PS Magazine - TB 43-PS-696
PS, The Preventative Maintenance Monthly
ISSUE 696
NOVEMBER 2010
45
PS 696
NOV 10
Another option is to bury the
rods horizontally.
Dig a trench at
least 2
1
⁄
2
feet deep and six feet long.
Install the ground rod horizontally or
put at least 10 feet of copper 2 AWG
bare wire in the trench.
—The grounding electrode conductor
should be as large as possible, and at least
6 AWG.
—The conductor should be copper.
—Run the conductor as straight and
as short as possible in a downward
direction. Do not run the conductor
up and over obstacles.
—Think safety when installing ground
rods:
Wear goggles and gloves!
—Minimize any twists, loops or sharp
bends and remove all knots from the
conductor.
—Make sure the bonding surfaces are free
of paint, corrosion, grease or dirt.
—Never twist or tie a ground wire around
a ground rod. Use the bolt or clamp for
a solid connection. If there is no bolt,
then 24 tightly wound turns of stripped
telephone wire or other bare wire
should hold the strap in place.
This is a
temporary measure only.
Get a clamp
when you can.
It is very important in cold
weather to bond equipment and
shelters
located
within
arms
length of each other to eliminate
any hazardous voltage that may
develop
between
them.
If
the
equipment is not bonded, that voltage
can use you as the conductor if you
touch both pieces of equipment at the
same time.
Shelter bonding should be done by either running a bonding strap of at least
6 AWG between the two shelters’ grounding terminals or between the two ground rods
provided for each shelter.
When you can, locate your ground near a source of heat like a generator
or vehicle exhaust.
This will make it easier to drive a rod into the soil and keep the
grounding strap free from snow cover.
pour a mixture
of water and
salt into the
trench before
backfilling it
to increase soil
conductivity.
regardless of the
weather, there are some
grounding fundamentals
that you should always
observe…
make sure the
connection point
is
not corroded
and the connector
is
not loose!
order a
copy of the
earth ground
and bonding
pamphlet
published by
cecom. call dsn
992-
7
4
7
5 or
(
7
32) 42
7
-
7
4
7
5.
don’t
damage the
threads,
fella!
Trench at least 2
1
/
2 feet deep?
696.44-45.indd
1-2
9/27/10
11:00 AM
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