Do hammer drills really work for driving in ground rods?
 

This afternoon I went down to the local tool rental place to see about
renting a hammer drill. They have one that's considerably larger than the
ones recommended here (e.g. http://tinyurl.com/33zcrr) for rent for US$60
per day. I showed the guy a printout of the nut driver adapter
(http://tinyurl.com/2bohkg) and asked where I could get one, and he looked
at me like I was from Mars.

So, I'm looking for a nut driver adapter... went to Home Depot and they
told me where to try and I'll call them tomorrow.

I'll tell you, though, even the big rental unit sure doesn't look like
it's up to this job, to say nothing of the much smaller ones at Home
Depot. I'm fairly good sized (6 ft 2 in and 230 lhs) and using a standard
sized two-handed sledge hammer I can't move this rod more than a tenth of
an inch, at most, per strike. Are you guys sure that a hand-held hammer
drill will do the job?

I guess it's worth $60 plus the cost of the nut driver adapter (if I can
find one) to find out...

Do hammer drills really work for driving in ground rods?
 

Rick (W-A-one-R-K-T) wrote:
This afternoon I went down to the local tool rental place to see about
renting a hammer drill. They have one that's considerably larger than the
ones recommended here (e.g. http://tinyurl.com/33zcrr) for rent for US$60
per day. I showed the guy a printout of the nut driver adapter
(http://tinyurl.com/2bohkg) and asked where I could get one, and he looked
at me like I was from Mars.

So, I'm looking for a nut driver adapter... went to Home Depot and they
told me where to try and I'll call them tomorrow.

I'll tell you, though, even the big rental unit sure doesn't look like
it's up to this job, to say nothing of the much smaller ones at Home
Depot. I'm fairly good sized (6 ft 2 in and 230 lhs) and using a standard
sized two-handed sledge hammer I can't move this rod more than a tenth of
an inch, at most, per strike. Are you guys sure that a hand-held hammer
drill will do the job?
yes..

In the same way that a pneumatic or electric jackhammer can make short
work of concrete that would take you hours with a single jack and a sledge.

Many short, sharp raps that are quite forceful does the trick.

These things (e.g. the Bosch Bulldog) revolutionized the rock climbing
world. What used to be many arm tiring minutes of hammering on a star
drill, just to make a 1" deep hole for an expansion bolt turned into
seconds with the hammer drill. On the one hand, it made protecting
routes with a lot of exposure easier and safer. On the other, maybe
unassisted man wasn't meant to climb certain things.

(but the battery powered hammer drill was a lot easier than Maestri's
dragging a compressor up Cerro Torre)



I guess it's worth $60 plus the cost of the nut driver adapter (if I can
find one) to find out...

Do hammer drills really work for driving in ground rods?
 

"Rick (W-A-one-R-K-T)" wrote in
:

than a tenth of an inch, at most, per strike. Are you guys sure that
a hand-held hammer drill will do the job?

For avoidance of doubt, I didn't suggest a hammer drill. I have driven
scores of electodes with the equipment I did describe, but I will have to
leave it to others to assure you about the suitability of a hammer drill to
the task.

Owen

Do hammer drills really work for driving in ground rods?
 

On Tue, 17 Jul 2007 00:59:42 +0000, Owen Duffy wrote:

For avoidance of doubt, I didn't suggest a hammer drill. I have driven
scores of electodes with the equipment I did describe, but I will have
to leave it to others to assure you about the suitability of a hammer
drill to the task.

Thanks, Owen. Yes, I know you didn't suggest a hammer drill, but for the
moment that's the only thing I have readily available other than the
sledge hammer. I guess that if $60 and a day later I find that it didn't
work I'll try to duplicate what you had.

Eventually we're going to have to replace our front steps which will
involve a lot of cutting and splitting of rock and concrete, so I told the
XYL that we should just bite the bullet and go down to Home Depot and buy
one, and she told me to go lie down until the thought went away... :-)

Do hammer drills really work for driving in ground rods?
 

Rick (W-A-one-R-K-T) wrote:
This afternoon I went down to the local tool rental place to see about
renting a hammer drill. They have one that's considerably larger than the
ones recommended here (e.g. http://tinyurl.com/33zcrr) for rent for US$60
per day. I showed the guy a printout of the nut driver adapter
(http://tinyurl.com/2bohkg) and asked where I could get one, and he looked
at me like I was from Mars.

The nut driver that I posted about was for SDS+ drills. Adapters
probably don't exist for the larger size of drill that you were trying
to rent.

You're still thinking too big, Rick. "A bigger hammer" is not always the
answer.

So, I'm looking for a nut driver adapter... went to Home Depot and
they
told me where to try and I'll call them tomorrow.
I'll tell you, though, even the big rental unit sure doesn't look
like
it's up to this job, to say nothing of the much smaller ones at Home
Depot. I'm fairly good sized (6 ft 2 in and 230 lhs) and using a standard
sized two-handed sledge hammer I can't move this rod more than a tenth of
an inch, at most, per strike. Are you guys sure that a hand-held hammer
drill will do the job?

Jim Lux wrote:
yes..

In the same way that a pneumatic or electric jackhammer can make short
work of concrete that would take you hours with a single jack and a
sledge.

Many short, sharp raps that are quite forceful does the trick.


