new power grounding

[orangeboots]

does anyone locate in a area where they use the rebar in the footings to ground the power panel ,and if so had any locating issues? I don't seem to get any signal I think its going to ground? Any help or opinions I'm new to locating power so any suggestions are welcome.

[Paint'n & Flag'n]

why not just use your own grounding rod? Only time I use something other than my grounding rod is when the meter is surrounded by concrete or enclosed within the building. Then I look for something else that would be attached to the foundation to get ground.

[paintitnow]

He might be talking the inside electrical panel? If not I always try to use my ground rod first aslo. I had a heavier T handle made. I also carry and extra long jumper wire like 25' in case it is encased by blacktop or concrete. Also gets your ground away so you can get a good path.

[ProfessionalLocator]

He might be talking the inside electrical panel? If not I always try to use my ground rod first aslo. I had a heavier T handle made. I also carry and extra long jumper wire like 25' in case it is encased by blacktop or concrete. Also gets your ground away so you can get a good path.

The metal shaft of a flag does not make a very good ground, not enough surface area. But where the area is bricked, concreted or asphalted over there is often a crack or two around. I push several flag shafts into the crack and get a good ground.

[orangeboots]

sorry i do use a t handle ground but i think the way the power is grounded by the electricians is waaaaay better than my circuit and all my signal is going to the ground in the footing instead of thru my circuit hope this makes better sense

[4Q2]

Problem is the electrical service panel in a residence is bonded to every other utility in the house or building, so you get bleed off on everything compounded by you may not be able to use current readings in your locator unit to differentiate between different utilities like maybe a lamp post at the end of a driveway. I think it's alway's best to use an independent ground and unbond the utility you are locating. L-101.

[orangeboots]

we are not allowed to unbond the power by the utility and phone and catv are now bonded inside the house instead of outside like they used to. so its become impossible to isolate on direct i am finding my clamp works a little better but still a bad signal

[ProfessionalLocator]

Problem is the electrical service panel in a residence is bonded to every other utility in the house or building, so you get bleed off on everything compounded by you may not be able to use current readings in your locator unit to differentiate between different utilities like maybe a lamp post at the end of a driveway. I think it's alway's best to use an independent ground and unbond the utility you are locating. L-101.

If the neutral on the power companies side of the circuit failed and is "open" and you un-bond the ground outside the house you are subject to getting a nasty shock. Plus the open neutral can and likely will create a neutral shift causing wildly fluctuating voltage swings inside the house with 120 volt circuits reaching as high as 240 volts. This will cause extensive damage to the houses electronics and electric equipment. As a rule I never un-bond the main ground at the house.

If it does not require unbodnig the main gorun and individual ground for tv or phone can be unbonded to help isolate them but never unbond the elctric.

Putting in your own ground tod for your transmisster is the way to go.

[orangeboots]

i must not be explaining this right i use a 12 inch tee handle ground rod to ground my transmitter to earth i hook my positive lead to the metal latch on the bottom of the meter my transmitter shows that i am transmitting but almost no signal is going out to the transformer the only time i have this issue is on new houses that have this meter grounding system.

[Dave72]

i must not be explaining this right i use a 12 inch tee handle ground rod to ground my transmitter to earth i hook my positive lead to the metal latch on the bottom of the meter my transmitter shows that i am transmitting but almost no signal is going out to the transformer the only time i have this issue is on new houses that have this meter grounding system.

You need to move your T-bar ground out closer to the transformer.. all/most of the signal is flowing between your Tbar and the foundation ground. Once you get the line out closer to the transformer's ground then the signal will flow along the feed. Apparently, some people lift and use the telco sheath ground as a remote ground ( but then you will get 2 hits, one for power and one for telco.. )

[orangeboots]

i have a set of 6 ft leads so i hook pos up to meter and ground up at angle to return path gives me 12 ft of separation how much more should i go?

[Paint'n & Flag'n]

If I understood you right this is happening on homes being built and the service has just been ran to the house. The meter box doesnt even have the meter set yet. If so then all I do is set my ground rod and clip on the meter box and run the service back to the transformer. If the service feed hasnt been attached the meter box yet and its just wound up inside the box I'll then just clip onto the ground cable of the service feed...the one with the yellow strip.

This is all done this way if I dont just grab my pipehorn and run it with it instead.

[Dave72]

i have a set of 6 ft leads so i hook pos up to meter and ground up at angle to return path gives me 12 ft of separation how much more should i go?

Its not so much your separation, its the quality and size of that foundation ground. The signal is flowing from your stake to the 'other ground'. In this case, a little bit is flowing out to the transformer ground but a larger portion is spreading out and flowing to all points along that foundation. The small bit that makes it out to the transformer then allows some signal to come back in the actual cable. The closer you can put your stake to the transformer, the more signal will flow along the cable. If the soil is a poor conductor there, then it only gets worse.

I wonder if you would get a better result by clipping onto the transformer pad (or guard if aerial) and put the stake out at 90deg. In that case, start looking for signal at the house entrance and work back.

[orangeboots]

paint nope the service is all hooked up and meter put in and energized. Dave this is what i was thinking and i was curious if any body else ran into this problem or this new grounding system.

[headcipher]

I've run into this before. Best bet is as others have suggested run it backwards from the transformer or another service.