The Easiest Way To Drive Grounding Rods
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- Опубліковано 23 жов 2021
- As we upgrade our electrical system, we installed two grounding rods in just a few minutes each with no special tools. We also share why grounding rods are important and other system grounding considerations.
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The technique of using the water was absolutely amazing. I bought an 8 foot grounding rod and tried this method. This method makes great sense and it really motivated me to try it. I made a note to time the installation and I buried the 8 foot grounding rod in 7 minutes. One of the best tips I've ever seen. Great video.
Glad it worked out for you Don.
Bullshit!
I live in a seconed story apartment. I made a home made canopy around my bed and idk if i should ground it outside theiugh the window or make a DIY outlet plug. Can you tell me exaclty step by step a list of what materials to get at home depot and how to install the ground or outlet and the safest way to go about doing it and where to put it? I'm new to this so it would really mean a lot. Thank you 🙏
I watched an electrician do this with less than half a bottle of water on compacted dry soil in August. It was the most amazing thing to watch
There is a simpler way. Dig a hole a foot or so deep and in circumference where you want to drive the rod and fill it with water. That will soften the soil and fill in around the rod. If you hit small rocks, as I did, you can move the rod from side to side in the softened soil to maneuver around them. Also, if you add epson salt to the water, that'll dramatically increase the soil's conductivity. A power company found epson salt tripled the conductivity.
Would epsom salt around the grounding rod corrode it prematurely?
Wouldn't epson salt destroy the bacteria in the soil?
@@roberthaines8070 epsom salt is magnesium & sulfur.. magnesium is used to protect copper, sulfur can cause discoloration so maybe.
it likely won't do anything though, already plenty in most grounds
I live in a seconed story apartment. I made a home made canopy around my bed and idk if i should ground it outside theiugh the window or make a DIY outlet plug. Can you tell me exaclty step by step a list of what materials to get at home depot and how to install the ground or outlet and the safest way to go about doing it and where to put it? I'm new to this so it would really mean a lot. Thank you 🙏
Yes I Like your idea 💡😅👍
I don't normally comment on such things, but this worked so well I had to. Of course the conditions will determine success, but I just installed an 8' rod in about 15 minutes with nothing but water and the rod...my only deviation was to first dig about 2.5' with a post hole digger just to make sure I didn't run into anything else running through that area. Once I had that hole dug, just dumped in about a gallon of water and started working the rod down to the required depth...done.
Glad it worked well for you.
I live in a seconed story apartment. I made a home made canopy around my bed and idk if i should ground it outside theiugh the window or make a DIY outlet plug. Can you tell me exaclty step by step a list of what materials to get at home depot and how to install the ground or outlet and the safest way to go about doing it and where to put it? I'm new to this so it would really mean a lot. Thank you 🙏
Im back. I put my ground rod in this afternoon using this technique. I will say this is by far the best way I have tried so far. only took me 5 minutes around 2 feet down i hit some really tough dirt after that it went super smooth. Less water used than a hose and not as messy. great video.
WOW! Thanks for sharing this. I've got clay up here in Pennsylvania and decided to give it a shot. I got about 6 feet down using your method before I started hitting rocks. It took less than 10 minutes to go 6 feet and I didn't even break a sweat. Used a hammer for the last couple of feet and the job was done!
You are absolutely welcome! Glad it was helpful and thanks for sharing your experience here!
I live in a seconed story apartment. I made a home made canopy around my bed and idk if i should ground it outside theiugh the window or make a DIY outlet plug. Can you tell me exaclty step by step a list of what materials to get at home depot and how to install the ground or outlet and the safest way to go about doing it and where to put it? I'm new to this so it would really mean a lot. Thank you 🙏
Your videos are very well presented, without a lot of extra words to add time. Your radiographer is super.
Thanks a lot!
I have used this method and it works well just don't stop and take a break during the process it is very hard to get started again keep the rod moving until it is down as far as you want it.
I gotta put in grounding rods now, definitely will try the water 💧 technique, but Tennessee soil is a whole different animal. 👌👍🤣
I tried using a pole driver and a sledge, it must be on a large rock, not moving very much at all.
