[600MRG] Advice needed

[Andy - KU4XR]

Hi Neil: As Warren mentioned; the " Clumping " kitty litter will retain moisture.. It uses
Bentonite Clay... This can be purchased in large bags rather than the kitty litter itself..
A farm supply store will probably carry the bags of Bentonite clay.. IIRC - that is what
JD did when he installed his vertical in the field.. He trenched the radials, and filled the 
trenches with Bentonite before back-filling.... When it gets wet; it expands, and turns 
very slimey... It will stay that way for a very long time, holding moisture...

I like the word Warren used about spacing several ground rods - " supposedly " ...
For the rods to " act like " parrallel resistors; they - must - have a parrallel connection..
This would be done thru the bonded connection at the top, and through the soil - 8 feet 
down... If all you have is rock; it seems that the parrallel connection would be difficult 
to achieve...

You might see better results with a homemade ground mat, or several radials laid out,
and bonded together at 8 foot intervals, making trapezoid squares... The rule of thumb
that I have been given is to make your radial mat about 5% longer than your vertical 
is High... If the vertical is 30 ' AGL, make the mat 31-1/2 ' out... or round it to 32' ...
A skirt wire around the radial mat would be worth the effort, But I have read several
comments that 8 foot rods at the end of the skirt provide very little benefit in lowering
the resistance, for the pounding to be done ...

Good luck with your efforts... 73 :

Andy - KU4XR

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On Fri, 1/30/15, Warren K2ORS <k2ors at verizon.net> wrote:
 
 Neil,
 
        I have seen many posts
 recommending kaolinite, a clay that is 
 commonly found in cat liter. Kaolinite absorbs and holds
 moisture, and 
 will not corrode your metal ground rods.  However,it
 means digging a 
 wider hole in the ground, and filling it with the clay - not
 easy if you 
 have rocky soil. Supposedly putting in several ground rods
 spaced equal 
 to their length and tying them together will lower ground
 resistance.
 
 73 Warren
 
 
 On 1/30/2015 10:17 AM, Neil Klagge wrote:
 > Yesterday I dug a shallow hole and pounded an 8 ft
 ground rod 7.5 ft into the ground. I am thinking about
 pouring salt and water into the whole around it and hoping
 it will soak down deeper. I am assuming this will help with
 my ground resistance into this very rocky soil. My question
 is "will the salt water corrode my copper rod and eventually
 ruin my efforts?
 >
 > Thanks in advance for your opinions.
 > Neil Klagge
 > WG2XSV