# best ground rod driver



## bhe

I am looking to purchase a ground rod driver. I only have experience with two methods. One being a sledge hammer and the other being a 3/4" hammer drill w/driver. Does anyone have any recommendations for something more sophisticated than a sledge hammer and something a little cheaper than purchasing a 3/4 hammer drill?


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## mdshunk

Yes, see the first picture in this thread:


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## bhe

Thanks MD, I am mostly interested in a manual driver, similar to the first picture in your post. I tried to search "ground rod drivers" on this site and didnt have any luck. Thank you for the link.


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## mdshunk

Yeah, you can buy that manual one's, pre made at a Tractor Supply, Central Tractor, and places like that. They're made for driving T posts. They're not nearly as heavy and hard-hitting as my home made one in my picture.


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## bhe

I am actually looking at a buying one specifically made for driving ground rods. It is called the REM 2000. It weighs about 30lbs. I will let you know how it works out.


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## mdshunk

bhe said:


> I am actually looking at a buying one specifically made for driving ground rods. It is called the REM 2000. It weighs about 30lbs. I will let you know how it works out.


Got a link? My local utility has one they use, specifically for ground rods. It has a "chuck" of sorts, and you can use the driver anywhere along the rod. You don't have to slam it on the end of the rod. I don't know who makes it. I have examined several of them before, and could find no manufacturer.


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## fridaymean

We just use an old Bosch hammer(whatever) Those mini splined jack hammers. It works great and drives a rod in about 15ish seconds.


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## A.W.Davis

fridaymean said:


> We just use an old Bosch hammer(whatever) Those mini splined jack hammers. It works great and drives a rod in about 15ish seconds.


How the hell did you manage that?

I worked for three hours driving a 8' rod in today, damn I am sore and have blisters all over my hands from sledgehammering  :shifty: 

It doesnt help that the ground was sandstone :furious:

I tried my Bosh Rotohammer and it did absolutely nothing!!!


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## Sparky Joe

15 seconds is a bit of an exageration. That may be true in solid sand, but for driving a rod into earth using a roto hammer, 15 minutes is more like it.

The driving force of a roto hammer is much less than what a man can do. The trade off for less work with your arms is more time holding the roto hammer.


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## daveselectric

I have a Makita demolition hammer with a ground rod driver attachment. The hammer weighs around 40lbs and I can drive a ground rod through rock in one minute. My average time is less. It takes longer to roll out the cord and set up the hammer than it takes to drive the rod. I highly recommend it. The downside is $800.00. If you drive allot of rods it's worth every penny.


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## bhe

Sorry I havent posted sooner MD, work has really picked up and I have been really busy. I just recieved my ground rod driver today. I bought it off of ebay for $41. It is a REM 2000. I think they might have gone out of business because I have been unable to find an active web link. It also doesnt help that the rock band REM has an album called Driver. Their website is REMDRIVER.com, maybe you may have better luck finding a link than I did. I let you know how it works out.


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## fridaymean

Sparky Joe said:


> 15 seconds is a bit of an exageration. That may be true in solid sand, but for driving a rod into earth using a roto hammer, 15 minutes is more like it.
> 
> The driving force of a roto hammer is much less than what a man can do. The trade off for less work with your arms is more time holding the roto hammer.


Ok, I'll give you the benefit of the doubt. 30 seconds at the most. If you lean on the hammer, it goes down very fast. If you have done this and it took you 15 min there may be a problem. I am not talking about a hammer drill or one of the cheep things they sell at home depot. It shouldn't even take 15 min if you use a sledge.


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## ABLE1

Interesting thread. I have found a trick that seems to work for me the first and only time I ever used it.

I have Dewalt 1/2" hammer drill. I took a garden hose and opened the spigot to give small flow of water. Let it trickle on the spot for the ground rod. While I was climbing my ladder with the 8 foot rod I placed the tip of the rod on the spot and started the drill. Went down about 2 feet in about 10 seconds. I backed off a bit to let some water trickle around the rod. Then started again. This process took about 2 minutes and my rod was at a full depth.:clap: 

The set up and clean up took longer than the actual insertion of the rod. I may have been lucky and did not hit a rock. But I found that this method was far better than I had ever used before. Also if I had hit a rock I feel that I could have easily pulled out the rod since the ground was so soft and tried another location with out any extra effort. If I would have not used the water I know that this would have been next to impossible since I have tried in the past with out any luck what so ever. Had to cut off 18" the rod to make just above ground level.

Hope this little trick helps others here. I found the trick on another site.

Les


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## vtmarksman

i prefer any of the 300 series cats:no: the last two houses i did were on a bed of shale. i had the excavator dig me two holes.. took me 1.5 minutes to set in all the rods.. it was impossible any other way...

doug


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## sparkysteve

My favorite ground rod driver is Dave our crew apprentice.


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## JohnJ0906

sparkysteve said:


> My favorite ground rod driver is Dave our crew apprentice.


Ah, takes me back to my apprentice days! The young'ns around here have it easy-most jurisdictions around MD require CCE's, so ground rod driving is not as common anymore.


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## Sparky Joe

sparkysteve said:


> My favorite ground rod driver is Dave our crew apprentice.



:thumbup: :laughing: :thumbup: 

The way it should be and has been done for generations :thumbsup:


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## y0manda

garden hose and a 10' 3/4 steel pipe with a 1/2" nipple as a hydro jet. easy!