I clicked on this just to see which kind of clamping you used and ended learning a much easier way to drive these. Thanks for the video and tip!
You're welcome!
Do not follow this advice. It is wrong and misinformation, shit that's right. I should report this video as misinformation and that's exactly what I'm going to do to save everyone from making the mistake of following any of this guys advice.
I cut the ground wire on one of my grounds and need a new rod. I thought I’d have to get an electrician but I’ll try this and should save a bundle. Thanks so much!
A trick of the trade is to coat the outside of the rod with patroleum jelly (vaseline) and use a wide mouth hammer drill to grip the top end of the rod, then let your hose run making the ground soaking wet and just press down and drill it into the ground and it will slide right down.
WOW that's awesome!! Can't wait to try this method. Thanks for the tip
You are welcome!
Thank you for the video, I’m need to put one in ground for my generator, and heard you could do it this way. I am going to try it, thanks again.
You are welcome! Good luck!
Wow, that's impressive!
I didn't know about these long pieces of copper until I saw the electrician pounding one into the ground as part of the upgrade of the home's 60 year old electrical panel. I found it fascinating.
I run one down this morning. I used the water method until i was 36 inches above ground
. I could not pull it out so i drove it in with a maul. Thanks for the tip.
Glad you found something that worked. Results may vary since the water method works best with clay or loose dirt soil.
It's a very effective method. To see it done is very helpful. I have 2 gr rods to put in for grounding my Ham Radio equipment and antennas this week. I'll use this technique then. 2 questions suggestions. 1. Have you located underground hazards i.e. power line, gas line, cable before starting? That's very important.
2. Consider putting the sharpest point of the rod down. I think it'll go in even easier. Thanks
Hi there. Yes, I highly recommend calling 811 so all of your utility companies will mark their lines for free. Also look for the likely path of any other hazards before digging. You're right that it is designed to go sharp end in first. I did one rod with each end to see if it mattered and it was pretty much the same. Thanks for the comments.
I live in a seconed story apartment. I made a home made canopy around my bed and idk if i should ground it outside theiugh the window or make a DIY outlet plug. Can you tell me exaclty step by step a list of what materials to get at home depot and how to install the ground or outlet and the safest way to go about doing it and where to put it? I'm new to this so it would really mean a lot. Thank you 🙏
Worked like a charm, took me about 6 minutes to put a 8foot rod in using a water hose
Glad it worked for you!
You only need water at the bottom. Topping it off makes for more splashes. Nice video.
Echo.. Very easy, a great tip. Thank you
You're welcome!
Nice. One tip. There is a top and bottom (sort of) on the grounding rods. The tip you hammered on is semi-pointed that goes into the earth. It may have helped cut through with your procedure. I'll give this a go on my new construction.
By the way. I used the water/slamming by hand the rod into the ground yesterday. It worked like a charm. I did encounter rocks three times and had to begin again but...got em in.
Imagine how quickly it would have gone in had you inserted the pointed end first! Thanks for the video.
haha I noticed that as well.
Also Hydraulically cause the soil to separate. So a blunt end would be beneficial. Pile driver posts for wooden fence posts are driven blunt end first.
I'm guessing his rod is like the one I bought and both ends look the same with a rounded point.
@@Pairofshears Where did you buy it? I bought a pair from HD. One end was clearly pointed, but the other end was rounded. I think that's to keep from mushrooming the end that gets pounded on.
@@im2yys4u81 I got mine from Menards, both ends were identical with points, though the top end did flatten out pretty good after it was fully pounded in.
Very helpful, thank you.
Glad it was helpful!
very helpful, thank you
Glad it was helpful!
Great video, I'm going to see how it works on my rock pile
Haha, probably not going to get too far through rocks, but let us know if you try it.
Great TIP!!!
Glad it was helpful!
Funny part was, you drove the flat hammer end into the soil, and hammered on the speared drive end. lol.
No he didn't. Ground rods are speared on both ends.
