You say they should be 8ft long and 6ft apart. My understanding is that they should be at least as far apart as they are long to avoid interacting, so if you are installing 8ft rods, shouldn't they be at least 8ft apart? Even further is probably better.
The farther the better. I'm sure at some distance it wouldn't matter. I hear as far apart as deep often. 6' is the minimum by nec. Ether way still better then 1 which is all that is really required with a test of 25 ohms or under. 2 ground rods I would always expect under 10 ohms.
@@honorelectricalllc5883 25 ohms is low enough to produce enough fault current to trip an RCD, but that's about all it's good for. I don't know why the regulations are satisfied with such a high impedance. It's even worse here in the UK - they'll accept 200 ohms. Other countries bury a bare copper wire all the way around the building, attaching it to multiple grounding rods. It's not difficult and gives you a low enough impedance to actually keep you safe instead of just triggering another safety device.
You do not need two ground rods if you are using the ground rods as a supplemental grounding system. If you did not attach your grounding electrode conductor to an approved grounding electrod then you can use the 2 ground rod system. I'm sure you connected a grounding electrode conductor to the cold water pipe that enters the house. As old as this house is, I'm pretty sure you have the minimum of a metal water pipe extending more than 10 feet from the foundation.
@@johndavies2949 As he said at 1:40 in the video, the use of PVC for water pipes means using the pipes as an electrode often isn't an option these days. There is probably a metal pipe if you go back far enough, but if it isn't easily accessible then you can't really use it.
Yeah. Your right. You really gotta know what's going on. The best grounding electrode you can get is the rebar in the footing. If you can get to it. In new construction the concrete guys make sure there is a place to connect an irreversible connector to the rebar.ime co man rs in the garage and there is a 3 gang plate I can remove for inspection. The best thing you can do in new construction is before the gooting is poured lay in your #6 and the wire it to the rebar and bring it out to your meter base main location and try to hide it. As the thieves have no respect for anyone they will cut off your copper as close as they can to the ground. I have tried to leave it out in a length of PVC but they just cut through the pipe to get a lousy 6' of wire. I guess all you can do if you use this method id dig a hole and coil up the wire in the hole. If you use the rebar as your electrode it has to be bare rebar,not plastic coated.
Um, you do and it would be the ground rod that would be supplementing the concrete encased electrode "rebar". Only 3 type can supplement. I say this in the video. I didn't reference code because I feel it boring but this video is almost right out of 250. 😁
yeah but usually gets stuck about half way, so the guy I worked with cut it in half then hit it a few times on each of them to make it look beaten, not cut
@@ryanmiklos1775 If you are getting a low enough impedance with that, I guess it doesn't really matter. There are plenty of places with bedrock only a few feet below the ground, so you can't get anything deeper. In those cases, you just need to put more copper at a lower depth to get the same impedance.
Check your codes. Yes, water pipe may be a non-conductive pipe but most codes require the first 10 feet extending our front your foundation is to be copper or some other metal. Years ago galvanized pipe was used but that rots after a while. Coppe doesn't deteriorate.
Without digging it how would you know what's there. It could go to pvc righty as soon as it leaves the home or worse get replaced in one year from now with pvc because it ruptured. Never trust it as a electrode.
Well in my area the pipe comes through the basement wall to the regulator. Then converts to pex on the other side. It all has to do with local codes. I have an older house so my copper water supply is copper all the way to the meter.
If your electrical systems are yhe finest in the world then why wouldn't you use emt conduit to enclose the two service entrance cables? That insulation around the service entrance cable isnt uv. resident to sunlight. It eill deteriorate over time.
