[TowerTalk] Hazards of low soil conductivity

[David Gilbert]

That's a different situation, of course, but certainly very true.  I bet 
lots of people have multiple grounds connected to their homes, and most 
don't realize they do or the potential effect of it.  I've seen internet 
providers stake their own ground because the egress for their equipment 
was too distant from the utility service entrance.  Then you get TVs and 
computers connected to different ground potentials in the case of nearby 
lightning hits.

73,
Dave   AB7E



On 1/9/2022 4:26 PM, Richard (Rick) Karlquist wrote:
>
>
> On 1/9/2022 12:28 PM, David Gilbert wrote:
>>
>>
>> That sounds like an urban legend.  A Google search for "Congo fatal 
>> static charge" comes up with not a single reference.  The physics of the
>> 73,
>> Dave   AB7E
>>
>
> I don't know about this specific thing being an urban legend, but what 
> is not an urban legend is a phenomenon known as "stray voltage" having
> to do with ground currents on farms producing voltage gradients in the 
> ground that shock animals with their hooves touching the ground. 
> Perhaps the worst risk for this is dairy cows connected to milking 
> machines.
>
> My QTH has three different electric service connections, which are 
> truly different, being connected to different pole pig transformers, 
> not just having separate meters.  The property also used to have 
> several agricultural wells (separate from the domestic well for the 
> houses), that ran on their own 480V 3 phase service.  Interestingly, 
> this service was installed on a former "milk barn".  The property used 
> to be a dairy farm!  We used to have have two houses on different 
> electric feeds that had common galvanized pipe plumbing.  This was 
> very problematical with respect to the use of cold water pipes as 
> electrical grounds.
>
> The grounds for these independent systems are subject to considerable 
> voltage differences and will draw considerable current if you try to 
> connect them together.  Note that for this purpose, "ground" and 
> "neutral" are the same circuit.  I have been very careful to never 
> make any connections between the respective islands of electricity, 
> especially the ground wires.  Everything is protected by GFCI breakers 
> as well, just in case.
>
> The electric utility has a rule against having multiple electric 
> services on the same property, but didn't follow their own rules in 
> the past as this property was developed.  At this time, it is what it is.
>
> Incidentally, my ground is the opposite of the Congo, being 100% clay, 
> highly electrically conductive.
>
> Rick N6RK