Proper grounding of pole mount?

[raoul5788]

Any installers know the NEC code for grounding a pole mount? Halsted came out Monday to ground my dish. They said because it went into the ground three feet that it was sufficiently grounded and didn't need a separate ground! I don't think that's correct. The NEC code 810 says something about needing a separate ground even for a pole mount. Anyone have any specific knowledge about this type of situation?
Thanks.

 

[ShadowEKU]

Personally (dont know for sure but to be safe) is pound an 8 foot (or 6 in some areas) rod in and bond the 2 grounds together.

 

[raoul5788]

Personally (dont know for sure but to be safe) is pound an 8 foot (or 6 in some areas) rod in and bond the 2 grounds together.

That's what I think, but the local installer says the pole itself is enough of a ground.

 

[lurch]

Myself being a Halsted employee have never ever heard of anything so stupid!!! The guy just didnt want to run a separate line.We have coax with a messenger ground wire attached that runs from pole to ground block,then green #10 ground wire to grround source from there.He was just being lazy sounds like.

 

[Doctor Bob]

Your local Code Inspector will know what is acceptable in your specific area... The pole itself, is not an acceptable ground!!!

 

[stevo/65]

Are you saying that we need to ground... :shocked........ :devil:

 

[PSB]

Yes! Its a MUST!

http://dbsinstall.com/whatis/Whatisgood-5.htm

 

[Upgrade Lately?]

The pole is probably painted, which means that it can't be used for grounding. Pound in a 8 foot ground rod and run a wire from the ground rod to the dish. You can get a 8 foot copper ground rod from Home Depot or Lowes for about $20, then send your installer the bill!

 

[raoul5788]

The pole is probably painted, which means that it can't be used for grounding. Pound in a 8 foot ground rod and run a wire from the ground rod to the dish. You can get a 8 foot copper ground rod from Home Depot or Lowes for about $20, then send your installer the bill!

The pole isn't painted, it's galvanized. Here is a picture of the install. It will need guy wires, but even in moderate wind it is stable.

 

[damaged]

Regarding the rod suggestion, the ground must be at the SAME potential as the dwelling, so if you use a rod, it must be grounded to the dwellings ground as well, not doing so can be worse than not having a ground at all. Read the included URL for some helpful answers.

Quote:

"You cannot use a metal rod driven into the earth for grounding of the dish and lead-in cable, unless the metal rod is bonded with a 6 AWG conductor to the building grounding electrode system in accordance with 810.21(J). In addition, the NEC does not allow you to use the local water pipe [810.21(F)(1)(b)]!"

End Quote

Source:

http://www.mikeholt.com/mojonewsarc...ingSatelliteDishandLead-InCables~20020303.htm

 

[miller5]

Thats correct. You MUST bond to the same potential as the homes service. Therefore, he needs to run his #17 guage to the block or switch, then connect that to a suitable NEC ground source. Your installer is absolutely incorrect.

 

[miller5]

Sorry, one more thing. I cant believe your going to get anything but terrible service with a pole that high up with a Ka/Ku. I would make them come back out and bury the pole much lower. IMHO

 

[stevo/65]

Yes! Its a MUST!

http://dbsinstall.com/whatis/Whatisgood-5.htm

 

[raoul5788]

Sorry, one more thing. I cant believe your going to get anything but terrible service with a pole that high up with a Ka/Ku. I would make them come back out and bury the pole much lower. IMHO

I put up the pole myself. It is three feet in the ground and nine feet above. I wanted to go four feet down, but I hit ground water. There wasn't much I could do about it, unless I wanted to wait several weeks for the water to go down. Spring in CT can be very wet, especially when you have wetlands behind your house! I will need to put up guy wires, but so far I have had no reception issues due to the pole being so high.

 

[ShadowEKU]

I put up the pole myself. It is three feet in the ground and nine feet above. I wanted to go four feet down, but I hit ground water. There wasn't much I could do about it, unless I wanted to wait several weeks for the water to go down. Spring in CT can be very wet, especially when you have wetlands behind your house! I will need to put up guy wires, but so far I have had no reception issues due to the pole being so high.

that thing is WAY too high off the ground on a pole...even guy wires wont stabilize it from twisting in the wind.

the max above ground for a pole of that size is (i think) 5 feet.

still need to ground it and bond that to the hosue ground (like I and 5 others said)



is there any way for you to cut that pole....like in half and go there?

Also keep in mind if you guy it youll have to mow around it freaking all the time....trust me it gets old... Im had an outdoor antenna guyed in 4 directions... it was a pain to mow around... now my issue is the 2 trees i planted this year i have to mow around those things.




also did you put the pole in concrete? if so did you put anything through the pole to keep it from spinning.

 

[raoul5788]

that thing is WAY too high off the ground on a pole...even guy wires wont stabilize it from twisting in the wind.

the max above ground for a pole of that size is (i think) 5 feet.

still need to ground it and bond that to the hosue ground (like I and 5 others said)



is there any way for you to cut that pole....like in half and go there?

Also keep in mind if you guy it youll have to mow around it freaking all the time....trust me it gets old... Im had an outdoor antenna guyed in 4 directions... it was a pain to mow around... now my issue is the 2 trees i planted this year i have to mow around those things.




also did you put the pole in concrete? if so did you put anything through the pole to keep it from spinning.

Mowing around it and a set of guy wires isn't an issue. I have a 45 ft tower for my c-band dish that has three guy wires on it.

There is 80 lbs of concrete in the ground and yes there is a large bolt through the pole to keep it from twisting.

It's that high because I have los issues. It could be a bit shorter, maybe a couple of feet, but in a few years it would be an issue again.

 

[HCI]

that thing is WAY too high off the ground on a pole...even guy wires wont stabilize it from twisting in the wind.

the max above ground for a pole of that size is (i think) 5 feet.

if its sch 40 it will be fine.

What I hate is these installers that put a ground block right beside the ground and vertical to the pole. I see one of these on a service call about once a week.

 

[raoul5788]

if its sch 40 it will be fine.

What I hate is these installers that put a ground block right beside the ground and vertical to the pole. I see one of these on a service call about once a week.

It's sch 20. I wanted to get 40, but the place was out of it.

 

[little dish guy]

Yup, them’s the rules. 6 AWG wire for the ground rod to the building ground but you are allowed a 10 AWG wire to the dish, which must be within 20ft of the building ground or ground rod. The dish can also be grounded with a wire smaller than #10 if it’s a messenger (affixed to the coax). I remember 17AWG for this but will have to look it up.
Bob

Regarding the rod suggestion, the ground must be at the SAME potential as the dwelling, so if you use a rod, it must be grounded to the dwellings ground as well, not doing so can be worse than not having a ground at all. Read the included URL for some helpful answers.

Quote:

"You cannot use a metal rod driven into the earth for grounding of the dish and lead-in cable, unless the metal rod is bonded with a 6 AWG conductor to the building grounding electrode system in accordance with 810.21(J). In addition, the NEC does not allow you to use the local water pipe [810.21(F)(1)(b)]!"

End Quote

Source:

http://www.mikeholt.com/mojonewsarc...ingSatelliteDishandLead-InCables~20020303.htm

 

[Doctor Bob]

When are you guys going to learn, that the "LOCAL INSPECTOR" will set the rules, and those are the guidelines that must be met, which may or may not meet the NEC guidelines!!!

Quoting the NEC, and wasting a lot of time and energy, is not necessary!!! Mike Holt is a great source, but any electrician will tell you that the "LOCAL INSPECTOR" is the one you will have to live with, if something goes wrong!!!