Re: [amsat-bb] Lightning and neutral grounding

["Matt Patterson" <mattpatt@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

A tractor with a front end loader will work well too..  Or anything that has
a lift (can be found at rental store).  Raise the lift, have someone hold
the rod in place, position the lift over the rod then lower the lift.
Simple!  I drove 2 ground rods into HARD NorthEast Texas Blackland during
the middle of the summer using this method in less that 5 minutes.  No
water, no digging, no hammering, no sweat and damn near LAZY!

Matt
W5LL


----- Original Message -----
From: "Gary "Joe" Mayfield" <gary_mayfield@hotmail.com>
To: "Jim Shorney" <jshorney@inebraska.com>; <amsat-bb@AMSAT.Org>
Sent: Tuesday, March 11, 2003 10:02 PM
Subject: Re: [amsat-bb] Lightning and neutral grounding


> Hope fully my next QTH will be one of the places where this works.  My
> experience has been as follows:
>
> 1. At my first QTH where I actually tried to ground something (New
Mexico).
>
>      Pour the bucket of water, watch the water vanish, repeat several
times.
> Get on top of ladder and start driving the rod.  Note the ladder legs
> nearest the rod and the rod will go in exactly the same depth (no
further).
> Pull rod out pour more buckets and repeat.  After three hours, averaging
> about a foot an hour.  Go to the rental place and rent a jackhammer.
Drive
> ground rod with jack hammer.
>
> 2. At my current QTH (South Dakota).
>
>      Wait for the ground to thaw (late May on the North side of the
house).
> Tap the rod in 6 inches.  Remove rod, pour in three ounces of water (which
> fills the hole) wait 30 minutes, hole is still full of water.  Drive rod
in
> 6 more inches.  Struggle valiantly to remove rod so more water can be
added.
> Dig rod out with shovel.  Put water in the bottom of hole made with
shovel.
> Come back next day some of the water is gone, attempt to drive rod through
> water in bottom of hole.  Rod goes in another foot and cannot be removed.
> Go to the rental place and rent a jackhammer.  Drive ground rod with jack
> hammer.
>
> 73,
> Joe
> ka0yos@amsat.org
>
>
> > >Try pre drilling the hole by HYDRO DRILLING .....
> > >Take a 5' piece of 1/2" copper pipe
> > >and hook it to your garden hose.
> >
> >
> > The 'bucket of water' method was taught to me by a commercial two-way
> > guy years ago.  Same guy that introduced me to polyphasers.
> >
> > Soak the ground where you want your rod.  Push the rod in as far as you
> > can with your hands, then pull it back out.  Pour some water into the
> > hole until it runs out.  Let it soak in a few seconds, then push the
> > ground rod in again.  When you can't push any deeper, pull the rod out
> > again and repeat water application.  Repeat until the rod is all the
> > way in.  It usually takes 5-10 minutes and one bucket of water.
> ----
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>

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