On Aug 23, 11:58*am, Dave Lemper wrote:
The soil in central Texas is called Caliche with a lot of clay,
CaCO3 & shale. *Attempting to drive in a ground rod
yielded only a mushroom on top & blisters on me.
Local tool rental place has concrete bits, but maximum
length of 18 inches. *Possibly longer bits are available in
a larger city.

Renting a back hoe is out.
Any suggestions appreciated. *
Dave *WB3DWE * * * * * * * * * * * * *

I know the stuff you are talking about, it will even jam up a
Ditch Witch

When I was in San Antonio with the USAF we made a spade
bit out of metal rod and welded the spades on the side.
We stared the hole with a post hole digger, filled it with water.
then drilled down into it. After drilling a couple of feet we were
able to pound in the ground rods
Im thinking using a real spade bit with an extension may work.

Jimmie

JIMMIE wrote:
I know the stuff you are talking about, it will even jam up a
Ditch Witch

They pave roads with caliche in West Texas. From Wikipedia:
"Caliche is also used for road construction, either as a
surfacing material or, more commonly, as a base material."
--
73, Cecil http://www.w5dxp.com