Grounding cable

I have a grounding cable coming out of the side of a brick house and it can't be pulled thru to make any longer so I'm stuck with the length provided. It detached from the grounding rod and appears now to no longer be able to reach it. Can these cables be spliced so I can extend them say another foot and with what? Any idea what type cable these are or what do I call them if I buy in, say home depot? Do I just call them a grounding cable or are there different types of grounding cables? Meanwhile I'll google around. Appreciate the replies.

Reply to
drb
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You can't legally splice a ground electrode cable but you can go to a rod and then add another wire to another rod. Can you drive another rod where the wire will reach or leave it far enough out of the ground so your existing cable will reach? Then it is somewhat legal to add another ground rod clamp and another piece of 4ga solid copper wire to the original rod. This will still count as one rod if it is not six feet from the original one and if you do not have 8' in the ground but it is a whole lot better than nothing.

The only way you can splice this wire is with an exothermic weld or a crimped connection like the power company uses. That is not something you do with pliers.

Reply to
gfretwell

It is probably a #6 or #4 stranded or solid copper wire. You can use stranded or solid bare or insulated. The stranded is easier to work with. It cannot be spliced through conventional means. You should just install a new wire. If you use insulated wire, wrap the entire length with green electrical tape to identify it as a grounding conductor. I have had to replace a few grounding conductors over the years because people thought that they were cutting into their cable TV wire.

Reply to
John Grabowski

Thanks John. I called a local homedepot and they said #8 was the most common around here because it's the most flexible compared to #6 or #4. I know I have an insulated stranded wire. One person at a store told me #8 is rated for 55 amp which I know the house has more amps so I'm not sure how they design this ground wire. Two stores told me that I can splice this stuff with a split bolt connector but I have no idea what it is till I google it or go to the store. They said all it takes is a screw driver to work on it.

Reply to
drb

A split bolt connector is NOT an acceptable means to splice a grounding conductor to a ground rod. You can rent a crimper and make a permanent irreversible splice that way or buy an exothermic welding kit to weld the wire together. The best way to go is to replace the wire altogether. Also #6 is the minimum code approved size for a ground rod wire. Please stop getting your advice from Home Depot.

Reply to
John Grabowski

Contrary to bigbox marketing it is a good idea to get your help elsewhere. Using a split bolt is totally unacceptable according to the NEC.

250.64 Grounding Electrode Conductor Installation.

(C) Continuous Run. The grounding electrode conductor, which runs to any convenient grounding electrode [250.64(F)], must not be spliced, except as permitted in (1) through (3): Figure 250?112

(1) Splicing is permitted by irreversible compression-type connectors listed for grounding or by exothermic welding. (2) Sections of busbars can be connected together to form a grounding electrode conductor. (3) Bonding and grounding electrode conductors are permitted to terminate to a busbar that is sized not smaller than 1?4 x 2 in., and the busbar must be securely fastened in place at an accessible location. Connections must be made by a listed connector or by the exothermic welding process. Figure 250?113

Reply to
George

Is the #6 go by any other name or nomenclature? I saw something like AWG wire but not sure how this relates here. I may reconsider tho I made the repair earlier today. Thanks.

Reply to
drb

I'm no electrical engineer so I'm a bit at a loss to fully understand all tho I understand some and it seems to be the same thing as the other post John has said. I may have to reconsider what I did today :( but I thank you for the informative reply (even if some is above my head). Thank you.

Reply to
drb

AWG means American Wire Gauge. So AWG6 or 6AWG is number 6 wire in North America. #6 is 0.162", or 4.11 mm, or 13.3 mm^2 elsewhere in the world.

In Europe, wire sizes are expressed in cross sectional area in mm² and also as the number of strands of wires of a diameter expressed in mm. For example 7/0.2 means 7 strands of wire each 0.2mm diameter. This example has a cross sectional area of 0.22mm². In America, the commonest system is the AWG numbering scheme, where the numbers are applied not only to individual strands but also to equivalent size bunches of smaller strands. For example 24AWG could be made of 1 strands of 24AWG wire (1/24) or 7 strands of 32 AWG wire (7/32).

For a good AWG calculator see:

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Reply to
clare

I once went to a job site and offered a cold 12 pack to an electricen to pull a new leg to my panel, maybe you can get lucky and get a ground wire crimped on. Jr

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Reply to
Jerry - OHIO

Or drill and run new ground,if that's legel for a home owner to do ? Jr

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Reply to
Jerry - OHIO

This is just a set of rules that electricians follow. Essentially it is saying the joint has to be permanent/irreversible. A split bolt is not suitable. I quoted the whole subsection. 250.64 (C) (1) applies to what you are doing.

As far as big box clerks knowing something there is a slight chance that someone may be qualified. This is not bashing those folks because it is just big box marketing to give customers the warm and fuzzies that all of the slightly above minimum wage employees are "experts".

Reply to
George

Never get advice from a Home Depot employee who is talkative or cheerful, but the grumpy, reticent employees know what they're talking about since they're usually licensed contractors working there parttime.

Reply to
do_not_spam_me

Thank you. Appreciate the good info :)

Reply to
drb

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