generator ground rod

I need a ground rod for my pto generator. I'm looking on Farm & Fleet website and they have 8' galvanized rod, 6' copper round rod, 8' copper clad steel ground rod. Which one would be better? The neighbor has beans in my bin and and one leg of the power is dead, so I figured I would try out the generator and the 550 to run the unload auger. Chris

Copper rod is the best. Each of my buildings have a copper ground rod in the ground so they are always grounded

There is also a galvanized ground plate that can be buried, and if required, moved to a different location. HTH

Copper clad steel would be best for the budget! Depending on whether or not the unloading auger is grounded you may not want to ground the generator, this subject has been beat to death recently!

I agree. Copper is the best to use.

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The best found would be a ground plate buried 10ft down in moist hard pack soil .
Soil type and moisture will vary a ground rod or a ground plate from an useless ornament , all the way to something effective

I even use them for electric fence grounds. Have one in my chicken pen and have it such that I can test the fence just by pushing it over an inch or so

We had a dog test a fence one time. He never went near a fence again.

This electric fencer is one that if a bird get on it and and also on a ground it dies and has had times it shorted out the fence

Nobody has given the advice you need yet. The only answer for you and your families safety is to have an electrical contractor look at it, fix it and sign off. This is the best couple of hundred dollars you can spend. I have picked up the pieces at several grain bin deaths due to 'farmerized' electrical installations where there were over 200 volt ground loops going on. I also have seen ungrounded conveyors knock truck drivers on their butts due to static buildup.

Not fun stuff to see an EMT pry a farmers fingers off of a wet grab handle. I had kill the power to the entire farm just to de-energize the auger. The insurance guy wasn't very happy when I showed him the spaghetti wiring at the farm.

The most important thing about a ground is that as B&D said it needs to go into moist ground. Moisture levels in my area vary by a substantial number of feet. I went with copper clad steel because it will stand up better than copper to being driven through the rocky ground.

Speaking of your "not to code" comments, a few years ago I did some work in a hunting lodge. This was, of course, a small living area for out-of-state hunters to come and sleep, eat and put up their feet. I'm not sure who did the wiring on it, but the building had a nicely wired breaker box inside of it for everything except the air conditioning and heating unit. The complete HVAC system had the breakers in a separate building about 50 feet away. Now this really wouldn't seem so awful bad until there would be a fire and the fire fighters come in and hit the main breaker to the lodge thinking all power inside the lodge is shut off...when in reality, the high voltaged, high amped system is still hot.

Super 99, you asked "Which one would be better?" Its my opinion and what I specified when I was a power distribution design engineer was COPPER ground rods. You didn't ask about other grounding methods so I purposely am not discussing that.

Instead of relying on my old n rusty grrrrrrrrrr recollections I instead googled your question and found this on the net I'm NOT guaranteeing its accuracy,,,,,,,,,,, It's NOT my words,,,,,,,,,,,Do your own research and take this with a grain of salt. Being its an electrical question you generally get several responses and opinions.

Where fire and life safety is concerned I suggest you might want to consider consulting with current practicing (NOT me Im retired) electrical engineers, professional electricians, and any local authority (IF any exist in your area) having jurisdiction, the National Electrical Code NEC, and don't risk your life or bet the farm on my or other opinions alone.


Copper-Bonded Ground Rods Copper-bonded steel ground rods are manufactured through a continuous electro-plating process of copper over a steel core, resulting in a permanent molecular bond between the two materials. This should not be confused with copper-clad steel, as that method is no longer employed for ground rods due to a less reliable bond.

• Advantages: Based on the extensive National Electrical Grounding Research Project (NEGRP) by the National Bureau of Standards, rods with 10 mils of copper will likely perform well for 40 years or more in most soil types. It offers the best annual cost advantage of available materials in most situations.

• Disadvantages: Though copper-bonded ground rods exhibit great corrosion resistance in most environments, under highly unique environments high in salts or corrosive chemicals, an upgrade to stainless steel may need to be made.
Solid Copper Ground Rods Solid copper ground rods are very corrosion resistant (except when faced with salts) and are also very conductive. However, you will rarely see solid copper outside of the Middle East or similar environments because copper is a ductile, soft metal that often bends when driven into soil other than sand.
Another issue with solid copper is that it is extremely expensive when compared to alternatives. Also, copper theft can be a huge problem for solid copper, making it costly to replace these ground rods.


Galvanized Steel Ground Rods Zinc-coated steel ground rods are on the opposite side of the cost scale from solid copper ground rods. These are the cheapest of common ground rod materials, offering limited reliability in the long term.
The problem, according to the NEGRP corrosion study mentioned previously, is that galvanized rods with 3.9 mils of zinc should only be expected to last for 10 to 15 years reliably (compared to 40 or more years for copper-bonded rods). Salts, in particular, are likely to corrode the zinc coating. Because a lightning protection system is one that installers would prefer to “install and forget,” only 10 or 15 years of performance is poor. Constant replacement, including material and labor costs, can cause long-term issues and costs for galvanized ground rod users.