While I admire your diligence you need to step up your game, there is large evidence that you need to spread those ground rods farther apart, if those are 2 8 foot ground rods, then they need to be a minimum of 16 feet apart to not interfere with each other, and secondly you say you want to give your customers the best grounding connections possible wel Acorn Connections on your ground rods are lame, If you’re not spending 10 bucks more per connection for a cad weld thermal connection then you need to go back and check yourself, I haven’t done an acorn on a ground rod in 30 years, you’d never find those things being used on cellular towers or any other higher and equipment so why not give your customer the same thing for only $20 more
I beg to differ. I do cell work and I see acorns all the time. I could also put a ground ring around the entire home. I would be surprised if this system isn't below 1 ohm to the ground. Code requires 25. Cell installs are normally 10 and some are 25. That is small cell not towers. Towers are normally a ring. I have never cadweld below 4/0. Normal size for a ring. Even many switch yards or generation stations only require 5 ohms or less to ground. That is more about bonding all metal for static.
@@honorelectricalllc5883 Well I’m sorry for your customers that you are not selling them the best you can give them for 20 extra dollars, that’s a lame excuse, install completely irreversible connections and you never have to ever worry about them And none of the people I know that do RF work or broadcast radio work would ever use acorns You either cad weld it or you brase it
Doesn't really matter. You need to replace ground rods pretty often as they stop making great conductivity after about 10 years. New under 1 ohm 10 years maybe 25 ohms. That connection will last longer then the rods will. @@shockingguy
in new jersey the ground is so coarse we send it in, it stops half way, we cut it in half and send it as the other rod
💯
Actually, no, not every electrician does that in NJ.
You say they should be 8ft long and 6ft apart. My understanding is that they should be at least as far apart as they are long to avoid interacting, so if you are installing 8ft rods, shouldn't they be at least 8ft apart? Even further is probably better.
The farther the better. I'm sure at some distance it wouldn't matter. I hear as far apart as deep often. 6' is the minimum by nec. Ether way still better then 1 which is all that is really required with a test of 25 ohms or under. 2 ground rods I would always expect under 10 ohms.
@@honorelectricalllc5883 25 ohms is low enough to produce enough fault current to trip an RCD, but that's about all it's good for. I don't know why the regulations are satisfied with such a high impedance. It's even worse here in the UK - they'll accept 200 ohms. Other countries bury a bare copper wire all the way around the building, attaching it to multiple grounding rods. It's not difficult and gives you a low enough impedance to actually keep you safe instead of just triggering another safety device.
You do not need two ground rods if you are using the ground rods as a supplemental grounding system. If you did not attach your grounding electrode conductor to an approved grounding electrod then you can use the 2 ground rod system. I'm sure you connected a grounding electrode conductor to the cold water pipe that enters the house. As old as this house is, I'm pretty sure you have the minimum of a metal water pipe extending more than 10 feet from the foundation.
@@johndavies2949 As he said at 1:40 in the video, the use of PVC for water pipes means using the pipes as an electrode often isn't an option these days. There is probably a metal pipe if you go back far enough, but if it isn't easily accessible then you can't really use it.
Yeah. Your right. You really gotta know what's going on. The best grounding electrode you can get is the rebar in the footing. If you can get to it. In new construction the concrete guys make sure there is a place to connect an irreversible connector to the rebar.ime co man rs in the garage and there is a 3 gang plate I can remove for inspection. The best thing you can do in new construction is before the gooting is poured lay in your #6 and the wire it to the rebar and bring it out to your meter base main location and try to hide it. As the thieves have no respect for anyone they will cut off your copper as close as they can to the ground. I have tried to leave it out in a length of PVC but they just cut through the pipe to get a lousy 6' of wire. I guess all you can do if you use this method id dig a hole and coil up the wire in the hole. If you use the rebar as your electrode it has to be bare rebar,not plastic coated.
You're an electrician and this is your special brother..
As long as get
You do not need a supplemental electrode if you csn bond to rebar that is exposed from the footing/foindation.