@@nightone9720 there was plenty of other funny things!!' lol
@@nightone9720 One end is steel, the sharper one, the other is copper and mushrooms as you pound on it. The more pointed end is the one that goes down.
One end is pointed.
@@jakei8310 every single ground rod I have ever bought at menards in kenosha Wisconsin has been ambidextrous in its pointed end. 🤷♂️ Maybe there are different brands our there that only have one pointed tip but I have never seen one.
Waooo! You drove all of it in. What a nice tip.! 😮😮😮
Ive been beating ground rods for years with drills and sledge hammers... definitely going to try this next one i do
Thanks for the video. I hope this works in the soil under my house. Need to put 2 grounding rods in (pool deck covers soil outside).
Thanks for the comment. Good luck!
Very interesting, always room to learn and improve…👍🙏✅
Wow. Great trick.
Amazing !!!
Adding water great idea . The easiest way is a vibration driver. However, that is an expensive overkill route . Thus, bore small hole with shovel or whatever. Use your water technique. Use a post hole driver. Pointed end into earth. Should go in like butter .
Years ago, I had issues with a grounding rod. My friend's father made a tool to help. he had a pipe with threads to fit garden hose. he attached the garden hose turned on the water pretty slow and fed the pipe into the ground. He put the grounding rod inside the pipe then pulled the pipe out and the grounding rod stayed put. after a few days like you stated it was like cement. Since I don't have a pipe with threaded end I will do this technique to drive my grounding rod into the ground.
That was a lot of work! No clay here just gravely silty soil so I am going with the driving head on a my electric demo hammer and my son to run the hammer. Fun times.
just wanted to point out that there's a cheap attachment available to use a hammer drill on this task. If you have a broken drill bit you can use that and guide it using a short piece of pipe to keep it on center. (keeps your fingers out of the way)
Thanks for sharing this awesome trick. Today I had to rebuild a service and install two ground rods and I used a water hose to soak the hole. Took all the hard work out of it.
Great to hear! I'm glad it helped
It's not that hard to drive a rod in the ground. Why does everyone make this out like it's hard? BTW anyone qualified to "rebuild a service" would know that ground rods ain't that hard to drive save for extremely rocky ground in which case soaking the ground in water ain't going to help with shit and they would also know this guy drove the rod in upside down and a bunch (actually everything. Everything he did and said was just wrong) of other things but your just lapping praise his way... for what reason‽ I call bullshit. Bullshit on all of it unless you're honest but just don't know their shit either! Bullshit I say!
@@tylerdurdin8069I noticed you just like to criticize but you never offer any knowledge or information just criticism. I think you don't know shit and maybe you know a guy who knows some stuff.
Used this method to drive to rods here in Arizona, took less than 7 minutes for both rods to be all the way down.
Awesome glad to hear.
Get a bigger hammer. A 2-lb or 5-lb sledgehammer works much better. Also using your portable impact wrench saves a lot of effort as well. When burying the wire, always lay a piece of Red Danger tape over the wire first before covering.
done the same thing myself however i did notice you had the ground rod upside down @5:25 :D
Using the pointed end of the rod helps FYI. Otherwise cool way of driving rod without power tools
I`ve seen some people dig a hole and use salt and carbon around the rod is it nessesary
I live in a seconed story apartment. I made a home made canopy around my bed and idk if i should ground it outside theiugh the window or make a DIY outlet plug. Can you tell me exaclty step by step a list of what materials to get at home depot and how to install the ground or outlet and the safest way to go about doing it and where to put it? I'm new to this so it would really mean a lot. Thank you 🙏
Hey there, I wouldn't plug a DIY contraption into an outlet. Why does the canopy need to be grounded; is it plugged in somehow? Running a separate ground line outside and attaching to a dedicated ground rod might be the safest route. Good luck and stay safe!
Did you have that flipped?
The grounding rod is also needed for a land line telephone lightning arrestor, consisting of two capacitors, one connected to each side of the line, to the wire going to the rod.
Thanks for the demonstration, great how long did you take to put the rod into the ground?
