Fastest And Easiest Way To Drive Grounding Rods

Sometimes we need to work a little smarter and not necessarily harder. I will show you a couple effective ways to drive 5/8" by 8' grounding rods and you won't believe which method is the fastest and with the least amount of effort.

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[johndough]

I just use a post driver, no sweat. The water method is highly dependent on your soil type and doesn't work well in lots of places.

[keithosterkamp]

I listened to 2 friends in construction recount how to do this. I decided to try it the last time I needed to install a ground rod. I was absolutely amazed at how well the water method worked. No real effort required to sink that rod to the point where there was only 8” left above grade.

[dirtriderkx]

Great video. I remember when I was a grunt back in the day. They give us a sledgehammer and the ground rod. When it's below zero out the water won't work. LOL 😂😂. I've pounded a lot of ground rods in. I remember my arms feel like they're going to fall off. LOL 😂

[WeedyCreek]

I've used the water method to drive 5/8" x 8 foot ground rods several times and it definitely works just as easily as shown (lots of sweat involved tho) and yes...a hammer for the last foot or so.

[phlogistanjones]

Thank you for the vidja!
I have found that in Central Florida I can use a garden hose with/without a piece of PCV pipe to drill pretty much ANY hole I need. I got a hose adaptor with a slip-fit end for longer/stubborn pieces of whatever that I want to sink in the ground. I am convinced a 1/2inch - 3/4inch diameter PCV pipe can sink ANYTHING in the ground you want. Forty years ago I sunk 12' creosote telephone pole pilings for use as dock footings. They each took less than half an hour until I got into water over my head and had to use a john-boat. They still took less time than I would have imagined.
Not much digging some water cannot make easier it seems.
Cheers.

[vovobillinbrazil]

I saw the water method on a Short. Used it two weeks ago to slam two grounding rods in. Unbelievable how efficient it was. Took less than 7 minutes to install both. Had a rock in line with one, easily moved it a few inches over an bammo. Hammered, as you did, the last foot or so.

[rodmartel]

Try that up in the Canadian Shield area. I was so happy to get 3 feet in before solid rock!

[stephenpaul]

I have used a t-post driver and that works well

[rquest]

Thats great in soft earth, but in my area I remember seeking a D8 caterpillar with a huge hydraulic ripper on the back stopped cold by solid rock. The dozer had to chip about 10 inch sections at a time, 3 ft wide x 5 ft deep x 40 ft long. It took several hours.

[hassanbazzi]

That was pretty good. I think you answered the question when you mentioned to be carful with the hammer drill while you are on the ladder. I think it is better to use the water method and end it with hammer drill. Great video. Thank you for sharing

[aaron]

I have seen the water method before and totally forgot about it; this video reminded me. That is such an effective and CHEAP technique. Now I'm waiting for Scott to show us Wago ground rod clamps. Ha ha ha

[HomeRapidRepair]

I like that you have the ground rods just below the finished grade…I can’t stand when they leave them sticking out like 6 inches.

[hardlyb]

The ground around here (Texas Hill Country) doesn't have much dirt in it - so I'm not sure either one of those would work. We had a new propane tank put in, and after they scraped away 18 inches of soil, they were hammering away with the excavator for most of a day to make big enough hole.

[TheKingOfInappropriateComments]

That water trick probably works there in IL with that mushy loamy soil but down here in the south with the clay and rocks and not so easy I bet.

[patrickursomanno]

Water's amazing, sunk a well pipe 50' with just water

[vorticity]

Second video I’ve seen where you put the flat end on the ground and hammer on the pointy end. Am I missing something?

[therealist]

My dad was an electrician and told me he did this under a crawl space once where there was no room to hammer on it. One fellow poured the water and my dad twisted it by hand

[ShanePresleyC]

"That [ground rod] would not something you want to fall on" truer words have never been spoken😆

[theodurbin]

Nice! I'm probably going to use a combination of these. I have a hammer drill, but it's not the biggest.

[kenmore]

Maybe both would be fastest. With the water technique, I'm thinking it gets harder down below moist soil. On the last segment, I'd pour in the rest of the bottle and go have lunch to allow time for it to penetrate.