Interesting. Around here soil that dry is unimaginable...well, okay, I can imagine it, but it's unbelievable...well.... ;)
Glad you didn't have some of your openings welded shut with that jolt.
R...
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As noted above, unfortunately we're quite familiar w/ the problem and the symptoms...and we're about there again this year after last year being nearly as bad as any of the "Dirty-30s" years.
We've had no winter wheat pasture last two years owing to the extremely dry conditions but normally we run up to 2000 heifers over winter w/ single-strand electric fences. Typically build up to 20 miles every fall and take up in spring when bring 'em in off the wheat for either sale or into feedlot at the house.
Consequently I have a _lot_ of experience w/ electric fences... :) When roughly jr-high age the proper wire height was just about hip-bone on me so stepping over a fence meant had to be between posts where was a little wire sag and being careful. Obviously, best intentions of such ilk always have a little uncertainty in the outcome and getting zapped often enough gave me an unliking for anything much to do w/ electricity and still colored my classes selection when got to uni to avoid the electric labs as much as possible in lieu of nuc and/or chemical instead... :) (Was NE major w/ ChE minor; 30+ yr in utilities' support/r&d eng'g before coming back to farm after dad died almost 12 yr ago now...)
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I am not sure what kind of dirt that we have in the middle of North Carolina, but I was told of the same way to sink a gound rod. I have put down 3 rods at my house in "dirt" and they went in fine. Dig a hole about 2 or 3 inches deep and acouple of inches in diameter, fill with water. Then by hand start pushing and pulling on the rod. YOu may need to add water as the rod goes down. When the rod is a couple of feet in, pull it out and fill the hole with water. Put the rod in and repeat. Soon the 8 foot rod is all the way in. I did use a pair of vicegrips to get a beter hold on the rod.
Part time electrician friend of mine has used this method many times.
We're having that type of drought right now. Fortunately we got about
1/4" of rain today. First time in nearly a month. I have a willow tree that is dying, I started watering it this week to hopefully save it. It's so dry that when I tried to mow the lawn, it created so much dust I had to stop. The lawn is not growing, I only mowed because I was too busy earlier in the season to do it around the out buildings, and it was knee high by the barn. But the dust was so bad it clogged the air cleaner on the mower. I had to use the air compressor to blow out the dust. I just stopped after mowing a walkway. It's better to leave it intact so the soil will hold a little more moisture.snipped-for-privacy@thecave.com wrote: .
I heard on TV that it's so dry in the Southwest, the Attorney General is smuggling water pistols!
Smarty scrit:
Galvanized pipe should work for his application, where cheap is a requirement.
I don't remember my copper rod being very expensive, and with everything transistorized, I wouldn't skimp on grounding.
Even doing it property, I found my alarm control panel smoking one morning.
If you don't want to skimp on grounding don't depend on a rod, even if it was made of silver or gold. Ground rods are the least capable electrode.
Whatever else the instructions said to do, I did. There are a lot of tall trees and lightning around here.
Nowadays, quick fixes are frowned upon. The old conduit as ground rod trick is one of those.
Finding your panel up in smoke has to be expensive. So, what is a better ground? Better than a rod? Enquiring minds want to know.
I've never seen a "copper" grounding rod used. Many copper plated steel though. A copper rod would be a royal pain to drive - way too soft.
Yes, I'm sure you're right. I just used the term the pre-OP used.
I didn't do that. I had a copper (clad) ground rod, purchased from a burglar-alarm supply house, that sold only burglar alarm products) nailed all the way into the ground minus about 4 inches, and a separate wire running to the panel. IIRC the rod was 6 feet, but no less than 4 feet.
The panel wasn't that expensive, maybe $50. I started out looking for a company to install it for me, and I came across a guy who seemed dissatisfied with his career. He told me everything I needed, and who to call to get it. Though I later found out this company only sells wholesale and they mean it, since I called a few hours in advance, gave them a list of exactly what I wanted (based on what he told me), and showed up with cash, they ignored the wholesale only rule. I think the big reason people don't want to sell retail is the long series of questions they get from amateurs. Since I didn't ask any questions, they were happy to sell to me. (The guy might have told me to mention his name, but I don't remember that.)
The real problem was that the exact same panel wasn't available anymore, so for years I did nothing. Then a friend with an alarm business (who I didn't know until years after I first got the alarm) gave me a panel that he uses for most of his clients. It has taken me much too long but I have almost finished installing that.
I get crime statistics from
I don't know. The instructions for the new panel say to use a ground rod iirc.
Ufer grounds clearly work very well for low stress conditions - static electricity, maintaining a ground reference, communications, etc.
I've always been curious about their effectiveness in a lightning strike scenario, and been unable to find any data on it.
They are good for lightning, that was what the original design was trying to mitigate (ammo dumps).
The main problem with a Ufer is it needs to be done when you are laying the foundation. That is now part of the inspection regimen in Florida. The best "made" electrode is a ground ring but most people will usually not want to do that. Although you are not allowed to admit it, the absolute best electrode is a concrete in ground swimming pool.
4-6 feet? 8 foot minimum with local code specifying diameter, length and quantity. Some applications allow a 1/2" by 8'. In some applications the ground rod is allowed to be laid in a trench with proper (direct burial) connections to rod and access to said connection. Other applications might require 16', or more, vertical with multiple rods spaced at predetermined intervals (soil engineered).
It is only a guess, on my part, but it would seem that there was something not properly installed.
Not so. Static electricity was the hazard in those ammo storage bunkers, not lightning.
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