Just a thought that you should not use grounding wire with a coating, or in conduit as the bare copper wire will add to improve your grounding system if the is contact with the earth and bare coppe wire.👍
Hello, The first one probably took less than 10 minutes. The one we did for the video took maybe 15-20 because of the talking. NEC 250.62 says "Conductors of the wire type shall be solid or stranded, insulated, covered, or bare." I would normally use a solid unsheathed cable, but the extra length and flexibility of a stranded cable was easier in my application. You would get a little bit more contact with the ground, but I wouldn't stress over the extra few % surface area in contact with ground. Thanks!
I'm thinking you could cut the bottom out of a 2 liter bottle or milk carton and place the top part of the bottle or carton over the hole to prevent most of the backsplash.
I use an air hammer with 125 psi works like a champ
How did you get the wire through the wall to the electrical panel? My meter is locked so I do not have access to the existing opening. 🤔
Good question. I ran it into my crawlspace just like a typical non-metallic sheathed cable, then I used an existing opening in the brick left from the cable company. I took the opportunity to spray some foam to make the opening airtight. You can check out the shed video where I made a penetration in the brick for some conduit.
@@practicalhomeprojects thanks
Best trick I’ve seen is to chuck it up into a hammer drill. Done in 5 minutes. I’d guess it would work well with your water trick too.
I just drove 2 8' Rods into dry hard earth, used a 4lb hand hammer to start the rod, got just over 1/3 in, and a Sledge to finish them up. rod will dance all over when you get to the sledge because you can't grip it anymore. works though.
I'am Your Newest Subscriber I Need To Put A Copper Ground Rod In The Ground For My Base CB Antenna Here In Florida
So what happens if you hit a rock half the way down? My yard is loaded with rocks. Can I get it back out and move it to another location?
As long as you keep the rod moving, you can pull it all of the way out. If you let it sit for more than a few seconds, it will seize up making removal incredibly difficult.
Check your code book see if the grounding rod can be place horizontally when it can not be driven vertically
I use a post driver , one like the farmers use to put steel post up , no water required.
a question pls.Can someone get earthing from the wall instead of the ground?
No.
You are my man. I'm am important 😌
Do you have a video on how to tie into your electric panel?
Hello, We have an electric panel 101 video: ua-cam.com/video/6KR9UTeVHC0/v-deo.html The ground wire clamps directly to the ground bar.
I knew things were off when he started by tapping end of his upside down rod with a little 10oz claw hammer and the flat end sunk an inch or more into the ground? That rod could easily have been sunk with a 4lb hammer in less than 5 minutes, and I’m including rest breaks for him. His mud technique had to have taken more than an hour. Truly, incredibly soft and amazing soil.
Good video 👍, only recommendation is get some cheap steel boots incase of injury.
Good idea.
use the end with the point on it to go in the ground
One thing to note. If you use this method, keep the rod moving. And once you get toward the end of the job and switch out to a hammer for the last part, you will not be able to continue the up and down motion, so your obligated to finish with a hammer or whatever ya got. Texas caliche soil at my house. Got both in about halfway, but then had to rent a Jack hammer and tip to finish them off. Even at that I was practically standing on the hammer and it went slow. I like the idea of digging a hole by hand down a ways to contain the water splashing. 2 more to do tomorrow and I’m gonna try this. What could go wrong?
I live in a seconed story apartment. I made a home made canopy around my bed and idk if i should ground it outside theiugh the window or make a DIY outlet plug. Can you tell me exaclty step by step a list of what materials to get at home depot and how to install the ground or outlet and the safest way to go about doing it and where to put it? I'm new to this so it would really mean a lot. Thank you 🙏
It depends what Soil we have .... 8 feet Down into the Ground is no joke 😮😅
Hmmm Thanks a lot
You are welcome!
@@practicalhomeprojects Yeah your method made it so easy. Got that rod in in 10-15 mins. Thumbs up
I use my hammer drill to drive it in.
Pointed end goes in first.
Clay is not a viscous material, it is a cohesive material. Anyway, you are right, water reduces the cohesion, and makes it easier to push the rod into the ground. but it sandy soil, this might not work in the same way.