Um, you do and it would be the ground rod that would be supplementing the concrete encased electrode "rebar". Only 3 type can supplement. I say this in the video. I didn't reference code because I feel it boring but this video is almost right out of 250. 😁
@@honorelectricalllc5883
ua-cam.com/video/5QsjhDczKZQ/v-deo.htmlsi=8p_zh3syS4Kmdxg5
also
ua-cam.com/video/0aRea2rLW4M/v-deo.htmlsi=m2zGaoFncZlqwsm8
Yup. When building a new home or pouring new footing, Ufer grounding (minimum 20 linear feet w/ #4 bare copper) can’t be beat. Like the Wiz.
Did he drive them with a hammer drill?
yeah but usually gets stuck about half way, so the guy I worked with cut it in half then hit it a few times on each of them to make it look beaten, not cut
@@ryanmiklos1775 If you are getting a low enough impedance with that, I guess it doesn't really matter. There are plenty of places with bedrock only a few feet below the ground, so you can't get anything deeper. In those cases, you just need to put more copper at a lower depth to get the same impedance.
They make plates that can be buried. It doesn't have to be rods.
I drove mine with a t post driver until it was about 5 feet down, finished with a 5 pound engineer hammer..
Check your codes. Yes, water pipe may be a non-conductive pipe but most codes require the first 10 feet extending our front your foundation is to be copper or some other metal. Years ago galvanized pipe was used but that rots after a while. Coppe doesn't deteriorate.
Without digging it how would you know what's there. It could go to pvc righty as soon as it leaves the home or worse get replaced in one year from now with pvc because it ruptured. Never trust it as a electrode.
Well in my area the pipe comes through the basement wall to the regulator. Then converts to pex on the other side. It all has to do with local codes. I have an older house so my copper water supply is copper all the way to the meter.
YOU NEED 2 RODS! For solar!
?
This is what the inspectors always say.
ground rod needs to be 2ft away from foundation
? Some are the foundation.
Why is yhat meter so high? Mist utilities wont ket you go higher thsn 6 ft 6 inches to the center of the meter.
Oh. My bad. It is the proper height.
I didn't install this service. My next video tomorrow will talk about this 400 amp meter. it's great! 🤣@@johndavies2949
If your electrical systems are yhe finest in the world then why wouldn't you use emt conduit to enclose the two service entrance cables? That insulation around the service entrance cable isnt uv. resident to sunlight. It eill deteriorate over time.
This isn't my work. I'm trying to fix other people work. I will have a video on this 400 amp service tomorrow!
I pipe all my services by the way...
Oh.ok. didn't know
While I admire your diligence you need to step up your game, there is large evidence that you need to spread those ground rods farther apart, if those are 2 8 foot ground rods, then they need to be a minimum of 16 feet apart to not interfere with each other, and secondly you say you want to give your customers the best grounding connections possible wel Acorn Connections on your ground rods are lame, If you’re not spending 10 bucks more per connection for a cad weld thermal connection then you need to go back and check yourself, I haven’t done an acorn on a ground rod in 30 years, you’d never find those things being used on cellular towers or any other higher and equipment so why not give your customer the same thing for only $20 more
I beg to differ. I do cell work and I see acorns all the time. I could also put a ground ring around the entire home. I would be surprised if this system isn't below 1 ohm to the ground. Code requires 25. Cell installs are normally 10 and some are 25. That is small cell not towers. Towers are normally a ring. I have never cadweld below 4/0. Normal size for a ring. Even many switch yards or generation stations only require 5 ohms or less to ground. That is more about bonding all metal for static.
@@honorelectricalllc5883 Well I’m sorry for your customers that you are not selling them the best you can give them for 20 extra dollars, that’s a lame excuse, install completely irreversible connections and you never have to ever worry about them
And none of the people I know that do RF work or broadcast radio work would ever use acorns
You either cad weld it or you brase it
Doesn't really matter. You need to replace ground rods pretty often as they stop making great conductivity after about 10 years. New under 1 ohm 10 years maybe 25 ohms. That connection will last longer then the rods will. @@shockingguy