cast iron ground?
 

soon to put a antenna on my roof (12floors high) i naturally wanted to
put a ground or static discharge up there


seems my only possibility is the cast iron sewer/wast pipe vents

i am guessing these are prob not good for this

is it usable?

m

check the building and electrical codes, but it is very unlikely that a
waste pipe vent will suffice.

"ml" wrote in message
...
soon to put a antenna on my roof (12floors high) i naturally wanted to
put a ground or static discharge up there


seems my only possibility is the cast iron sewer/wast pipe vents

i am guessing these are prob not good for this

is it usable?

m

Hi m

Don't waste your time!

More often than not there is no continuity in cast iron waste piping.
Joints are packed with Oakum and then lead poured in the bell to seal
out sewer gasses. The Oakum acts as an insulator and the lead is not
much better than a cold solder joint, electrically speaking.

If a vent stack did have a good ground and ever did take a good
lightning hit there would be lead flying all over the place.
You rarely hear of a vent stack being hit BECAUSE it is a very poor
ground, if grounded at all.

TTUL
Gary

"ml" PREVIOUSLY wrote in message
...

14story building i am on 4thfl

"ml" wrote in message
...

soon to put a antenna on my roof (12floors high) i naturally wanted to
put a ground or static discharge up there

m

Since you're still serious about this, if possibly from a lower floor....

The waste-vents, if cast iron, will have steel pipe hangers clamped to the
building's structural steel at every floor, with the first one being right
under the roof. It might very well be an excellent static ground. Without
meggering the vent, you could still determine DC resistance by running an
extension cord from the rooftop utility room outlet to a vent pipe, and
measure resistance between the electrical ground and the vent.

Jack Painter
Virginia Beach, Virginia