# installing ground rod



## 480sparky (Sep 20, 2007)

Hilti TE 805 or 905 w/ ground rod kit:





































Never spent more than 45 seconds driving a rod.:thumbsup:

And welcome to the forum!


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## John (Jan 22, 2007)

p051981 said:


> What is the best tool for driving down ground rods? the quickest?:no:


 Best thing besides sliced bread.:thumbsup:

View attachment 800


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## p051981 (Nov 17, 2008)

thank you much!


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## william1978 (Sep 21, 2008)

Try this it will keep you warm all day long.:laughing:


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## nolabama (Oct 3, 2007)

living below sea level has some advantages
this is all i use


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## william1978 (Sep 21, 2008)

nolabama said:


> living below sea level has some advantages
> this is all i use


Yes Sir, Driven many ground rods with water, but I'm about 700' to 750' above sea level.


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## electricalperson (Jan 11, 2008)

the easiest way to drive a ground rod and make the helper do it

just kidding i think the best way to do it is use what ken posted. ive driven ground rods with jackhammers and they went down faster than a french prostitute. at the place i work at now we use a sledge hammer but i bring in my milwaukee rotary hammer with a ground rod attachment and that makes it a little easier


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## nolabama (Oct 3, 2007)

soil is so moist down here i have used a sledge hammer once - and that was in a neutral ground (median) of a 4 lane


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## electricalperson (Jan 11, 2008)

nolabama said:


> soil is so moist down here i have used a sledge hammer once - and that was in a neutral ground (median) of a 4 lane


ive been thinking of buying one of those sluggo ground rod drivers. its pretty hard for me to hit the head of the rod with the hammer i miss a lot. i can use an engineers hammer just fine but one of those 10 lb ones are the hard ones


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## william1978 (Sep 21, 2008)

electricalperson said:


> ive been thinking of buying one of those sluggo ground rod drivers. its pretty hard for me to hit the head of the rod with the hammer i miss a lot. i can use an engineers hammer just fine but one of those 10 lb ones are the hard ones


Get a sharpie and draw some hair around it. :thumbsup:


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## electricalperson (Jan 11, 2008)

william1978 said:


> Get a sharpie and draw some hair around it. :thumbsup:


the guy at work all the time says that to me and i laugh my ass off every time:thumbsup:


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## william1978 (Sep 21, 2008)

electricalperson said:


> the guy at work all the time says that to me and i laugh my ass off every time:thumbsup:


 It never gets old does it? :laughing:


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## azsly1 (Nov 12, 2008)

i was at a site where we were doing alot of underground pvc and had to install 50 some ground rods (this is at a titanium furnace BTW), there was an excavator on site with a compactor on a trac hoe (spelling??). we used sleeves of 1" rmc cut at 5',3', and 18" lengths and had the guy drive them in for us. my hands were vibrating for an hour afterwards.


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## Golden Arc (Apr 28, 2008)

They make bits like the one above that will go on an actual jack hammer.


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## paul d. (Jul 13, 2008)

william1978 said:


> Get a sharpie and draw some hair around it. :thumbsup:


golly william, what do you mean????:001_huh:


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## electricalperson (Jan 11, 2008)

i try to keep my eye on the rod but end up missing and digging a trench


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## 480sparky (Sep 20, 2007)

electricalperson said:


> i try to keep my eye on the rod but end up missing and digging a trench


Doesn't that hurt your eye? :laughing:


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## william1978 (Sep 21, 2008)

paul d. said:


> golly william, what do you mean????:001_huh:


I don't think I should explain on here, but I'll send you a PM.


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## 480sparky (Sep 20, 2007)

Tim Crimson said:


> They make bits like the one above that will go on an actual jack hammer.


See post #2.... :thumbsup:


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## waco (Dec 10, 2007)

I use a Bosch and no adapter. I think the adapter would make it even faster, but the ground rod fits the Bosch drive and does nicely.


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## Joefixit2 (Nov 16, 2007)

We use a Bosch demolition hammer with a rod attachment. In some areas it takes hours, like in the foothills where it's mostly rock. I swear some of those rocks are big as Volkswagons. Sometimes we go through 3 or 4 rods trying to get them in.

Other times, in town and close to river beds (no water in our rivers) they will go in real easy. Can't say I've ever had one go in 45 seconds tho...


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## p051981 (Nov 17, 2008)

*thats funny!*

man you guys are funny! i didnt know driving ground rods was so amusing!:laughing:


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## Golden Arc (Apr 28, 2008)

Dont try to use it without the adaptor youll melt the end and get it stuck in the jack hammer.


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## electricalperson (Jan 11, 2008)

Tim Crimson said:


> Dont try to use it without the adaptor youll melt the end and get it stuck in the jack hammer.


we had some clown use a threaded rod coupling on the end of a theaded ground rod and he stuck the coupling inside the jackhammer with no adapter or piece for a ground rod and the end of the coupling got so mushroomed that we had to completly take apart the jackhammer to get it out. another guy stuck a nut and was driving a ground rod with a hilti rotary hammer and the same thing happened. i think its still on the shelf with the nut stuck inside


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## waco (Dec 10, 2007)

"Stuck a nut?"


