So some scumbucket hacked off part of the ground wire that runs from the panel to the grounding rod on the alley side.
Can I get a clamp to clamp on a new wire? Any ideas on making it less desirable?
If necessary, I’ll move it inside the fence, but that will be a pain.
I’m amazed they didn’t try to pull the ground rod up and steal that too!
Klein's 10-in. plier wrench has a toothed V-jaw for grabbing pipe and conduit, or can be flipped around for a parallel, smooth grip.
"I have learned so much thanks to the searchable articles on the FHB website. I can confidently say that I expect to be a life-long subscriber." - M.K.
Replies
Put it under ground.
Actually that is the way tha tthe code reads.
"The upper end of the electrode shall
be flush with or below ground level unless the aboveground
end and the grounding electrode conductor attachment are
protected against physical damage as specified in 250.10."
"250.10 Protection of Ground Clamps and Fittings
Ground clamps or other fittings shall be approved for general
use without protection or shall be protected from physical
damage as indicated in (1) or (2) as follows:
(1) In installations where they are not likely to be damaged
(2) Where enclosed in metal, wood, or equivalent protective covering."
.
Hey every group has to have one. And I have been elected to be the one. I should make that my tagline.
It is awfully hard to pull up a ground rod, and as it is copper clad steel, it is not very valuable.As Bill said, you should put it under ground. In answer to your other question, you can get a "wedding ring" clamp at any electrical distributor, hardware store or big box home store. If you really want to do it right, look into getting a Cadweld One-Shot to create an exothermic weld connection to the ground rod.
There is a section of code that at least some folks interpret as saying that the ground wire must be a single continuous piece from panel to ground rod. But in this case just getting the ground wire restored is more important than dotting the i's in code, so I'd say do what you gotta to restore the ground connection.
If copper theft is a hazard it might be better to use aluminum wire. Don't forget to upsize the wire, though, and at least use cu/al grease at the connections.
Under the circumstances multiple grounds (separately routed) might be wise.
Sheesh -- How much wire did they get? It's hard to imagine that they'd get more than chump change for it. What a waste.
-- J.S.
It's amazing sometimes how hard people will work to steal stuff.
People never lie so much as before an election, during a war, or after a hunt. --Otto von Bismarck
Guy was burned to death in Portland Or. recently , trying to steal a line out of an electrical sub station while it was hot.
' I guess they will go pretty far.
Not only did the steal, oh maybe 3' worth from my house, they cut sections from the telephone pole up the street.I can't run directly underground without going through the slab - this is the carriage house. There is a panel and a sub-panel, plus the meters. I think one of the ground wires is to ground the meter box.but I can go inside the fence, which I guess I'll do. More of a pain.Even aluminum gets stolen. Our vet set up a dog run at his practice, using nice powder-coated aluminum fencing. TWICE its been broken off and stolen. Once a neighbor followed the guy who was wheeling it along in a shopping cart and called the cops.What I really want is something that detects interference, and then transfers, say 640 V to the offender. We all have our dreams.
Certainly you could double-up the wires, with one of them the real ground connection and the other a sensor wire that would sound an alarm if cut. (Or put about 400V at high impedance on the second wire.)
People never lie so much as before an election, during a war, or after a hunt. --Otto von Bismarck
Use a split bolt to splice a new hunk on, should be continious.... well at least it was the day it passed inspection ;)