That's right - it isn't so much the weight of each blow, but the
enormous number of them. The hammer drill can manage 4-5 THOUSAND blows
per minute, so it's more like vibrating the rod into the ground than
hammering it in. In the right kind of ground, the rod will slide right
in.

NOTHING will drive a ground rod into solid rock, for one very simple
reason: a ground rod is not a rock drill! No matter how hard or how
often you hit the thing, it will either bend like a bow or curl up at
the point.

The whole idea of the combination hammer/rotary drill is that if plain
hammering doesn't work, you can switch to a very long drill bit, and
drill a pilot hole to clear the way. Then you can hammer the rod into
the pilot hole. That gives you a guaranteed 3ft depth of rod into almost
anything... for whatever that's going to be worth in terms of electrical
performance.

(But don't tell me, long SDS+ bits have to be brought in from off-planet
too...)



--

73 from Ian GM3SEK 'In Practice' columnist for RadCom (RSGB)
http://www.ifwtech.co.uk/g3sek

Do hammer drills really work for driving in ground rods?
 

" The nut driver that I posted about was for SDS+ drills. Adapters
probably don't exist for the larger size of drill that you were trying to
rent.

You're still thinking too big, Rick. "A bigger hammer" is not always the
answer.


Another solution may be hiring a small compressor and an air chisel, or go
the whole hog and hire a Kango hammer.

73
Jeff

Do hammer drills really work for driving in ground rods?
 

Jeff wrote:

" The nut driver that I posted about was for SDS+ drills. Adapters
probably don't exist for the larger size of drill that you were trying to
rent.

You're still thinking too big, Rick. "A bigger hammer" is not always the
answer.


Another solution may be hiring a small compressor and an air chisel, or go
the whole hog and hire a Kango hammer.

Nope, we're still missing the point. Pounding everything into rubble is
NOT the answer to this problem.


--

73 from Ian GM3SEK 'In Practice' columnist for RadCom (RSGB)
http://www.ifwtech.co.uk/g3sek

Do hammer drills really work for driving in ground rods?
 

On Tue, 17 Jul 2007 08:32:36 +0100, Ian White GM3SEK wrote:

The nut driver that I posted about was for SDS+ drills. Adapters
probably don't exist for the larger size of drill that you were trying
to rent.

I'm pretty sure this one is SDS+. I tried to call them back to find out
for sure but they were closed. I'm going to find out today.

You're still thinking too big, Rick. "A bigger hammer" is not always the
answer.

Right, but this is the only one I've found available for rent, so far.

NOTHING will drive a ground rod into solid rock, for one very simple
reason: a ground rod is not a rock drill! No matter how hard or how
often you hit the thing, it will either bend like a bow or curl up at
the point.

Bending like a bow is OK with me. I knew up front that there was no way
to drive it in straight down, so I drove it in at about a 45 degree angle.
If it hits a rock and bends, that's OK, at least it will all be in contact
with the earth.

If I can find the socket adapter I'll rent this one and see how it goes,
like I said the worst that can happen is I'm out $60 plus the cost of the
adapter.

Do hammer drills really work for driving in ground rods?
 

On Jul 16, 8:26 pm, "Rick (W-A-one-R-K-T)"
wrote:
This afternoon I went down to the local tool rental place to see about
renting a hammer drill. They have one that's considerably larger than the
ones recommended here (e.g.http://tinyurl.com/33zcrr) for rent for US$60
per day. I showed the guy a printout of the nut driver adapter
(http://tinyurl.com/2bohkg) and asked where I could get one, and he looked
at me like I was from Mars.

So, I'm looking for a nut driver adapter... went to Home Depot and they
told me where to try and I'll call them tomorrow.

I'll tell you, though, even the big rental unit sure doesn't look like
it's up to this job, to say nothing of the much smaller ones at Home
Depot. I'm fairly good sized (6 ft 2 in and 230 lhs) and using a standard
sized two-handed sledge hammer I can't move this rod more than a tenth of
an inch, at most, per strike. Are you guys sure that a hand-held hammer
drill will do the job?

I guess it's worth $60 plus the cost of the nut driver adapter (if I can
find one) to find out...

There's a hassle-free & cheaper "ground rod driver" available. Home
Depot sells fence post drivers (garden & landscaping dept.) for twenty
bucks apiece and they work well. I'm a 160 pound geezer and I can
drive an eight foot rod six feet with just 8-12 strokes in the heavy
loam and clay soil we have here in eastern PA. I drive the final two
feet of rod with a hand sledge. No 110 vac or tool rentals needed.

Brian w3rv

Do hammer drills really work for driving in ground rods?
 

Ian White GM3SEK wrote:
Jeff wrote:

" The nut driver that I posted about was for SDS+ drills. Adapters
probably don't exist for the larger size of drill that you were
trying to
rent.

You're still thinking too big, Rick. "A bigger hammer" is not always the
answer.


Another solution may be hiring a small compressor and an air chisel,
or go
the whole hog and hire a Kango hammer.

Nope, we're still missing the point. Pounding everything into rubble is
NOT the answer to this problem.



Yes, I use a pair of gloves and a water hose, or a bucket of water.

--
"....a couple of belts of .50 BMG individually
engraved "Unsubscribe" - Cadbury Moose