Old Posts and Comments.

Blogging is a funny pasttime. Everything I've written is available online and people searching for answers (aren't we all?), use Google to find information. Some of them stumble on this little blog. When I check my referral logs, I'm continually amazed at what some folks are searching.

Back in '06 I was building a restroom in the back yard to complement the pool we were planning to install. One post talked about ground rods, and my method for sticking an eight-foot rod in the ground. It's a method my Daddy taught me, and it works well in Louisiana where rocks in the dirt are a bit of an oddity in our soft soil.

I still get comments on that post. I found the most current one this morning, where a commenter asks:

I just started installing a grounding rod. I just used the jab and pull method but was not putting water in the hole. The ground is soft and wet, the rod went down about 3 foot very quick and was pushing some mud up to the top of the hole. When it got down about 3 foot it hit a rock and I have not been able to get past the rock. I put the connecting clamp on the top of the rod then used a small sledge hamer, after about 30 hits it had gone down about another half inch.
What should be done now? Move over and start again?
Thanks for the tips,

I don't know. I'm just a blogger who started talking about the challenges of building a bathroom. I'd imagine you could dig up the rock, or move over a foot and try again. This is one question that keeps coming up, and what works in alluvial soil Louisiana won't work at my brother's place in granite Vermont.

If I were faced with the challenge of installing a ground rod in rocky soil, I'd ask a local electrician what technique works best. Seriously. Local builders know the codes and the conditions that are liable to be found in their local area, and they've found work-arounds for most of the problems they're liable to face.

But, the main thrust of this particular posting is not my amazement that people are still asking questions. My amazement is that I've become the number one Google search for the string "Chug Ground Rod". I'm no expert. I'm not even a dedicated hobbyist in residential electrical wiring. I'm just some guy who listened to his Daddy, who had long experience in alluvial Louisiana.

If I had a serious question about voltage, I'd ask Mostly Cajun, who seems to have some expertise.