Hi Mark,

There are two types of ground rod.  There is the steel rod with a thin
copper coating, and there is the solid copper type.

The steel rods are much cheaper, but depending on your soil type, they will
corrode, and will typically need replacing after 2 or 3 years.  If you have
this type, you would do well to replace it as the corrosion will make it
unlikely to work.  Here in the UK, amateurs have withdrawn and inspected the
steel and copper coated rods after a few years, and the copper has gone, and
the steel has rusted.  In this case, the grounding effect will be zero.

The solid copper rods are thicker, about three quarters of an inch, and of
course, much more expensive.  Typically, these will last 10 to fifteen
years. 

Best wishes, Kelvin Marsh - M0AID

Working to improve accessibility for radio amateurs with disabilities

www.active-elements.org

For accessibility evaluations of amateur equipment and MP3 manuals


-----Original Message-----
From: For blind ham radio operators [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
On Behalf Of Mark WZ0K
Sent: 19 July 2013 13:53
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Cleaning ground Rod

Hi
     I have a ground rod at the new house that is heavily corroded. I =
was able to clean up the copper wire. However, the corrosion on the rod =
is to deep to just scrape clean quickly. what do I do to get it clean, =
and then keep a good connection?=20
     Thank you.

God bless,
Mark and my beautiful Wife Noella
God loves You!
My personal website: Http://www.christiantraditions.info
The Blind Computer People List: =
http://christiantraditions.info/mailman/listinfo/blindcomputerpeople_chri=
stiantraditions.info
Follow me on Twitter: https://twitter.com/TorgersonMark?refsrc=3Demail



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