Grounding question

Walk softly, but carry a big stick?

Newenough said:

I absolutely hate putting them in....really....I hate them. Thier WAY taller than me and I dont have a slide hammer, so I use a 3lb sledge on a wobbling sometimes moving target. Still, a little better than your house burning down not having it. But only a by little.

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I water jetted mine in, took about 2 minutes.

Rider said:

It's also a bit inconvenient to carry an 8' rod with a portable suitcase.

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Sure, but how cool would you look? (he said it was stationary)

I have 4-wall mounted 250 watt panels in a non grid tie battery backup setup. By 10am sun is higher than the block wall and they get full sun 6-7 hours. I want to do the safe thing and tie them together with copper ground wire and an 8 foot ground pole but there is caliche here (a thick layer of calcium carbonate a few feet down), it may be impossible to set an 8 foot pole without rented equipment. The water trick won’t likely budge the stuff. I’m always watching these discussions for alternatives to the 8-foot pole. My electric panel is 40 feet away so tying to whatever ground came with the home is not realistic. So how critical is an 8 foot ground pole for four wall mounted panels?

Schlagger said:

Sure, but how cool would you look? (he said it was stationary)

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Just don't hold it up too high in a lightning storm.....
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Schlagger said:

I water jetted mine in, took about 2 minutes.

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I would like to see a video of that.
I install them with a chipping hammer... LOUD but fast install...

Just did it here in Michigan. Sandy soil! augered in 3 feet and then pounded the rest without hitting rocks. Lucky! But my whole system is grounded now!

Will Prowse said:

We need to know exactly what your application is. Grounding a marine system vs stationary off-grid vs vehicle mounted, they are completely different. What type of system are you talking?

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I am looking to understand how to ground a vehicle mounted system. I have essentially the 24V / 2000W solar system that is on your DIY page, but I added a solar combiner box, an ATS (the one you talk about in one of your many awesome videos) and a breaker box for the AC wiring. I am building a skoolie and I believe that I can ground everything to the chassis under the bus (as that is where the Handicap lift was grounded to) but I just want someone much smarter than me to confirm that

Thanks in advance!

b.james said:

OK as I said its Single Phase here not Split and I corrected the negative comment below . The edit 20min limit got me again.

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In low voltage electrical installations, an earthing system is required, usually referring to as equipotential bonding, the earthing of all metallic parts that can be contact or accessible. This is a safety feature and a legal requirement for any low voltage installation. (Low voltage is defined as above 35 volts AC or 96 volts DC) Usually the earthing conductors are bonded together and connected via an earth rod staked into the ground.