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Posted by John Grabowski on September 26, 2007, 8:26 pm
> I'm digging the basement out in my 100yr old house & am at a point
> that there is no poured floor & think it would be wise to drive some
> ground rods for my electric service.
>
> The current service is grounded to the city water pipe. [a 1"copper
> line]
>
> I've been here 20 years and the service is probably 10 yrs older than
> that. There is no other ground inside or out.
>
> The soil is wet clay - so I don't see any problem in driving a couple
> 8' rods.
>
> My plan was to drive one directly under the breaker box alongside the
> footing - and the other 6' away. [would more distance make any
> difference?]
6' apart is the code minimum standard, but 16' or more apart is optimum. It
has something to do with the length of the rods.
>
> Questions-
> Copper is expensive, but we're only talking about <15' of wire- is
> bigger better? How big?
#4 should suffice. Solid is cheaper than stranded, but harder to work with.
>
> Is one ground rod connector particularly better than any others?
Use the Bronze acorn style and put the wire between the clamp and the rod in
the V; not between the bolt on the clamp and the rod.
>
> Should the rods be driven to current grade so when the floor is poured
> the connectors are below or in the concrete?
You could do that. You might want to have a PVC sleeve coming out of the
concrete to protect the wire at floor level.
>
> Once these are in should I remove the ground to the city water- or
> leave it alone?
Leave the connection to the water pipe in tact. You might want to check to
make sure it is tight and not corroded. If so replace it.
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