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## Speedy Petey

y0manda said:


> garden hose and a 10' 3/4 steel pipe with a 1/2" nipple as a hydro jet. easy!


How good of a ground will that provide? I mean having a ground rod loose in a hole.


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## Magnettica

daveselectric said:


> I have a Makita demolition hammer with a ground rod driver attachment. The hammer weighs around 40lbs and I can drive a ground rod through rock in one minute. My average time is less. It takes longer to roll out the cord and set up the hammer than it takes to drive the rod. I highly recommend it. The downside is $800.00. If you drive allot of rods it's worth every penny.


Does it go through abandoned oil heat tanks, gas lines, and sewer pipes too? :laughing:

This sounds like the machine I need. I have a ground rod now that I am thinking of that's only gone down about 20-30". Supposedly - and I am told - that these grounds I am working on used to be a coal factory of sorts. That might be BS though. All I know is I need to get this ground rod sunk and fast!


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## DuMass

I have a Bosch hammer and adapter that works well for this, but I think I’d take any 1-1/2" or larger rotary hammer with a ground rod driver over a sledge or slide hammer any day, especially once the soil has frozen up during the winter. I’m not 22-years old and full of p*** and vinegar anymore.
The wide flat chisel and clay spade adapter have both come in really handy at times for breaking up the surface frost to help with trenching the ground wire.


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## txgencon

480sparky said:


> When you can drive the whole rod standing on the ground and not have to drag out a ladder, then you'll understand. :thumbsup:


You must be really tall. I still have to get out a ladder to get it started. The rod is 8' and the demo hammer is about 30". And you have to be able to pull the trigger. Mine won't lock. I'm not sure I would want to try to put it over the rod, lock the trigger on and then stand it up. It's really too heavy for that anyway.


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## dakzaag

txgencon said:


> I'm not sure I would want to try to put it over the rod, lock the trigger on and then stand it up. It's really too heavy for that anyway.


 
That mental video is priceless!:clap::clap::clap:


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## StallingsElec

T-post driver works 80% of the time ........the other 20% is for the apprentice to figure out.


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## 480sparky

txgencon said:


> You must be really tall. I still have to get out a ladder to get it started. The rod is 8' and the demo hammer is about 30". And you have to be able to pull the trigger. Mine won't lock. I'm not sure I would want to try to put it over the rod, lock the trigger on and then stand it up. It's really too heavy for that anyway.



I'm 6-0. Look closely at the driver in the middle two pix........ it can attach anywhere on the rod. I can drive a 20-foot rod _standing on the ground_.


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## one man show

*grounding electrode*

you can drive a rod as much as 45 degrees from vertical or you can even lay it in a trench 30 inches below grade


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## 480sparky

one man show said:


> you can drive a rod as much as 45 degrees from vertical or you can even lay it in a trench 30 inches below grade



If you cannot drive a rod vertically (encounter a rock bottom), you are permitted to drive it up to a 45° angle. If you unable to do that, you are allowed to bury it in a 30"-deep trench.


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## HARRY304E

480sparky said:


> When you can drive the whole rod standing on the ground and not have to drag out a ladder, then you'll understand. :thumbsup:


Wow thats a cool ground rod tool i did not see your the first time PDF.
:thumbup:
http://www.us.hilti.com/data/techlib/docs/design-center-resources/drilling%20and%20demolition/complete-safetyfirst-te-905-rod-driver.pdf

:thumbsup::thumbsup:


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## denjul

As others have said, a ground rod does not have to be completely vertical. Our soil here allows me use 1/2 gal water and work the rod up and down. pull it out,put more water in hole etc. I rarely have to pound down a rod. I like that way because I can feel if I hit something. Takes 5 min.


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## 65535

That's the beauty of a demo hammer attachment, don't matter if you hit something, it'll find a way through or around most of the time.


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## 480sparky

65535 said:


> That's the beauty of a demo hammer attachment, don't matter if you hit something, it'll find a way through or around most of the time.



I once had the rod come back up out of the ground 3 feet from where I was driving it. Must have hit a large rock at just the right angle and started to bend the rod into a curve as it went by.


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## Tinstaafl

480sparky said:


> I once had the rod come back up out of the ground 3 feet from where I was driving it.


Same principle...


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## 480sparky

Tinstaafl said:


> Same principle...



Your lumber has rocks in it? :laughing:


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## Tinstaafl

480sparky said:


> Your lumber has rocks in it? :laughing:


Seems like it sometimes. :laughing:

Relative to a nail, a good knot can seem as hard as a rock. :thumbsup:


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## 65535

480sparky said:


> I once had the rod come back up out of the ground 3 feet from where I was driving it. Must have hit a large rock at just the right angle and started to bend the rod into a curve as it went by.


It found a way around it didn't it. :whistling

Did you name it the "Return to Sender" ground rod?


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## 480sparky

65535 said:


> It found a way around it didn't it. :whistling
> 
> Did you name it the "Return to Sender" ground rod?



No, I named it, "Son of a -----!"


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## Tinstaafl

At least you weren't holding that section of ground down with your thumb. :laughing:


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## 480sparky

Tinstaafl said:


> At least you weren't holding that section of ground down with your thumb. :laughing:



Could have been my foot, though. :blink:


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