I have a preference for blue. BTW, my comments were meant to provide a basis for a meaningful solution, not to be contrary. Copper sulfate in the raw:
Here’s 10 reasons to NOT use copper sulfate.
I get it, however you are not treating an aquifer or pond. There are other salts that also can work, copper sulfate is just one. I’d recommend using a local qualified electrician with experience in this area of work. The solution you are looking at may not be effective. This is coming from a University of Illinois BSEE with a focus area in Power Systems Analysis, and 34 years of electric utility experience, including SubStation management.
I’m not looking for any solution. I’m all set, thanks. Yes, many salts can work and many salts will corrode the copper and more importantly the steel that is exposed as the rod is driven into the ground.
Copper sulfate is not good for the environment, period.
Be well.
vee, how are you measuring the resistance? I know how to measure resistance with a multimeter, but not sure what points you are measuring between for the electrical system ground. Please enlighten me!
I’ve posted this before. There’s different methods.
https://testguy.net/content/233-4-Important-Methods-of-Ground-Resistance-Testing
There’s some voodoo involved BTW. During IG inspections we had to hit 4 ohms, didn’t matter how we did it or even why (the meter had to show 4 ohms). The all important manual said we had to. We installed ground fields that ran miles of solid #2 with 9’ rods driven every 20 feet and it was still hard to hit 4 ohms. We had lots of antennas subject to lightning strikes so that was really the concern.
My building specs include a test but I rarely enforce it…sorry world, just not that important a value IMHO.
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I must have glazed over when you mentioned it previously (I read all posts … sort of). This makes sense, I couldn’t figure out how to do it with my Fluke multimeter.
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Digging a hole a coupla yards aft of the rod in which to stick the plus or minus. Wait - need to get longer cables. Cable recommendations?
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I used an electrician. He used some kind of grounding meter.
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Do I need a grounding rod if the grounding wire runs sufficiently long and ends up in moist soil down the hill?
My electrician thinks the wire is enough, at 0,5 meters deep. About 50 meters. (Not having done the grounding yet, don’t wanna compromise it)
And is my house “grounded” as it is, with it sharing the ground of the feed? Definitely not safety grounded as per definition, but… quasi-grounded?
If you live in a country that follows the National Electrical Code (NEC), then, a ground rod (Grounding Electrode) is most likely required. I gather by the 0,5 meters you don’t live in an NEC country but it’s a widely used standard so one never knows.
I can’t imagine a bare wire being code compliant. The real purpose of the grounding electrode is to dissipate static discharge energy such as that from a lightning strike. There are lots of approved methods such as cold water (assuming 10’ of direct buried copper pipe), plates, grids, structural steel (in direct contact with earth), etc… A single bare conductor is not one of the approved grounding electrode methods. Two methods are typically required. Here in my market (Chicagoland), we use cold water and a ground rod (minimum 8’ and 1/2" in diameter) both electrically tied together with a what’s called a grounding electrode conductor. There are a bunch of rules regarding the size of the grounding electrode conductor (well, there are a bunch of rules about everything). The NEC is a big book.
One last nerdy addition to this topic, the NEC defines an acceptable grounding electrode system performance as anything below 25 ohms.
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A fascinating thread - I’m learning a lot.
Yes I water my ground rod: if there is no rain for an extended period I can hear a noticeable degradation in SQ. I’m investigating a better solution than watering - I’ll report on my progress.
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“some kind of grounding meter”
What might this be… I’d like to have one.
Anyone know the name of such a contraption?
See post from amsco15 above, there is a link to the meters.
Whether it was the ground rod watering last night or the Uber DEPOT I added back in few days ago settling in, my system’s sound was fantastic last night!
I have an idea for a dedicated automated ground rod watering unit: keep the effective grounding radius (volume) around the rod heated according to season, with hot water pipes coiled around it and with computer-controlled release of valves according to on-site temperature. Now we don’t have it freezing.
Lead dedicated plumbing of a specially fine-tuned mineral water solution to various parts of the effective grounding radial volume of earth now kept above 4°C. Monitor on-site earth conductivity by a capacitive measure or other, computer adjusts flow of water and salts accordingly.
So we need only a specialized plumber and a simple computer control.
My ground rod is the pipe from a (75’ to 100’,not sure) well with an electric pump. Please comment, I wonder if this is an acceptable grounding method, discuss pros and cons.
I bet it is a good ground, but wonder if the pump introduces noise.
So far, I have never noticed any impact on SQ when the pump runs, none when it is off. The only interference in my house comes from the oil furnace when it runs. The PSA noise harvesters blink like crazy.
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Is the pipe metallic? If it is I’m sure it’s a good ground as long as it is in good contact with the soil. I ask since the well at my vacation home uses a plastic pipe to connect to the pump at the bottom of the well.