no earth

[Engineer54]

It is in the same place as the old rod, and as my house was built in 1826 there is no rubble - it is thick clay soil which is giving me a reading of 44 ohms which should get better over time. If the new rod had given me a rubbish reading or encountered rubble (not likely as the original one didn't) then I would have tried further away, but it didn't so it would be totally pointless to go half way down the garden for no reason. When (eventually) I repave the path it will be treated to a proper concrete pit.

What are you saying here, that house builders were cleaner in those days?? lol!! In thick top clay with a two coupled together 5/8'' rods, i'd be hoping and looking for an Ra of around 15 ohm as an initial value...
I'd hardly call a metre or so, half way down the garden, unless you only have a small yard out back!! lol!!

 

[DaveyD]

You'll be lucky if you get 2 to 4 years from that load of crap!! They should ban those bloody things, they stand absolutely no chance of lasting the lifetime of the TT installation!! Which is minimum of 30 years, but in reality much longer... Do yourself a favour and throw that thing away and get a proven propriety flush to ground, concrete or heavy duty plastic earth pit!!

So you drove your rod in the worst area possible on a domestic, straight into all that old builders rubble, ...that was clever!! lol!! If you had gone a metre or so, away from the house walls, you would have probably got a better Ra value too...

LOL, I could hear E54's buttocks clench when I read 30cm from wall and plastic box. Your moments were numbered

 

[Stroppy]

Clean builders or not, the point is that the old rod was not in rubble, so the new one in the same place won't be, and if it was I would have felt it scraping on the way down!

Anyway, you can argue all you want, its staying where it is, as is the purpose-made green box, and the 0.75mm green and yellow wire out of some flex that connects it to the consumer unit, and not a separate pointless earthing terminal!!

"lol!!"

 

[GLENNSPARK]

What are you saying here, that house builders were cleaner in those days?? lol!! In thick top clay with a two coupled together 5/8'' rods, i'd be hoping and looking for an Ra of around 15 ohm as an initial value...
I'd hardly call a metre or so, half way down the garden, unless you only have a small yard out back!! lol!!

i think what he is refering to eng is that houses built in the early part of the 19th century tended to have very shallow foundations....if at all.....
many georgian buildings were simply built on bedrock...or soakaways....
still doesn`t mean though that any rods shouldn`t be given the same consideration in regards to siting as any other installation...

 

[Stroppy]

Having been under the floor and seen the foundations when having an extension built, mine seem to be about 2 feet deep. House hasn't caved in in nearly 200 years, so can't be that bad! On a new rod then I would consider the ground conditions.

 

[GLENNSPARK]

Having been under the floor and seen the foundations when having an extension built, mine seem to be about 2 feet deep. House hasn't caved in in nearly 200 years, so can't be that bad! On a new rod then I would consider the ground conditions.

well....careful consideration needs to be paid to where to site rods....
say, a meter away from the building and in a shady area if possible...
dig a pit first to verify that any rods knocked into the ground wont hit any services (cable, pipes etc)...go for 2X 5/8" rods connected together....then get an Ra....
depth is key with TT....

 

[Stroppy]

2x5/8 got me down from 125 to 44. To be honest I was surprised it made such a big difference. I knew I was out of the way of services as (a) there was a rod there already, and anyway I know where all the services go.

Now I've peeled back some of the plastic off my incoming cable and wrapped a wire round the armouring my Ze is even better!

 

[GLENNSPARK]

2x5/8 got me down from 125 to 44. To be honest I was surprised it made such a big difference. I knew I was out of the way of services as (a) there was a rod there already, and anyway I know where all the services go.

Now I've peeled back some of the plastic off my incoming cable and wrapped a wire round the armouring my Ze is even better!

get a third rod connected onto the others and carry on banging it in....whatch that Ra come down....plus it will maintain this stability as well...
happy days strops.
glenn.

 

[Stroppy]

Two's enough for me. Unless I end up making an sds rod driver, then I'll have to test it out!

 

[GLENNSPARK]

Two's enough for me. Unless I end up making an sds rod driver, then I'll have to test it out!

well then do so....
a little weekend project for you....
the depth of those rods are whats going to dictate how much the Ra rises n falls under different weather conditions.....
dont forget that as you get more than about a foot or so below the ground the soil conditions are likely to remain moist throughout the year....as long as their not on a slope of course...or a soft sand/shingle...
thats the idea with going deep with rods....to get below all the dry stuff on the surface.....