Exothermic Ground Rod

Inter-PSAP P25 ISSI-related MOUs and SOPs are mundane. God help me.

Then, I got wrapped up in a serious political issue later today. I thank God I'm on the periphery of that one.

 

On a home/amateur installation I doubt anyone will get in any kind of trouble for an exposed ground rod. Commercial site would be different. I could get in trouble for climbing a commercial tower without proper climbing gear for example (as a contractor) but I can climb whatever/however I like on my own. Might be stupid but I'm free to be stupid. An exposed ground rod can be a trip hazard so in that sense a bad idea. We drove our rods in a trench so the cadweld was always below ground level.

 

My bad auto correct spelling error. I agree with you, it is a meaningless statement. You know the code as well as I do and the words used. "SHALL BE" means it is Required. Anything else is not required.

I agree again, and I am sure every sparky and most engineers agree. Issue is Sparkies and Train Drivers are not a majority of the voting party. There are a lot of things that need changed. Way more than can be changed in a cycle. We have to pick our battles and prioritize issues.

Stop and think what a huge stink AFCI was. It was rushed into code long before it should have. It was Insurance, fire departments, local authorities, and one manufacture financial interest that rushed it through before anyone else could make a unit at a lower price. You know what I am talking about. Between the Insurance companies, fire departments. local jurisdictions and one manufacture had a majority and enough BS to convince outside interest to vote their way. We sparkies and train drivers knew better, and fortunately many AHJ realized the very expensive mistake and amended AFCI requirements out of local codes until other manufactures had less expensive options. A certain manufacture had a monopoly for a while.

 

Perhaps, but not from Local Electrical Codes. NEC does not regulate work place trip hazards. That would be an OSHA Wisconsin issue where the idiots live and think they know it all.

 

All that means is he was doing it wrong for 20 years and never bothered to question it. Like a doctor who smokes and drinks. That is not how contract work works.

Example if you are going to build a home and you send out two bids for quote to do electrical. One Sparky bids $14,000 on a 2000/ft2 home with 200-amp service, and another bids $20,000. You know darn good and well why you chose the contractor that bid $14,000, because the other contractor was an idiot. The moron contractor did not like minimum NEC code requirements for earth ground driving two rods, bond water pipes, and service. Nope he used a UFER Ground and Ground Ring in his bid for something never needed or will buy the customer anything. The idiot bid himself out of a job.

Point. Real simple a contractor is not going to go to the extra expense, time, and trouble, to do more than required unless it is specified in the bid. Otherwise he/she will never win a contract.

 

No residential AFCI requirement in Michigan, thankfully. We never fell for the ruse.

 

I did a grounding verification for a 200 foot tall metal rotating tower used for a ham radio antenna many years back. All the ground rods were exposed by necessity. They were bonded to 4" wide copper straps with 4" wide connectors that needed periodic inspection. Since the entire antenna site (many acres) was fenced in, thus ground rods were considered, by the local inspector, to be protected from physical damage.

The exposed rod and connection don't have to be armored against weapons fire, all they have to do is satisfy the AHJ that they are protected from physical damage. Not 100% protected. Just protected.

 

And even if it is specified he will find a way to get out of it!

 

I don't remember a specific site but if a ground rod had to be left exposed we put a safety cap on it (I think they were yellow). And some form of signage.

 

It must chap your backside that "idiots" such as me get ahead of you in the comm-electronics, wire-line and wireless industries.
And don't forget to mention you're a MSEE and a PE.
Please.

Now back to your regularly scheduled disparaging remarks... good grief.

 

That means two things.

1. I make a lot more money than you do or did.
2. That I am responsible and accountable for my work and can withstand peer review.

My beef with you is you claim to be an Engineer, but do not know the very basic facts, rules, and regulations of the profession. Then when myself and two other pros correct your ignorance, you demand verbatim, documents, references, and links which you should know by heart and already have full access too if you are or were an Engineer.

Then when you finally get off your lazy butt and look it up for yourself, you then claim OMG, they must have changed the rules. Which again is pure BS. You cannot find anywhere in 250 in any code cycle that states Ground Rods SHALL BE buried. Never been there, never will. I know and the two other sparkies here know you are full of it. You are talking to the guy who sat on the Code Making Panel 9 that writes Article 250. Sorry credentials matter and you are full of it and lazy. Worked in Telecom and electric utilities for 40 years come October. Own a design and build firm and still working when I feel like it.

You stepped in it.

 

What does a Company Practice have to do with National Electrical Code?

The answer is other than meeting the requirements of codes, nothing. Your company Practice met and exceeded code requirements is all it means. Practice and Codes are two different sets of requirements. This is an area where DIY and Amateurs get confused. Code is a minimum set of requirements that must be met to make an electrical system safe. To many times folks think the codes are:

Design Guide
Application Guide
Practice
Standards
How To Guide.

It is none of those. It is up to the designer and builder to figure out how to build something, but it must meet minimum code requirements specified. You want your ground rod connections buried, great, specify it in the contract and pay for it. Otherwise the Sparky is likely to give you what you asked for, sink a rod for as cheap as you can. Not likely going to be buried if close to a foundation or structure, but will meet code requirements.You got the minimum tight wad and did not specify what you really wanted.

 

Just a quick thought about exposed ground rods. The eight foot rod installed, say in Michigan, will only have an effective contact to earth surface of about two to three feet in the winter. It does lightning in the winter. So one foot above ground of a 8' rod, in the air, has no contact surface with earth. With a 40" frost level + 1' in the air does allow for much rod surface contact to earth. Over half the rod won't have contact to earth. For my ham tower I used 10' rods buried 16" below grade and all Cadwelded connections.

 

Seriously? Is this who you are? Because any cred you have as a person goes out the window, along with any degrees, certs, etc. Pissing contests about money is so 9th grade, if you're still there, I am sorry.

 

This mechanical clamp won't hold up to a direct lightning strike. I've seen several blow apart and act like shrapnel.