The Benefits of Using Custom Electrolytic Grounding Electrode

The service life of electrolytic ion grounding electrode

Electrolytic ion grounding electrode, the internal use of high carbon graphitic compounds pole body, the exterior of copper, nickel, chromium alloy plating, the high conductivity and sex. Grows the service life, the electrolytic ion compound and polymer moisture-absorbing material equipped inside the pole body, after moisture absorption and deliquescence, the active ion penetrates into the soil around the grounding electrode to disperse the flow conditions, in the high soil resistivity application, still can obtain a low grounding resistance.

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Electrolytic ion grounding electrode tube is filled with high carbon ionic compound crystal, and the exterior is made of copper and steel. With good electrical conductivity and long service life. Conductor internal filling material contains electric ion compound, can fully absorb the moisture in the air. Through deliquescence, the active ions are released into the soil, and combined with the moisture in the soil and air, the conductor external slow-release resistance reduction, and to maintain long-term stability of resistance value. The compound inside the conductor gradually transforms into a gelatinous and transparent state over time. We make use of the conductive properties of the colloidal compound to enable the whole system to be in a state of ion exchange for a long time, thus constituting an ideal electrolytic ion grounding electrode.

Electrolytic ion grounding electrode incorporates reversible slow-release filler in the grounding electrode. This filler has the characteristics of water absorption, water release and reversibility. When it absorbs water, it can absorb 100-500 times of its own water, and when the external environment is dry and water shortage, it can release the water it possesses to reach the surrounding water balance. This reversible reaction, the humidity of the environment inside the shell layer, the stability of the grounding resistance. After the ions generated in this way absorb the earth's moisture, the active electrolytic ions can be released into the surrounding soil through the effect of deliquescence, making the grounding electrode an ion-generating device, so that the surrounding soil can meet the grounding requirements. Grounding pole external filler through its internal electrolytic ion filler interaction to produce chemical treatment for the shell layer of soil, reduce the resistivity of the shell layer of soil, while between the slow-release grounding pole and the earth soil, forming a transition zone, increasing the equivalent cross-sectional area of the grounding pole and the contact area of the soil, the contact resistance between the grounding body and the soil, the electric field distribution in the ground, filler good permeability The grounding electrode is a transition zone that penetrates deeply into the soil and rock crevices, forming a tree root network and increasing the drainage area of the ground.

Electrolytic ion grounding electrode is the use of ceramic alloy synthesis, in its electrode appearance is purple copper alloy, thus the product's more conductive performance and a longer service life. The experiment proves that the free ion is not sufficient in quantity, thus making its auxiliary conductive effect lacking, resulting in high soil resistivity. The exterior is made of cationic materials with strong water absorption and exchange properties as backfill materials, and then with high pressure resistance and not easily subject to temperature changes and other chemical materials as auxiliary materials.

Electrolytic ion grounding electrode introduced technology, and then self-development, production and implementation of services and technical support of new grounding materials, electrolytic ion grounding electrode is widely used in high grounding requirements, construction of difficult places, compared with the previous way, it can make lightning current and fault current diffusion in the soil, therefore, even in poor environmental conditions, grounding effect is also very significant. Electrolytic ion grounding electrode application has solved the degree of resistance reduction and sex problems, so the product has more obvious advantages in the grounding work and its adaptability, and is widely used.

Electrolytic ion grounding electrode is mainly used for its surrounding humidity and ion generation content and other issues, so that the conductor and the earth can be well combined closely, can reduce the contact resistance of the two, reduce the resistivity of the soil, thus enhancing the lightning conductivity release capacity.

Grounding Electrode (Ground Rod) Info and Install Suggestions

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One thing that I always ask my clients about is the entire electrical chain feeding their audio system. How your audio system obtains AC power is essential, but I will only examine how your house is grounded to the Earth for this paper. It's not a fancy topic, and this will not be an in-depth information document. Still, it goes over the basics of obtaining a low-impedance path to Earth for the electrical service in your home. Ensuring a low impedance path to Earth here can sometimes yield a surprising jump in the performance of your audio system, provided the AC and ground path don't get compromised between the main service entrance and the audio system.

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The primary importance of your electrical system's connection to Earth is dissipating hazardous and destructive electrical energy during a lightning storm. A low-impedance path to Earth also helps make the safety ground network in your home more efficient. It can also help to make a quieter and more stable electronic environment for high-end audio components. The better the Earth's ground system is, the more effective the electrical service will be in all these areas.

 
The Earth-ground relationship for a residential electrical system is traditionally achieved using a grounding electrode called the ground rod. Geeky technical detail here: A ground rod only becomes a grounding electrode when installed into the Earth. Until then, it's just a metal rod. The NEC (National Electrical Code) requires the grounding electrode to Earth impedance of 25 ohms or lower for residential electrical installations. Ideally, for a home with a high-end audio system, achieving 5 ohms or lower is highly desirable, and lower still is ideal. If the Earth-to-grounding electrode impedance is above 25 ohms, the ground rod may have deteriorated or may need to be longer for the current soil conditions around your home. The installation of the grounding electrode for your home was probably installed correctly, or it would not have passed the electrical inspection when the contractor built your home. That said, soil conditions may have changed since the initial installation, and reevaluating it would be a first step in determining what, if anything, needs to be done. 

