[ADXA] Ufer Ground system

[Charles Korzendorfer]

John,
  Very impressive system.  A few suggestions:
  If you could put in a third ground rod, that would be ideal.
  The absolutely best way to connect everything is by exothermic welding,
as it makes the absolute best connection.  That requires some special tools
& expertise, but for permanence it can’t be beat.  Cadweld or Thermoweld
are typical brands that are available at your local electrical supply
house.
  If this technique is not practical make sure you use mechanical
connectors that are bronze & rated for direct burial.  You also might want
to consider replacing the tubing with bare solid or stranded copper wire.
Chuck KM5G


On Fri, Oct 24, 2025 at 12:42 PM Jon W. Reynolds via ADXA <
adxa at mailman.qth.net> wrote:

> I've been doing a little research on the prep side for my tower
> base installation,  and I came across the idea of an Ufer Ground. Curious
> if you have any experience with it. My current tentative plan is as follows:
>
> Hole: 4' deep × 3' × 3'
> Bottom layer (12"):
> 2× 8' ground rods driven down from 4' depth
> 20' of copper tubing in spiral pattern around/between rods (because I have
> it laying around not doing anything)
> Copper tubing bonded to ground rods
> Wires from this system up to cage and tower legs
> Backfill with 12" dirt
>
> Middle layer (6"):
> Gravel drainage
>
> Foundation (3.5'):
> Copper ring on gravel
> Angle iron cage with rebar  (Ufer Ground)
> Tower base section
> Concrete
> Reaches grade level
>
> I solicited the help of AI to come up with this plan based on feedback
> from my ADXA post and rohn manual found online.  From my understanding,
> this is way overkill, but I'm hoping it to prevent lightning damages that
> could otherwise be thwarted easily at this part of the process.
>
> One minor concern I have is that AI is blowing smoke and I don't know any
> better because I have real little experience in the real world.
>
> Does anyone see anything in my plan that is not in "good ham radio
> practice"? I'm not overly concerned if its unnecessary,  just from the
> safety perspective.
>
> Jon
> KI5UCZ
> ______________________________________________________________
> ADXA mailing list
> Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/adxa
> Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm
> Post: mailto:ADXA at mailman.qth.net
>
> This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net
> Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://mailman.qth.net/pipermail/adxa/attachments/20251024/d6894a7a/attachment-0001.html>