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Re: bad ground....

Another old trick you might like to try is running an earth cable to 
your car making sure it is well connected (don't want sparks around 
fuel tanks) etc. Probably not a great idea and one I wouldn't 
personally contemplate (I said that to avoid getting jumped on).  No 
good for multi-kW power levels though - you don't want fat sparks 
jumping from the wheels to ground, esp. if fumes are present. Is 
there some other sizable mass of metal you could use? Metal 
garage of example? Reinforcing rods in conrete perhaps?  Even 
dampened concrete works at low power levels.

Regards,
Malcolm

On 29 Mar 00, at 21:30, Tesla List wrote:

> Original Poster: "sundog" <sundog-at-timeship-dot-net> 
> 
> That's sounding a bit more like a feasible solution.  I wonder though, how
> much surface area do I need?  Maybe dig 2 trenches 4"wide and a foot deep,
> and bury aluminum flashing standing on edge?  I hate the idea of digging a
> few trenches by the garage...at least my utilities (except water), are all
> run aboveground, and I know *right* where the water is (goes straight up to
> the house from the meter)  We don't have gas in this area, and believe it or
> not, I've found *no* lighting rods on the house...definately a Bad Thing
> (tm).   How long do I need to make the strips I bury?  Lots more surface
> area there (, let's see, about 9'5" of copper pipe 1.5" in diameter...that's
> about 1.8 sq feet of surface area..er..3.6 rather.  I'm sure the inside of
> the pipe helps.  flashing 8" wide and 5' long...that's about 6.5 sq. feet...
>    Now, much grounding ability should I be looking for?  I've heard that you
> should be able to light a 110 volt 60 watt bulb by grounding 1 side of it
> with your ground and the other to house wiring.  I dunno, but anything more
> than a 1/8" teeny-tiny static-charge-from-the-carpet spark will be an
> improvement.
> 
> Maybe forseeable problems....corrosion of the Al flashing...
> Mess and hassle of digging trenches....
> go through all that work and hassle, and i still *don't* have a good
> ground....
> 
> *sigh*  all this rigamarole just for a few sparks :)  Still worth it tho...
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Tesla List <tesla-at-pupman-dot-com>
> To: tesla-at-pupman-dot-com <tesla-at-pupman-dot-com>
> Date: Wednesday, March 29, 2000 2:30 AM
> Subject: Re: bad ground....
> 
> 
> >Original Poster: "Malcolm Watts" <malcolm.watts-at-wnp.ac.nz>
> >
> >Hi Sundog,
> >                  You've got a problem alright. For your situation, piles
> of
> >surface area is required for your grounding conductors. Large flat
> >plates buried a bit below the surface are possibly a better bet than
> >sinking long rods into dry sand. When the ground is really dry, at
> >least there is some capacitance available as counterpoise and when
> >the top portion is wet, the plate should do better.
> >
> >Regards,
> >Malcolm
> >
> >On 27 Mar 00, at 20:51, Tesla List wrote:
> >
> >> Original Poster: "sundog" <sundog-at-timeship-dot-net>
> >>
> >>     Well, I'm still gathering parts, (and the green stuff), but I'm
> >> piecemealing together things here and there.  A few days ago, I had a
> free
> >> hour, so I sunk myself a 10' copper pipe at the corner of my garage.  I'd
> >
>    *snip!*
> 
>