# Ground rod pounder



## Drsparky14 (Oct 22, 2016)

I'm looking to purchase an electric or gas powered ground rod driver. Something that will get rods down through rocky soil. What do you all recommend. 


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## Majewski (Jan 8, 2016)

How much you wanna spend?


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## Dennis Alwon (May 9, 2009)

I recommend this


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## Southeast Power (Jan 18, 2009)

Google pics of antique farm equipment


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## Nukie Poo (Sep 3, 2012)

Drsparky14 said:


> I'm looking to purchase an electric or gas powered ground rod driver. Something that will get rods down through rocky soil. What do you all recommend.
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk




Use your rotary hammer.


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## PlugsAndLights (Jan 19, 2016)

I recommend one of these.
P&L


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## telsa (May 22, 2015)

In rotten ground, it's often easier// cheaper to just lay a Ufer.


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## Southeast Power (Jan 18, 2009)

Suncoast Power said:


> Google pics of antique farm equipment


Sorry, antique RAIL ROAD equipment:

Spike Maul:


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## Buzz1067 (Dec 13, 2016)

*TheGroundPounder*

Yea, any good quality hammer drill with a bit will do. I live in an area were there is soft ground. There is a guy on YouTube selling TheGroundPounder. Looks like a cool tool that you stand straight start to finish. http://www.greenwoodtool.com/. Good luck


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## sbrn33 (Mar 15, 2007)

Get yourself a nice quality demo/Hammer drill and the bit to match. There was one on here for$500 the other day.


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## drsparky (Nov 13, 2008)

telsa said:


> In rotten ground, it's often easier// cheaper to just lay a Ufer.


Using a Ufer as the only ground leads to bad thing happening.:no:


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## Buzz1067 (Dec 13, 2016)

Thanks


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## sbrn33 (Mar 15, 2007)

drsparky said:


> Using a Ufer as the only ground leads to bad thing happening.:no:


Really? Why? Can you expand on that?


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## readydave8 (Sep 20, 2009)

sbrn33 said:


> Get yourself a nice quality demo/Hammer drill and the bit to match. There was one on here for$500 the other day.


I use a big Bosch, drive rod with pounder attachment, if I have to break off footing for service conduit I just change to chisel, same tool.

Doesn't take long to justify cost, if NEC starts making us drive 3 ground rods it will pay for itself even quicker


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## backstay (Feb 3, 2011)

We have rocky ground here. I use a Dewalt SDS Max rotary hammer drill with a ground rod bit. Sometimes it will not be enough, then a couple of hits with a sledge and it starts moving again. I tried fence post pounders and sledgehammers. I would never give up my Dewalt.


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## Moonshot180 (Apr 1, 2012)

Hilti TE 75 W the rod driver bit..set the drill to hammer and let er eat


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## telsa (May 22, 2015)

drsparky said:


> Using a Ufer as the only ground leads to bad thing happening.:no:


Nonsense.

My AHJ insists upon Ufers, ground rods are wholly unacceptable.

Rods are accepted for temp power, though.


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## MechanicalDVR (Dec 29, 2007)

Dennis Alwon said:


> I recommend this


You trolling now too?


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## five.five-six (Apr 9, 2013)

I use a bosh spline drive with adapter.... or just an apprentice with a small sledgehammer.


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## telsa (May 22, 2015)

MechanicalDVR said:


> You trolling now too?


Dennis is going through a blue period.


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## telsa (May 22, 2015)

backstay said:


> We have rocky ground here. I use a Dewalt SDS Max rotary hammer drill with a ground rod bit. Sometimes it will not be enough, then a couple of hits with a sledge and it starts moving again. I tried fence post pounders and sledgehammers. I would never give up my Dewalt.


It gets down to real world practicality.

Needless to say, EVERY tool promoter is going to show video of easy// common ground.

Whereas what drives electricians crazy is BAD ground.


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## drsparky (Nov 13, 2008)

telsa said:


> Nonsense.
> 
> My AHJ insists upon Ufers, ground rods are wholly unacceptable.
> 
> Rods are accepted for temp power, though.


Ufers test well with low voltage and power but when you route a lightning strike into them they blow out the concrete. The moisture inside the concrete is instantly changed to stream, with no space to expand it pushes the material out, vola, broken concrete. Ground rods do a good job of dissipating high energy.


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## MechanicalDVR (Dec 29, 2007)

telsa said:


> Dennis is going through a blue period.


I enjoy being blew but it doesn't include a hacksaw....


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## Drsparky14 (Oct 22, 2016)

Buzz1067 said:


> Yea, any good quality hammer drill with a bit will do. I live in an area were there is soft ground. There is a guy on YouTube selling TheGroundPounder. Looks like a cool tool that you stand straight start to finish. http://www.greenwoodtool.com/. Good luck




I have a tool like that I made 10 years ago. They work great but not in rocky soil. 


