My house is about 20 years old and I do not have a grounding rod installed. Although all the wiring is grounded to the water pipes, I would still like to install one. My question is how close or far from the main electrical box should the grounding rod be installed?

On on the other side of the wall of my electrical panel is a water facuet, my AC Compressor and also my Gas meter. So I have two questions.

I'm pretty sure the gas line is about 4 feet down underground, but how far away from the house do they run the line before it goes parallel to the backyard? I know my gas line runs to the backyard cause when I had sprinklers installed, the guy found the gas line with a metal detector and showed me the location. Would a surge running to the grounding rod trigger anything near the gas line? Like and explosion?

Also does it matter if the grounding rod is placed near the AC Compressor? Would having it too close to the compressor cause problems if there was a surge? Like short out my brand new compressor?

Also, does anyone know the best way to get the grounding rod in to the ground other than pounding it with a 5 pound hammer? Its 8 feet long and 5/8" in diameter

I can provide a picture of the area if anyone is confused.

Thanks a bunch

David

In the past it was common for all that stuff to be grouped in a small area. Wise and legal now? Hope tkrussel replies soon. Thinking about the gas line was wise. You should be able to find a number in your phone book to call for locator service. They might even find something you forgot such as a phone line.

Both Phone and Sprinkler lines area already mapped out in my yard. I drew up blueprints of where everything was as it was being installed when the Phone company came out cause the sprinkler guys snapped the phone line!

Thanks for the reply

EDIT...

My cable TV line is above ground so that is not an issue!

Phone lines and cable tend to be more hidden in the dirt than buried. I got both once with a tiller.

I have pounded many a ground rod in with a 5 pound sledge, using a pair of channelocks to hold the rod to prevent hitting my hand and keep the rod still wihle swinging the hammer.

You may be able to rent an electric jack hammer, most have an attachment that takes the place of a drill bit, it is a deep narrow cup that slips over the rod and will drive the rod in effortlessly.

Depends on the soil conditions, if sandy or clay the hammer will work fine, just takes a little longer, the rental will help if the conditions are rocky.

You can look in the phone book for a free " Call Before You Dig" utility locator service.

Your system is currently grounded via the connection to the city water system, assuming this is what you have, and assuming that the city water line to your house is metal.A ground rod is now required as supplemental by code, to be in addition to the main ground, the connection to your water.

The rod can be anywhere in relation to the "Main Box". The connection is the important issue. Most likely the water ground wire connects to the main box, on the neutral bar. This is where the ground rod wire needs to connect to. The wire to the rod must be no smaller than #6 AWG copper,and can be bare or insulated.

The rod can be near anything, I would keep it as far away as practical, but the distance to anything such as a air conditioner is not an issue, and will not cause any problems. The AC unit is, or should be, grounded back to the main ground in the panel, so the rod and the unit is all at the same zero potential.

Hope this helps, but grounding is a very confusing and complicated matter, and hard to anticipate all the conditions that may be encountered. Some photos may be helpful just to be sure something is not being missed.

The Red line at the bottom is my first choice since there are less things in my way when I have to pound this bar in to the ground.

The Blue line is where I would like to put it since it is closer to the water line where an existing ground is attached to my water line, but the electrical meter is right there and I don't want to risk hitting and breaking the glass.

I will be calling the Utility company to tell me where all my lines are. Now that I think about it, the water line leads to the front yard so If I put the grounding rod where the red line is, I may hit it.

Does anyone know how far away from the house I should put it? My house doesn't have a basement so the foundation stretches out a bit. If I want to keep the grounding rod close to the house, then I may need to chip away some of the concrete that stretches out underground. I guess it really doesn't matter, but I guess the closer to the house, the better so that there is less chance of someone tripping over it or the mower hitting it.

I just measured, mine is about a foot out from the block foundation, crawl space. I am surprised that 20 years ago, they didn't put in a ground rod. Where does the conduit just to the left of the gas meter coming down from the box go? I would check it out before adding a ground rod.

Otherwise, either the red or blue looks OK to me.

The conduit on the left of the gas meter is electrical. The box it is conneceted to is a secondary breaker box someone installed because the house was running on fuses before and there was no room to add a 220 connection. I know for a fact that it leads away from the house about 3 feet and then heads to the right.

Seems I will go with the blue line location about a foot away from the house. Chances are I will dig down a foot or two first to make sure I don't hit anything. I still have to call the Utility company to do a metal detector check.

David

Hi,
When all else fails, or to have a "peace of mind", you might consider calling an Electrician, asking for a quote, and having that person install it for you.
Best of luck,
fredg

The top of the rod and the wire connector all need to be installed below grade, so no fear of tripping. The wire clamp must be direct buried rated.Most available are already rated for this purpose.

Bury the wire also, only a few inches deep if only for a short distance is fine.

I am interested in the wire that comes out from the right side of the meter, runs sloppy on an angle heading directly to the water line. What is this? If this is your "water Ground" I question it's integrity.

The wire to the ground rod must connect to either the main switch or the meter socket. This may be dictated by the local utility, many do not want the main grounding electrode conductor, (the technical name for the wire you want to install) connected in their meter. This leaves the main box, which has 240 volts and nearly unlimited amperage available.

Heading the advice to hire a pro is highly recommended, Working in this area requires only qualified personnel with the OSHA approved protective gear if worked live.

Although ground rods are now required to supplement utility water systems as a ground, rods were not required back twenty years ago. Installation of the new rod and wire is only for a pro, I suggest the existing ground wire and system be checked also. Even if is to clean and tighten the existing connections.

Good solid, grounding is so important, explaining all the details here is difficult and really not for a novice.

One other thing as great advice has already been given. If you do have multiple ground rods from different utilities (tv, phone, electric etc.) they should be all bonded together with at least #4 bare copper to equalize the ground potential. The other pitfall people make is that even those expensive UPS systems, surge protectors, and panel surge arrestors aren't going to be worth squat without a soldid ground. I actually heard the home depot electrical ace tell a woman who was concerned about the corroded groundwire on her equally corroded water service that a nice 300 dollar UPS would be an easy fix.

We are finishing off a basement and have the grounding rod in the floor where we plan to place a couch. What should we do? It's low enough that the couch can sit over it. Is that dangerous?

Large bare, electrical connectors do deserve respect, but the ground rod is just that, ground. It shouldn't be a problem.

I have a question. Has anyone here (peeks over at tk) used hammerlock type clamps as opposed to acorns? I was wondering if they work well with stranded copper ground wire. The photos I have seen all have solid.

I sink ground rods in Dallas clay soil with water. Water wets soil, push into mud, pullout and repeat, and repeat...
The last few inches, I hit it with a 5 pounder.