New ground wire and rods


  #1  
Old 04-15-07, 08:49 AM
T
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Apr 2007
Posts: 18
Upvotes: 0
Received 0 Upvotes on 0 Posts
New ground wire and rods

Our current electrical system is grounding to our water lines. Since we are going to be doing electrical work soon, we will need to bring it up to code. As part of the electrical work, we will be having our service upgraded from 150 amp to 200 Amp.

The question I have is about the grounding rods. We intend to install two 8' long 5/8" wide UL listed grounding rods. We also will be grounding it to the water line. We will be placing the first rod into the ground underneath where the meter is and the second into the ground 8' away. The outdoor water line is in between.

1. I was told we should leave the grounding rod sticking two inches above the soil. Not sure why this is.

We will use a #4 solid bare copper wire for the ground line. It will run from the meter, down the wall to grounding rod#1, back along the wall to a copper clamp on our outdoor water pipe, down the wall to rod#2.

Is there any restriction as to how we have to attach it to the wall?
Do you have to have fasteners every few feet by code to attach to the wall?
Do the fasteners need to be of any special type? I intend to use 3/8" rubber grometed wrap-around fasteners. Fastened to the stucco wall using tapcons.


Any guidance will help. Thank you.
 
  #2  
Old 04-15-07, 03:01 PM
J
Member
Join Date: Sep 2000
Location: United States
Posts: 17,733
Upvotes: 0
Received 1 Upvote on 1 Post
First of all, in most cases, using your water line as your primary grounding source is still required by today's code. So you need to leave the GEC between your panel and the cold water pipe within five feet of where it enters your house.

No, do not leave the grounding rod sticking up 2 inches. The top of the grounding rod should be at or below ground level.

The rest of your plan is good. There are no specific requirements for type and number of fasteners. Just be sure it is protected and securely fastened.
 
 

Thread Tools
Search this Thread
 
Ask a Question
Question Title:
Description:
Your question will be posted in: