All You'll Need To Know About the Ground Rod Installation
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- Опубліковано 19 жов 2024
- In this video you’ll see how the ground rod portion of the grounding electrode system is installed. This is part one of a 200 AMP Service Upgrade in the Atlantic Highlands, New Jersey.
Classic Electric, LLC | Point Pleasant, New Jersey
License & Business # 16557
(732)-770-1437
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Classic Electric uses mostly Milwaukee cordless tools and Klein hand tools.
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Ron Pecina Jr. is a licensed electrician in the state of New Jersey.
This allows him to apply for electrical permits, work with live conductors,
remove meters, and disconnect service from the utility company.
Electrical Wiring is NOT a hobby. Call a licensed electrician.
Ron, thank you very much as always, for putting your work up for us to see and learn from.
To the folks who say that ground rods, don’t do much, I would argue that they do, and, regardless, the power company wants everybody to have one, because that is each consumers contribution to a reliable, local power grid.
Ground rods are one of a few options to supplement the primary electrode (like a copper water main). For a concrete encased electrode (a Ufer) the ground rods are not required.
Here in Charlotte NC we use solid copper bare wire. Great work Ron. Subscribed.
I gotta get me one of these bits. That klein mat is awesome too, i usually wear knee pads. Great job brotha!!
The ground rod driver bit is available in SDS PLUS and SDS MAX. The Klein was bought online at Acme Tools.com.
@@electricianron_New_Jersey thanks Ron. That web site is awesome. Super reasonable prices. I'm gonna pick up that knee pad. Love klein, screw knipex 😆
Nice vid Ron. In my area we have to use bare copper so the sheathing doesn’t catch fire in a lightning strike.
What area are you working in?
@@electricianron_New_Jersey Puerto Rico
Really helpful, thanks for taking the time and effort to share - subscribed!
DId you just happen to have a spool of wire for the ground rods? The cost of wire now days I try to use bare ground. You do great work!
Hey Ron how far away from the house do the rods have to be?
Do you have the area where you are going to drive the ground rods checked for any underground piping prior to installing. Its 811 dig here in PA to have someone come out and verify the area is good. Just curious since I don't do this type of work.
Thanks for sharing your knowledge.
Thanks a lot Ron! We'll done... Thank you for share!
You’re welcome!
HI Ron, I watched your every video it is very informative. I want to know do we need to locate the area where we put the rod in? if we randomly pick the spot it might hit the water. line pipe or gas pipe.? Thank you. waiting for your reply..
@@tenthab101 call 811
Thanks for another great video. What do you do in an area where the power company requires grounding of the meter box but prohibits grounding to the grounding electrodes. With no other guidance, I assume they must want a ground directly to the equipment service block??
Sounds like I would bond my grounding electrode conductors at the main disconnect. The meter is already grounded by the grounded neutral terminal at the meter.
are they below the surface or after the inspection do the ground rods get pushed below the surface before the wire is buried?
I leave them up and visible so the inspector can see them. Then I come back afterwards and drive them into the earth.
Hey Ron, love the content. Question: in a meter/main outdoor panel, can the ground wire from the GR get ties directly to the metal case of the panel or does it go to the neutral/ ground bar. Seeing that the neutral/ grid bar is bonded to the panel, isn’t it the same thing? Thx
In theory, the grounding wire from the grounding rod could connect anywhere on the metal surface of the panel, as long as it doesn't touch any live (hot) or neutral wires. However, in practice, it's essential to follow electrical code and safety standards, which typically specify a designated grounding bus or terminal within the panel for connecting the grounding wire. This ensures a proper and reliable grounding connection to protect against electrical faults and ensure safety.
I have a unbonded sub-panel in my garage that I grounded. Was that necessary?
Oh I see now. Can you provide part number for the ground bar and enclosure. Thanks Ron.
You are extremely lucky. Here in europe we have to optain below 4ohm for rezidential , whitout lightning protection.