Suppose you've decided to have an electrician reevaluate the grounding electrode condition. In that case, it might be a good time to install a new ground rod with optimal performance in mind rather than just getting by to meet code requirements. And if you live in a home older than 20 years, a new rod would be a good idea regardless, as corrosion will have probably compromised a low impedance relationship to the Earth. NEC requires a minimum 8' length rod. If that 8' meets the NEC 25 ohm minimum, a longer rod that reaches deeper and closer to the water table will sometimes provide a lower impedance value. As there are various diameter rods available, keep in mind that the larger the diameter of the rod, the greater the contact area with the soil there will be, which will lead to a lower impedance value between it and the soil.

 
Since a ground rod is generally thought to last quite a while, a homeowner rarely (never...) thinks about how well it protects your home. However, with the electronic complexity found throughout modern homes, the grounding electrode should be a regular part of home maintenance. High salt or mineral levels in the soil can considerably speed up corrosion, depending on the metal the grounding electrode is made from. One can purchase a highly conductive pure copper ground rod, but copper is a pretty soft material. It can easily get misshapen when driving it into hard or rocky soil. A copper-bonded rod has negligibly less conductivity than copper, is much tougher, and is considerably less expensive than pure copper. For folks living in areas with high salt in the soil, there are also stainless steel grounding rods, which are very resistant to corrosion but have slightly higher resistance to Earth. An alternative to going deeper with a single ground rod is a second electrode located some distance from the first. . It will get bonded to the primary electrode and provide a greater surface area in contact with Earth. If you or your electrician determine that a second ground electrode is a good choice, NEC requires at least a 6' distance between the electrodes. However, there are some technical advantages to the electrode distance being equal to or greater than the rod lengths. 8' ground rod means the second electrode would be 8' or greater away, and doubled-up 8' rods 16' deep means the second electrode is 16' away from the initial electrode. Anyway, get that Earth to grounding electrode impedance as low as possible!

For you wildly ambitious people, an enhanced ground rod is another option to establish a very stable grounding electrode. An enhanced ground rod involves a copper tube filled with electrolytic salts and can be highly effective at establishing a long-term, very low impedance Earth to grounding electrode relationship. Enhanced ground rods require a significantly more sophisticated and costly installation process, not to mention the higher cost of the unit itself. But, if you live in an area where it is difficult to establish a low impedance result, or if you want to take grounding to the highest level of effectiveness, an enhanced ground rod may be just the height of grounding improvements. Remember that, unlike the common ground rod approach, an enhanced ground rod type system requires regular maintenance to keep it maximally effective.

Next, you must deliver that optimized low-impedance path for Earth ground to your home electrical system. When bonding the grounding electrode to the grounding electrode conductor (The wire going inside your house to the breaker box), there are, of course, options on how that is accomplished. Since we don't want to think about the house grounding all the time, I suggest having the conductor exothermically welded (using thermite) to the electrode rather than clamping it. The conductor is clamped onto the electrode with a bolt-on type connector with most homes, resulting in a potentially poor connection. This connection is often loose or somewhat compromised due to corrosion or oxidation. In that instance, there is a significantly higher impedance to Earth ground, regardless of the impedance between the electrode and Earth. Once it's welded, it stays there, and the bond impedance is extremely low. It's an old and common practice and should be relatively inexpensive.

 
There are kits on Amazon for you to do the DIY thing if you're cool with igniting thermite…but I'd let the electrician do it if I were you. Besides, suppose an open neutral leg is in the electrical system. In that case, the grounding electrode could carry hazardous current levels (read lethal)—yet another reason to let your electrician do this work for you. There are also very high compression bonding products and techniques that seem just as solid, long-lasting, and low resistance as thermite welding, but special tools and products are required to do this properly. This technique goes beyond getting the connection "really, really tight." There are pluses and minuses to both methods that you should ask your electrician about, but please consider one of these methods rather than clamping.

NEC dictates that the size of the grounding electrode conductor is no smaller than 6 gauge for copper wire. You can use aluminum wire here, but you introduce a dissimilar metal relationship to the grounding electrode, which causes galvanic corrosion between the two metals. A very low-impedance copper braid is probably the lowest-impedance path you can provide. However, check with your electrician for his recommendations and code requirements before plowing ahead yourself.

Once in the house, the electrode conductor is connected to the ground bus at the electrical service entrance for the house's electrical system. Once the electrical system enters the house, many things can foul up all the excellent work put into establishing everything discussed above. That is for another discussion.

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