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## electricalperson (Jan 11, 2008)

waco said:


> "Stuck a nut?"


i think it was a threaded ground rod also and he stuck a nut that fit the end of it and used that to stick inside the rotary hammer


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## waco (Dec 10, 2007)

I hadn't thought of mushrooming the end of the rod although a couple of times, the hammer was hard to get off the rods. Our dirt is generally deep and fairly rock free so most of the times, the rods goes down pretty easily.

However, I have also drilled a shallow hole in the end of the rod and used it to guide a chisel bit. Worked pretty well.

If I was doing more services, I'd buy another adapter, but they are pretty expensive and seem to be a favorite pilfer item.


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## AaronJohnTurner (Nov 16, 2009)

Haha, here in Alberta I'm stuck digging a minimum of two feet in the ground, and making said hole big enough to lay a 6'x10' groundplate flat. Ground rods sound more fun!


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## JohnJ0906 (Jan 22, 2007)

AaronJohnTurner said:


> Haha, here in Alberta I'm stuck digging a minimum of two feet in the ground, and making said hole big enough to lay a 6'x10' groundplate flat. Ground rods sound more fun!


From what I have read, those are the worst grounding electrodes, as far as resistance to ground.


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## Dennis Alwon (May 9, 2009)

Ken has a very good but expensive means for ground rods. Try this. I sell them very cheap.


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## Podagrower (Mar 16, 2008)

I was thinking of picking up one of these....:whistling2:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-dr3iTwPaAM


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## JohnJ0906 (Jan 22, 2007)

p051981 said:


> What is the best tool for driving down ground rods? the quickest?:no:


The best? The helper.
The quickest? Probably something else.... :laughing:


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## Amish Electrician (Jan 2, 2010)

Thanks for the Hilti pics. I had seen internet ads for similar attachments that are used with the usual jackhammer, but have not tried one.

The advantage? No need for the driver to be atop the rod, or for the rod to whip around in the air.

I'd love to be able to set up some sort of auto-cycling pile driver arrangement.

Until that happy day arrives, I'm stuck doing it the 'old fashioned way.' I have a fence post driver (mortar-filled pipe with handles) that I use to get the rod started. When I run into resistance, out comes the Demo hammer with a ground rod attachment. My Demo hammer is a 35# Makita, that takes 1-1/8 hex bits, and looks like the small jackhammer it is.


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## Hertz Electric (Dec 20, 2009)

I use a hilti hammer drill, with a ground rod attachment. Just don't do what Peter D does. I heard he takes his sears lineman pliers and beats on the rod all day long. :no:


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## Rudeboy (Oct 6, 2009)

For anyone not using a hammer drill and attachment, you can make pounding the ground rod in easier with a small piece of 1" rigid with a pipe cap screwed on it. Put it on top of said ground rod and slam away. Gives you a larger surface area so you don't miss as much, takes a lot less time to drive. I've done it in a pinch a few times.


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## NolaTigaBait (Oct 19, 2008)

I use a cup of water and my hands to drive them most of the time. The ground is pretty soft here.


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## Rudeboy (Oct 6, 2009)

I love working near the ocean in SF. Nice and cool and driving a ground rod into sand is pretty easy.


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## DipsyDoodleDandy (Dec 21, 2009)

*...*

here


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## DipsyDoodleDandy (Dec 21, 2009)

*trying again*

trying again


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## 480sparky (Sep 20, 2007)

Hertz Electric said:


> I use a hilti hammer drill, with a ground rod attachment. Just don't do what Peter D does. I heard he takes his sears lineman pliers and beats on the rod all day long. :no:


Since when did Peter start installing ground rods? 

Last I heard, he bought one, cut it into 6" pieces, and stuck those pieces into the ground and attached the acorns to them.


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## Amish Electrician (Jan 2, 2010)

You laugh ... but I once followed after a guy who did multiple "service changes" where he installed the ground rod by digging a very shallow - maybe 6" trench - and bending the end of the rod up with his conduit bender.

He left a good 6" of rod sticking up in the air, too. When I gave it a solid whack with a double-jack, the far end let out of the loose earth.


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## DipsyDoodleDandy (Dec 21, 2009)

*another*

http://www.sluggo-ox.com/


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## Archania (Mar 16, 2009)

$89 for that Ox thing? Good lord, the ground rod attachments for the demo hammers/ rotary hammers are under $50!

The first time I tried pounding a ground rod in with a sledge years ago, my boss saw and wondered what the hell i was doing! He brought the demo hammer out and I have been doing it that way ever since. The ground is heavy clay around here, so its no picnic.


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