted for the latter with its much heavier content of zinc, which I 
primarily used to recoat the used tower and base I bought (as well as 
the first few inches of the top of my rebar cage.

<https://www.lowes.com/pd/Rust-Oleum-High-Performance-Cold-Galvanizing-Compound-Rust-Resistant-Enamel-Spray-Paint-Actual-Net-Contents-20-oz/3728409>

Based on feedback I've received, I plan on putting in about 11 @ 8' 
ground rods in a pattern around the tower and leading to the house power 
and shack ground rods, with #2AWG stranded cu wire thermite welded at 
each junction to help dissipate any lightning strikes. Coming off each 
of the 3 tower legs, I am putting on 3" wide copper strips gently arcing 
down to the nearest ground rod by each tower leg.

Dick, K0CAT
====================
Jeff AC0C wrote on 9/6/2017 12:55 PM:
> I’m pouring concrete for a tower base using a bottom section standing on gravel in the hole.  I had assumed that would prove some UFER ground benefit but wanted to ask because before placing the section into the hole it was painted well with the Rustoleum cold galvanizing paint.
>
> I hope that I have not voided my ufer ground effect with the application of the paint.  Because here in the Midwest, lightning is definitely going to be a problem faced sooner than tower corrosion.
>
> 73/jeff/ac0c
> www.ac0c.com
> alpha-charlie-zero-charlie
>
> _______________________________________________
>
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> TowerTalk mailing list
> TowerTalk at contesting.com
> http://lists.contesting.com/mailman/listinfo/towertalk
>