After grounding to rod can i connect directly to gas line
Hello, all metal gas and water lines should be grounded. Use approved grounding clamps.
Why did you put the rod into the groud upside down?
Also be careful if you use conduit (EMT) to enclose the #4. it MUST BE bonded to the ground wire on both ends, otherwise you have a ground element (wire) surrounded by an electrical choke (the EMT). In the case of lightning, this can cause BAD stuff to come out of the ground.
Good call Rick. Schedule 40 or 80 PVC is probably the easier way to go.
@@practicalhomeprojects to do it by the local code or utility regulations is the easy way to go. So much what you stated is wrong in your video
@@dhelectricco
Hmmm... what else he said was wrong in your opinion?🤔
How so‽ I mean yeah I get sealing it at both ends but I don't get what that's got to do with lightning? You do it to keep moisture out of it as once it gets in there it won't come back out and it corrodes the wire, especially energized circuits. I don't have a clue what you're alleging happens with lightning in this situation.
@@sn3495 everything he did was wrong! Absolutely everything from putting the ground rod in upside down which definitely would make it hard as hell to drive and that hammer he used is only good for driving 1" finishing nails and that's about it. You are pissing in the wind with anything less than a sledge hammer or something with at least several pounds of mass. Remember pointy end down. This guy must have been wanting to repurpose his jacking ability or something and btw you can't use stranded wire or jacketed wire or anything other than a single piece of #6 or bigger solid strand copper wire with no breaks from your meter to all ground rods. Thats about universal everywhere. Stranded wire would corrode and become useless in no time flat and jacketed wire and conduit will just retain moisture and not release it causing corrosion on energized equipment. Also no other metals other than copper, everything must be copper because different metals contacting produces a voltage and causes corrosion. Hope this really helps you. If you hit rock and need to do something different drive the rods in at an angle up to 45° and if that don't work most regulations have another option of digging a trench usually between 24" and 36" deep and laying the rods 6' apart in it to be buried as a suitable grounding circuit in extremely rocky areas. Good luck
Is the pointy end supposed to be up or down?
no, it is suppose to be up so when you hit it with the hammer, it doesn't splinter
@@cgwworldministries83What is going to splinter, the rod, the hammer, or the Earth? I would think the pointy end should be down. Why as I wrong?
@@eugenecbellvery good question
I would suggest opening a hole about 1 foot in diameter and 6 inches deep to contain and provide the water and prevent the splashing. Another idea that I had but have not yet tried is to use a hose over the ground rod so that water flows down the outside of the rod and then once it is down 8 feet, pull the hose off of the rod.
You're adding more complexity to something that works perfectly. Plus the hose is going to cause you to not have a snug fit between the Earth and the rod. You want maximum contact and the hose will prevent that.
How about a post hole driver?
I think that would work pretty well for most soil types. You'll have to use a hammer or something for the final 18 inches or so.
@@practicalhomeprojects not in a gravel pit fyi tried it and failed miserably use a rock drill atp155 or sds max but the biggest one you can get
If you own a SDS-Max Rotary Hammer drill get a ground rod driver and it's a piece of cake. (No water needed.) If not a fence post driver can make it a lot easier than using a hammer, for most of the length.
Thanks for sharing subscribed
Thanks for the sub!
I saw someone use a hammer drill with a deep socket on the end. It drove the rod completely in about 2 mins
Is a grounding rod a special rod? Or plain construction steel road?
Hello, Your grounding system needs to satisfy NEC 250.53. It may be possible to DIY something, but almost everyone just buys a copper coated grounding rod like this one www.homedepot.com/p/ERICO-5-8-in-x-8-ft-Copper-Grounding-Bar-Rod-615880UPC/202195738.
@@practicalhomeprojects thank you!
Thumbs up if you are an electrician that is pissed they hadn't watched this video a long time ago.
I’m surprised these grounding rods aren’t formed into a spiral shape like a drill bit so you can attach the top end to a drill and screw it into the ground
because they would break from the twisting. They are not that strong.