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## Drsparky14 (Oct 22, 2016)

drsparky said:


> Ufers test well with low voltage and power but when you route a lightning strike into them they blow out the concrete. The moisture inside the concrete is instantly changed to stream, with no space to expand it pushes the material out, vola, broken concrete. Ground rods do a good job of dissipating high energy.




I have never heard of this happening in all my years. 

A ground rod very rarely, even if you drive 5 will give you 20ohms to ground or less. But a ufer almost always does. Hmmm would you rather blow out 20 ft of concrete, or have a grounding issue that causes personnel harm? 


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## drsparky (Nov 13, 2008)

100lbs chunk of concrete blown off tower anchor by improper grounding.

Some gounding nerd info. 
http://urgentcomm.com/techspeak/radio_wellgrounded_principles
A line from the above artical for the non grounding nerds. _A word of caution: A Ufer ground consisting solely of the tower foundation is a bad idea. Lightning surges passing through the foundation can vaporize water in the concrete and damage the foundation through rapid expansion of steam._ 

My specialty, other than a few drinking beers after work is communications sites on top of mountains, we plan for the worst weather conditions and environments. Repair costs of a blown out anchor are tremendous.
We had a thread about this a few years ago, some good info, some crappy info, lots of information about this subject out there.


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## PlugsAndLights (Jan 19, 2016)

Drsparky14 said:


> I have never heard of this happening in all my years.
> 
> A ground rod very rarely, even if you drive 5 will give you 20ohms to ground or less. But a ufer almost always does. Hmmm would you rather blow out 20 ft of concrete, or have a grounding issue that causes personnel harm?
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


We're told that grounding makes a system safer. Does it really do this
or is it's sole purpose to protect hydro equipment by diverting lightning
strikes to ground via the customers premises? 
P&L


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## backstay (Feb 3, 2011)

PlugsAndLights said:


> We're told that grounding makes a system safer. Does it really do this
> or is it's sole purpose to protect hydro equipment by diverting lightning
> strikes to ground via the customers premises?
> P&L


If ground rods worked so well, open or loose neutrals would cause far fewer problems. But then we would always have current on the EGC.


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## flyboy (Jun 13, 2011)

Dennis Alwon said:


> I recommend this


You forgot this Dennis. You have to give it a few wacks to hide the fresh cut from the inspector.


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## dthurmond (Feb 7, 2011)

flyboy said:


> You forgot this Dennis. You have to give it a few wacks to hide the fresh cut from the inspector.
> View attachment 97113


And make sure the inspector does not see the cut off pieces in the back of your truck .😇


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## flyboy (Jun 13, 2011)

dthurmond said:


> And make sure the inspector does not see the cut off pieces in the back of your truck .😇


Or worse, leave it in the the bushes! :lol:


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## 99cents (Aug 20, 2012)

flyboy said:


> Or worse, leave it in the the bushes! :lol:


What a waste of material. You could use the other half on the next job  .


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## Buzz1067 (Dec 13, 2016)

Drsparky14 said:


> I have a tool like that I made 10 years ago. They work great but not in rocky soil.
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


A lot of older electricians have bubblegum welded pipes to sledgehammer heads. I agree they work good most of the time. But the problem is they still have to be beaten like a regular sledgehammer for half the rod. The YouTube one has a flat top that seems a lot easier to hit a rod with. Not a lot of new electricians can afford the best , so they try to find the most efficient .


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## wendon (Sep 27, 2010)

Drsparky14 said:


> I'm looking to purchase an electric or gas powered ground rod driver. Something that will get rods down through rocky soil. What do you all recommend.
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


Get either a Bosch or a Hilti demolition hammer with the ground rod driver. They make driving ground rods fun.

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## wendon (Sep 27, 2010)

Drsparky14 said:


> I have never heard of this happening in all my years.
> 
> A ground rod very rarely, even if you drive 5 will give you 20ohms to ground or less. But a ufer almost always does. Hmmm would you rather blow out 20 ft of concrete, or have a grounding issue that causes personnel harm?
> 
> ...


If you're trusting in your ufer to protect you from harm, good luck.

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## sbrn33 (Mar 15, 2007)

I usually just dig a little hole with my hammer and fill it with water. Then I jack it off all the way in. Might not work as well with rocks.


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## PlugsAndLights (Jan 19, 2016)

sbrn33 said:


> I usually just dig a little hole with my hammer and fill it with water. Then I jack it off all the way in. Might not work as well with rocks.


Oh my!
P&L


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## Cl906um (Jul 21, 2012)

Buzz1067 said:


> A lot of older electricians have bubblegum welded pipes to sledgehammer heads. I agree they work good most of the time. But the problem is they still have to be beaten like a regular sledgehammer for half the rod. The YouTube one has a flat top that seems a lot easier to hit a rod with. Not a lot of new electricians can afford the best , so they try to find the most efficient .


