Genset ground rod

[cranetruck]

Are these rod sections readily available?

Thanks.

 

[sprucemt]

I have them.

 

[Recovry4x4]

I do too!

 

[jwaller]

me three. although I only have one. and it's end it perm attached.

 

[ida34]

I have a set that come with my trailer and it had a sliding weight attached for driving and pulling the rod. I also see complete sets on ebay from time to time. I regularly do searches for military generators.

 

[M1075]

You can also get them in a carrying case like this one I got from GL:

 

[papercu]

rod

You want a set for show or to use? For use in your area, check and see what the power company call for when installing a service.
We have a high water table and one rod will do here. A local electrical supply house will have what you need. Wayne

From the TM for the 10 kw.
1 The ground can be in order of preference, an underground metallic water piping system, a driven metal rod, or a buried metal place.
2 A ground rod must have a minimum diameter of 5/8 inch (1.5875 cm) if solid or ¾ inch (1.905 cm) if pipe, and must be driven to a minimum depth of 8 feet (240 cm). A ground plate must have a minimum area of 9 square feet (0.81 square meters) and be buried to a minimum depth of 4 feet (120 cm). The ground lead must be NO. 6 AWG (American Wire Gauge) copper wire bolted or clamped to the rod, plate or piping system. Connect the other end of the ground lead to the generator set ground stud (A and B, fig. 2-

 

[cranetruck]

Re: rod

You want a set for show or to use?.....

I'm looking for the original set. The generator is mobile and may be used around the house or in Florida for all I know.
Thanks for responding, good to know that they are to be found.

Makes me wonder about an extraction tool, was there one, besides the crane, that is?

 

[ARMYMAN30YearsPlus]

RE: Re: rod

Bjorn:Belive it or not our unit was leaving them in the ground in the Iraqi desert because they were trying to pull them out with a 6K forklift and could not get them out. Being a Macguyver I thought for a while and then came up with this:

Drive expando van to a point were the van body corner is directly over the rod

Use 5,000 pound strap to hook into the upper shackel on the body and wrap it in a timber hitch around the top of the rod

Start cranking and the rods came right out.


Recovered all of them since we were jumping the TOC and needed to redrive them again at the new site.

The 8X8 should do the same for you

 

[shadow]

RE: Re: rod

I had a thought, if you are in the desert, couldn't you just dump water on them? I am picturing the ground being mostly sand and if it gets wet and the rods are smooth I would think they would slip right out. But maybe dumping water isn't a good idea if your way out in the desert and need to conserve it. I have never found a set for mine yet so I don't know how hard it is to put them in or take them out of the ground.

 

[cranetruck]

RE: Re: rod

I have "planted" a number of them (commercial ones) here in my part of the world and they would be a bear to pull out. Mostly clay, rocks, tree roots etc here, probably a good idea to keep several sets of rods on hand when going on a trip where the genset will be expected to be used.
An extraction tool could be made, similar to a conduit bender, but with a "grabber" for the rod.

BTW, that is a beautiful set James (M1075) and it does include two complete rods, so perhaps they are expected to be left behind...

 

[1956_4x4]

It seems like one could use a Hi-Lift jack to remove the rods from the ground. I've used Hi-Lifts to pull up steel fence posts and they work great. I keep a 60" Hi-Lift in my 1031 and have found quite a few for it other than just jacking up vehicles.

Smitty

 

[BFR]

It seems like one could use a Hi-Lift jack to remove the rods from the ground. I've used Hi-Lifts to pull up steel fence posts and they work great. I keep a 60" Hi-Lift in my 1031 and have found quite a few for it other than just jacking up vehicles.

Smitty

my first thought too...

even better
http://www.hi-lift.com/products/post_popper.htm

 

[ida34]

Mine has a weight that acts as a slide hammer on the upper portion. It drives them and it pulls them out. I will try to post some pics. A field mod for sure but it came with my genset trailer direct from the military.

 

[DavidB]

Have pounder/remover and rods here also,but no fancy canvas case.
DavidB

 

[cranetruck]

Here is a good one, driving the rods at an angle, so that they can be pulled out by a vehicle....
Also, since the sections are connected with threaded couplings, use a pipe wrench to unscrew at least the top section if they can't be pulled out as one piece...
(not my ideas)

Having read up on the grounding rod requirements, it turns out that most applications won't need it anyhow....

 

[Poccur]

I second what cranetruck says about driving at an angle. Another trick is to position the grounding rod under the drip from the air conditioner (if using one). Wet ground has good conductivity and the rods pull out easily when it is time to go home.
Another trick is to not drive the rods but screw three sections together and bury them horizontal in a back filled trench 15+ inches deep. If the ground is so hard that you consider this option then also consider wetting the rods with a salt water mix to keep the ground damp. One pound salt per gallon is the mix required.

Back to the original question, as I recall the ground rod kits were made by a few manufacturers and one of the was Thomas and Betts. They should be available from their downloadable catalog.

Cheers

Poccur

 

[steelandcanvas]

Poccur are you a "Sparky"? Sounds as though you are.

John

 

[n3sq]

I have a few pre-installed ground rods located where I normally use my current generator. I will need to add more locations when the MEP-003s arrive.

Alex

 

[Poccur]

steelandcanvas:
MOS 52D
I sent you a PM rather than hijack the thread with a side conversation about me.

Cheers

Poccur