PS 1 Im purposely NOT commenting on your wanting to use a ground rod, its wasn't your question

PS 2 Your neighbor need to get that dead leg fixed !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Best wishes,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,good question,,,,,,,,,,,Its YOUR choice not mine

John T

Okay, I out smarted myself, happens frequently. There is a ground rod at the bin, I’ll just hook up to it. This is the main entrance, power goes from here to the house, machine shed, garage and bin . There is a ground rod there.

This is the box inside the machine shed, there is a ground rod there.

This is the box at the bin, there is a ground rod there.

I have been running a wire to the box in the shed to get 220 to the bin so they can run the unload auger. One leg of the underground wire is dead and since I don’t dry corn anymore I’m not gonna replace it, I’d like to sell the bin. I have the generator now and plenty of tractors, so I just plan to use the generator when they unload the bin. Sorry for the confusion, if I had thought about it some more I wouldn’t have had to ask. Chris

Thanks for the feedback. Yep if you need a ground rod ? and that one is already there, assuming its good and proper ? GO FOR IT. NOTE I'm purposely NOT opening the whole deep complex OSHA and NEC grounding (or lack thereof) requirements regarding portable back up generators, I don't have time right now to go into all that lol.

Take care and be safe now, best wishes

John T

Thanks, according to one reply, I might as well not have a ground rod, they said it has to be in moist dirt. The farmstead is a sand hill that was leveled off to build on. When they drilled my well, he said there was 33' of sand before he hit any dirt. Sand = no moisture. I guess the ground rod doesn't do any good, and I haven't seen any that long for sale.

Super, thanks for the shout back, FYI There's NO WAY anyone who hasn't taken any measurements, who hasn't analyzed the soil, who hasn't tested the effectiveness of the "ground" in accordance with well settled NEC requirements

CAN TELL YOU WHETHER OR NOT THAT EXISTING GROUND ROD, AT YOUR LOCATION, IN EARTH THERE, IN YOUR JURISDICTION, IS SUITABLE OR NOT IN ACCORDANCE WITH ANY APPLICABLE NEC REQUIREMENTS (if such even exist there or applies to your exact case ???) give me a break !!!!!

Way back when I was a power distribution design engineer and current with the latest NEC in our jurisdiction WE were required to drive the FIRST Ground rod,,,,,,,,,test it,,,,,,,,,,if it failed we had to move x feet and drive another then test the combination,,,,,,,,,,BUT IF IT STILL FAILED WE WERE NOT REQUIRED TO DRIVE A THIRD. Maybe other jurisdictions may other codes may have been different requirements

Super, You ask great questions and are trying to learn and no offense meant towards you but likewise your "guessing" "the ground rod doesn't do any good" may not have much affect. Guessing wrong can get someone killed, I wouldn't take any advice based on guessing (even your own) when fire and life safety is concerned INCLUDING MINE not being there and no idea of your ground and having taken no tests and how your genset is configured and its use.........

NOTE the electrical quality and NEC testing and requirements of the ground where the existing rod is driven (if it even applies or matters, Im NOT saying I have no idea) and whether or not its even required or not ARE NOT THE SAME THING.

Take care, be safe, best wishes I'm not scolding, I'm here to try my best to help, I'm ONLY saying just because someone "guesses" or who claims the rod at your location in your earth is good or bad, having made no tests whatsoever, DOES NOT MAKE IT SO. For all I know it may be right it may be dead wrong, your risk your choice........

God Bless

John T

That old dog never tried to wet a fence again.He would walk on the other side of the barn yard.

Super, not knowing how the generator is configured nor how its to be wired into or independent from any existing utility and whats there now and how you're using it, I will tell you this (Its ONLY my opinion. consult NEC or professionals, no guessing lol) BUT GO NO DEEPER.

1) If the genset is used to power plug and cord connected tools using onboard receptacles NO BOND TO A GROUNDING ELECTRODE (such as a driven into earth rod) IS REQUIRED.

2) On construction site generators while OSHA requires Bonding of the Neutral, they do NOT prefer bonding to a ground rod.

3) If you are connecting to an existing utility and bond the genset Neutral to the Utility Neutral, the genset should be configured with a Floating Neutral

Like Forrest Gump, That's all I have to say about that lol

John T

I gotta tell this one.

I was at a nursing home doing my six month inspection. State health inspector shows up.So I made the rounds with him. We came to the generator and he was looking it over. He looked at it and passed it. We went into the meeting.Everyone is happy and he left. I took the owner and his man. Out to the generator ground rod. I pointed out that a plastic pipe was not a good ground. They quickly changed it. I told the owner. So much for state inspectors.

(quoted from post at 07:45:53 06/03/20) Thanks, according to one reply, I might as well not have a ground rod, they said it has to be in moist dirt. The farmstead is a sand hill that was leveled off to build on. When they drilled my well, he said there was 33' of sand before he hit any dirt. Sand = no moisture. I guess the ground rod doesn't do any good, and I haven't seen any that long for sale.

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Super99, Grounding was always a big deal with electric fences too. People would set them up and not be happy with the performance. A Gallgher that I put in instructed that you had to test the ground and if it was not adequate to put in another, and if that didn't work to put in a third. IIRC they were to be at least ten feet apart.

Good one Billy, ya just never know what you will find out there lol

John T