Love this method. Just be careful. Seen an apprentice raise the slide hammer too high. His hand dropped in the hit zone, and his hand got caught between the rod and slide. Smacked the rod clear through his palm. Lost some wire spools and other items out the back door in a panic drive to the emergency room. Hand bleeds pretty hardcore. I still like the method for hammering ground rods home.


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## Cl906um (Jul 21, 2012)

sbrn33 said:


> I usually just dig a little hole with my hammer and fill it with water. Then I jack it off all the way in. Might not work as well with rocks.


Twerk it in.


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## readydave8 (Sep 20, 2009)

Cl906um said:


> Love this method. Just be careful. Seen an apprentice raise the slide hammer too high. His hand dropped in the hit zone, and his hand got caught between the rod and slide. Smacked the rod clear through his palm. Lost some wire spools and other items out the back door in a panic drive to the emergency room. Hand bleeds pretty hardcore. I still like the method for hammering ground rods home.


Had this happen to man working for me, and talk to lots of people that either had it happen or know someone that it happened to. So must be common


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## Buzz1067 (Dec 13, 2016)

Typically the incidents that I've seen the handle isn't as long and always a young buck trying too fast to get the job done. Slow and steady wins the race. Sure beats missing with the head of a sledgehammer and going to the ground.


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## OldMasterTech (Mar 12, 2014)




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## Tonedeaf (Nov 26, 2012)

http://www.toolup.com/DeWalt-DW5847-3-4-Ground-Rod-Driver-SDS-Max-Shank

dewalt and hilti make a ground rod drivers...i have had mine for 10 years would not do a service without it.


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## telsa (May 22, 2015)

The medical economics make sledgehammers too expensive for me.

This is my solution:










Hilti TE 76P ATC

( My machine is in better condition, has many more tools, too. )

So what if I have to climb a six-foot ladder. 

( Then again, I only drive ground rods occasionally. Normally this puppy is brought out to dig, chip and drill. )


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## cabletie (Feb 12, 2011)

My employer has the ground rod drivers in all the large hilti,Dewalt and Bosh cases. 

I always wanted to make the ground rod driver my first boss had. Basically a fence post driver. A big square weight in the middle. About four feet of 3/4" rigid on one side and maybe two feet on the other. We were always able to pound it flush with the two foot side. The 3/4" rigid would just make a hole as it went. 

The homemade driver would work just as fast as the chipping gun attachment in most cases. There has been a lot of times you probably could have it driven in less time than it would take to run out a cord or get a generator. 

The soil here is mostly sand, clay and rock. The jack off method works for about six feet, then you have to finish it with a sledge.


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## lightman (Oct 14, 2015)

I always just used a homemade driver that I built from a piece of sch 120 pipe. I had a 1-1/2 Milwaukee spline drive rotary hammer and the ground rod bit but I could have the rod driven with the driver before I could unroll the cord for the drill. Rocky ground is tough no matter what you have.


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## telsa (May 22, 2015)

lightman said:


> I always just used a homemade driver that I built from a piece of sch 120 pipe. I had a 1-1/2 Milwaukee spline drive rotary hammer and the ground rod bit but I could have the rod driven with the driver before I could unroll the cord for the drill. Rocky ground is tough no matter what you have.


Here's a Telsa tip: pre-drill a starter hole with a 36" long 1" roto-hammer bit. (very handy)

Place the rod in the starter hole. 

Inject used beer or muddy water to lubricate.

Then let rip with your Hilti TE 76P.

If the ground is absurdly tight, you'll know during drilling operations.


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## Buzz1067 (Dec 13, 2016)

All you need. http://www.greenwoodtool.com/


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## 3DDesign (Oct 25, 2014)

In 1983, I bought Milwaukee's largest demolition hammer with a ground rod adapter. I've been using it ever since. If this this doesn't drive them, they're not going in.
This is not a rotary hammer, it's an electric jack hammer.


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## Maple_Syrup25 (Nov 20, 2012)

If you have a mini ex on site use the bucket to push it down. Be careful of big rocks or you will bow the rod. Works great when we are installing vaults 


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## Anathera (Feb 16, 2016)

I beaned myself in the head with a slide hammer because there was a nick in the tube and I hit solid granite. The lead weight slung around and beaned me. Apprentice said I about hit the ground. If the hammer drill can't handle it I grab one of those brass rod targets for the sledge hammer


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## chknkatsu (Aug 3, 2008)

ground rod pounder = an apprentice with a lump hammer


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## Buzz1067 (Dec 13, 2016)

I agree about the apprentices. They expect battery powered everything. I was brought with hard work and tools that worked when you need them. I didn't need to get a gym subscription.


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## sparky402 (Oct 15, 2013)

Anathera said:


> I beaned myself in the head with a slide hammer because there was a nick in the tube and I hit solid granite. The lead weight slung around and beaned me. Apprentice said I about hit the ground. If the hammer drill can't handle it I grab one of those brass rod targets for the sledge hammer



I about knocked myself out with one. Came down and hit my temp pole which made it smack me in the forehead. Didnt feel very good.


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