We need to dig big tranchees or vertical like your method but multiple rods , around 4 or 5 aprox. One on the top of other.
As I say : you are lucky...
I’m American
@@electricianron_New_Jersey But I am not sure about protection . For sure at 4 Ohm it will work. With only 2 rods I do not want to test it in reality...
@maximuspareo if you're worried about lightning strike then these grounding rods aren't even for that. A true strike needs a lightning rod system with separate grounding rods. This is more for a power surge not a power spike.
Hi sir first Thank for all your electrical shows. I have a ? is there any limit in distance for ground rod cable? Because I know only at least 6’ away from the first rod thanks
You'll want to keep it as short as possible.
Great job! I have a question for you. I am redoing a grounding electrode system for a 200 amp service. I drove 2 8' rods about 16' apart and ran a new #4 copper GEC to the neutral/ground bus in the main panel. I also ran another #4 copper from the main panels neutral/ground bus to the incoming copper water line in the home and jumped the hot and cold pipes on the 2 water heaters to also bond the hot water copper pipes in the home. The city water supply is PVC and the water meter is at the curb. But the home has a cold water slab system for the homes plumbing. Does this mean that the plumbing bond also counts as a grounding electrode since there is copper plumbing running under the foundation? Thanks!
It sounds about right and the copper water pipe can be used as a grounding electrode only if it has 10’ of contact in the earth.
@@electricianron_New_Jersey Thank you for your reply! I appreciate it.
Happy New Year Ron
Thanks Mike! You too pal!
Im installing a meter socket and breaker panel to my shed. Somone told me to attach the ground wire to the meter socket, you attached it to the breaker panel. Does it not matter?
Yes, some utility companies won’t allow you to connect the grounding electrode conductor inside the meter.
Shouldn’t the ground wire be a number four copper for a 200 amp service?
To the water main you would use #4 awg copper or #2 awg aluminum. Table 250.66
I'm a little surprised that ground rod installation isn't subject to any CBYD protocol that I'm aware of.
Spacing and how many grounds rods, is useless. Rebar in foundation who cares. Or metal piping in Earth is good enough. All to clear a ground fault in reality is worthless so why we have to do it? It's for current to eventually go back to the transformer, since it's grounded. Electricity travel in loops. Even static electricity.
Great job Rob. Happy Holidays and thank you for cranking out the videos. 🙂
Yes! I agree with all of that. Before I had my license - and when I was preparing for the exam, I used to walk around my neighborhood and look at all of the electrical services in the neighborhood to see if I could spot any violations. My neighbor had her grounded neutral completely broken up on the pole by the transformer. I knocked on her door and asked if I could check out the service and measure voltage. Sure enough, the return current was flowing not only through the earth and back to the source, but through the copper water main which I measure at about 10 amps. I called the utility company and they were out the next day making the repair.
@@electricianron_New_Jersey Oh man, you spotted and reported a very dangerous situation there. Good on you
Can I use bare copper 10ga as a ground rod cable?
No. #6 AWG Copper for ground rods.
Nice and easy to understand video! I hope you contacted a Utility Locating Service telephone 811 before you started driving in the ground rods as there be other utilities buried in that same exact area.
That hammer drill makes nice work of ground rod sinking. I did the project once and hurt my back with a sledgehammer. Never again.
You dont need a ladder nor drill ( hammer drill ) . You only need a small bucket of water. Dig a small hole......fill the hole with water......place the rod in the hole. Lift and drop it..... keep adding a little water with out the rod in the hole. Repeat..... Water acts as a lubricant and also creates a hydraulic means that forces the dirt aside. No need to force the rod down. It will " drop " down on its own. Effortless ! Key.......keep it lubricated. A lot like having sex ????