@@rupe53 they are extremely strong
@@dhelectricco ... I figure if they were meant to be screwed in place they would be made with a spiral. I haven't seen one of those yet.
There is a screw-on carbide bit you can attach to the tip and drive the rod in with a drill, aint terribly cheap but can drill through softer stone.
idk where you are shopping but you can get them spiralized and they come with a drill bit for a hammer drill and you just coat the outside with petroleum jelly and drive it into the ground, takes like 5 minutes and is less messy and WAY less work.
Shouldn't the pointed end be down?
Hey Richard. Good eye! Yeah I put one of the rods pointy end down and the other pointy end up just to see if it would make any difference. It took an extra minute or two, but it didn't seem to matter much.
Yes, and it makes a huge difference.
@@practicalhomeprojects I will have to try this since I just installed a subpanel on my shed, thanks! PS I will try the point down method :-)
Why are you using a framing hammer I always used a four pounder or 10 pound sledgehammer
NEC. u don,t have to use over a #6 awg wire.
I Thought the pointy end goes down
😂 My man you’re putting the ground rod upside down and you’re making a bigger cavity sliding that thing in and out defying the hole purpose having good contact piercing the ground. Avoid making a mess by putting the ground rod the right side up and drive it down with a rotary hammer with the proper drill bit. his way the you’ll have the ground rod all the way inside in just a minute or 2.
It has that taper on both ends and if you knew anything you would know this, but you don't. Sadly that fact wasn't enough to prevent you from letting us all know though.
@@ardoinjc Not all ground rods have a point at both ends. The last few I installed were pointed at one end, and chamfered at the other. I suppose it depends on the manufacturer.
You Can get a attachment to your hammerdrill that drives the rod for you
Why would you use a regular hammer for a ground rod? [NO ONE uses a reg hammer] You are supposed to use a sledge hammer or a larger sized hammer drill. The rod is supposed to be tight in the ground to make contact, not a loose sloppy hole that you can slide the rod in & out by hand.
maybe you missed the part where he said as soon as the ground dries, it holds the rod like concrete?
@@Cam-wi3tp again, you don't use a regular hammer, only an idiot does that. I've been sinking ground rods for 40 years. and any times it rains it'll tighten and hold the rod, I'm talking about when it's first driven in. How many 8 or 10 foot ground rods have you driven in? I've driven thousands, and this isn't the way to correctly do it. This guy also has no clue wtf he's talking about with respect to what a ground rod is for & what does. He's an idiot. He'd be fired off my job just for being so stupid. lol
@@Cam-wi3tp he also drove the ground rod in upside down, again proving he's an idiot
Or you could get a hammer drill.
A rotary hammer drill is the option used by most professionals because it works no matter the soil type. A regular hammer drill isn't going to have enough power and may not have a non-rotation option.
I'm sure your wife is going to be happy with you washing your clothes.😂
I use a 2ft masonry bit to get everything started and water for the rest. Takes about 5 minutes.
The rod was up and down position, sharp side to bottom.
Sorry but I have to ask. Is anyone else wondering if he hammered down those deck nails while he had the hammer out?
To drive things into my yard I use thick long nail with a hammer and then I drop it in.
Hammer drill with ground attachment. With water should be done in couple minutes.
Why not put a point on it since it's basically a giant nail?
Wonder if you cant just use a copper pipe filled with water
Some codes allow 3/4 inch copper or galvanized steel pipe - check local code
_Ground rod: $18.99_
_New pants and shoes: $127.34_
_Watching a dude make his own mess which caused him to need new pants and shoes: _*_Priceless._*
I'd just wash the pants and shoes.
Probably would have gone in even faster if you used the POINTED end....
It doesn't matter, the rod acts as a piston, pushing the water out, with the soil with it.
@@900stx7 Yes, but a point will further divide the soil, versus adding resistance, like a flat tip will.
Good way to make yourself part of the circuit if a common wire comes loose. That ground rod will cause you to fry instead of tripping a breaker. your ground should be your service ground and nothing else.
I sure hope that conduit mounted to the house is not running it that direction.