@@jerrylansbury9558 Yeah, just make sure you don't use a condom, it needs to go in the hole unprotected 🤣 Seriously, though, that is a very good technique, I will for sure do it that way next time since I don't have an expensive hammer drill
@@aaron74 Try it with a condom....or hammer drill or unprotected ??????? Hugggggggg seems your very serious ! Well........at any rate..... you can just try a " six " inch rod...see how it works ????? Just use lub !!!!!! No need to expend a lot of energy if no results otherwise ! Then as you gain confidence........ go try an 8 footer !!!!!! And for sure if you have a wife or girlfriend ( maybe even a guy ? ) have her standing near to see her reactions !!!!! I think both of yous will be ..or become excited !!!!!
I wish my gound rods would go in. They don't any more than 2 1/2 feet below grade no matter where I relocate them. Being on the top of a mountain I'm probably hitting solid rock...😕
so no need of salt and charcoal?
Code violation on the grounding electrode to the ground rod. Soli copper shall be use to connect ground rods.
Not stranded wire is not allowed.
Nec article 250.
Oh ok. I’ll look that up. Is article 250 in the NEC?
Sorry but you are wrong. You can't buy sold wire that size. Everyone uses stranded.
In reality, ground rods don't actually do very much. So much work for so little especially when there is rock 1 foot below. If there are alternatives that need to be bonded anyway(conductive pipes), how much difference does another 20 ohms in parallel make? Where does 6' distance for rods come from? I know it's code but science-wise what's the driver for that? Sometimes, to me at least, it seems more like pin the tail on the donkey more than an effective practice for safety.
The minimum size(not maximum) for the electrode is 6 AWG, You can make it as big as you want and are dumb enough to pay for.
The idea of ground rods is the current can travel back to the transformer since the transformer is grounded as well. The loop has another means of travel if the nuetrual gets damaged, when over current needs to go back to the source, the transformer. It might seems idiotic and some well argue on the idea, but at least there is a safety measure written.
I agree with P Tso and we need (2) only if we don’t get the 25 ohms of resistance in the one rod.
@@ptso7580 Even with an open utility neutral, 25 ohms gives you only 4.8A@120V. 2 in parallel yields 9.6A. You'd need 6 ohms just to get to 20A@120V. That is just the nominal rating of a 20A breaker(it will not trip) . I do not think ground ground rods provide safety in any way at 25 ohms. They may offer some protection for lighting dissipation. but nothing really in the way of tripping a breaker on ground fault...especially P-P where the ground doesn't matter at all. I.E. the ground rod makes little difference at 25 Ohms...even two of them.
I know it seems scary to say but I'll say it. Ground rods are of very little value when it comes to safety, There I said it. I'm pretty damned sure I am correct.
@@nhzxboi The numbers don't lie. But electricity has to loop back to it's source, in this case the transformer, it's grounded. Slowly and eventually it does. Even without grounds rods. The old saying, one is none and two is one has to come in mind. Like I typed above, argue about the idea, not going to disagree or agree, but it's written even if it's stupid, or not, it's there. Lot of codes was written because of deaths, expanle HVAC equipment has to be GFCI protected by 2026. Kid lost their life.
@@nhzxboiPlacing two grounding rods spaced apart provides redundant pathways for electrical current to reach the earth. If one rod encounters resistance in the soil or becomes less effective, the other rod can still maintain a reliable ground connection.
Lower Grounding Resistance: The separation of the rods helps to increase the surface area of contact with the soil, reducing the overall grounding resistance
So do 2 roda are needed to get a good ground rod. Im gonna run ground rods for a 20x41 pool any suggestions
Sorry you dont need a ladder nor drill ( hammer drill ) . You only need a small bucket of water. Dig a small hole......fill the hole with water......place the rod in the hole. Lift and drop it..... keep adding a little water with out the rod in the hole. Repeat..... Water acts as a lubricant and also creates a hydraulic means that forces the dirt aside. No need to force the rod down. It will " drop " down on its own. Effortless ! Key.......keep it lubricated. A lot like having sex ????
No amount of water going to cause the rod to go around a rock!
@@electricianron_New_Jersey It works great in " gravel " ( up to 2 inch rock ) Not solid rock ! The rod dont go " around " the rock......its forces the rock aside.