Today I rented a hammer drill and a fitting for driving in ground rods
(they even had the right fitting even though they didn't know it and
didn't know what I was talking about...).

MAN, DOES THAT THING WORK NICE !!!

Took about two hours to drive 7 rods, after the first one (that I did
manually with a sledge hammer) took about 10 hours spread out over a week
(just for one).

Those of you who suggested a hammer drill really had it right, and saved
my butt... thanks. :-)

Somebody mentioned something about a battery-powered hammer drill. I
haven't been able to find anything like that... can someone tell me who
makes one?

Thanks again... :-)

On Sat, 04 Aug 2007 11:18:56 -0400, "Rick (W-A-one-R-K-T)"
wrote:

Somebody mentioned something about a battery-powered hammer drill. I
haven't been able to find anything like that... can someone tell me who
makes one?

IMO they are too light weight to do your job application. They
normally are used for drilling small and shallow holes.

But here's some info.

http://bosch.cpotools.com/hammers_an...11225vsrh.html

and

http://www.unbeatablesale.com/tpbd90...ci_sku=TPBD904

Danny, K6MHE

"Rick (W-A-one-R-K-T)" wrote in message
news

Today I rented a hammer drill and a fitting for driving in ground rods
(they even had the right fitting even though they didn't know it and
didn't know what I was talking about...).

MAN, DOES THAT THING WORK NICE !!!

Took about two hours to drive 7 rods, after the first one (that I did
manually with a sledge hammer) took about 10 hours spread out over a week
(just for one).

Those of you who suggested a hammer drill really had it right, and saved
my butt... thanks. :-)

Somebody mentioned something about a battery-powered hammer drill. I
haven't been able to find anything like that... can someone tell me who
makes one?

Thanks again... :-)

Hey - - great news. Thanks for telling us. Now, is there any chance you
might know what brand and model number of hammer drill you used? If you
know the model number of the fitting, that would help, too. Ideally it would
be fun to be able to find the model numbers in the manufacturer's catalog to
see what everything looks like, so when we go to the rental place, we can
tell if they have the right stuff, even if they don't know it themselves.

Hey - - great news. Thanks for telling us. Now, is there any chance
you might know what brand and model number of hammer drill you used?
If you know the model number of the fitting, that would help, too.
Ideally it would be fun to be able to find the model numbers in the
manufacturer's catalog to see what everything looks like, so when we
go to the rental place, we can tell if they have the right stuff, even
if they don't know it themselves.





Check out

http://bosch.cpotools.com/hammers_an...ammer_drills/?
ref=googaw808e

for quality hammer drills.

Ed K7AAT

On Sat, 04 Aug 2007 11:27:33 -0700, Chuck Olson wrote:

is there any chance you might know what brand and model number of hammer
drill you used?

Yup, it's the Hilti TE-76-ATC.

Nobody I ever heard of... but it sure works nice.

Years ago a friend rented a hydraulic drill to get in a long ground rod --
sed it worked well
Guess it uses water pressure to go thru the earth
Any comments
Lamont

Yup, it's the Hilti TE-76-ATC.

Nobody I ever heard of... but it sure works nice.




Google sure has heard of it! Lots of hits when I did a search on it.
Looks like a nice unit, although "quality" doesn't necessrily show up in a
picture.....

Ed K7AAT

"Rick (W-A-one-R-K-T)" wrote in message
news
On Sat, 04 Aug 2007 11:27:33 -0700, Chuck Olson wrote:

is there any chance you might know what brand and model number of hammer
drill you used?

Yup, it's the Hilti TE-76-ATC.

Nobody I ever heard of... but it sure works nice.

Thanks, Rick - - I guess if you knew the part number for the "right fitting"
you would have told me. Can you describe what it looked like?

"Rick (W-A-one-R-K-T)" wrote in
news
On Sat, 04 Aug 2007 11:27:33 -0700, Chuck Olson wrote:

is there any chance you might know what brand and model number of
hammer
drill you used?

Yup, it's the Hilti TE-76-ATC.

Nobody I ever heard of... but it sure works nice.


Rick,

I see on Hilti's web site he TE-76-ATC, and its accessories include a TE-
Y driving shank and a series of adapters TP-TKS ground rod driving
adapters for different diameters.

Hilti BTW are suppliers of expensive quality tools to the construction
industry, you probably won't find their tools in home handyman stores.

The tool you rented is a little lighter than the one I used, and that is
probably why driving times were a little longer. My Hitach PH-65 machine
with home made driving adapter will drive a 16mm diameter 2.4m earth rod
into dry clay in less than a minute.

Pleased it worked for you. It is the way to go, isn't it!

The numbers above might help people looking to rent a device.

Owen

Ed wrote:


Hey - - great news. Thanks for telling us. Now, is there any chance
you might know what brand and model number of hammer drill you used?
If you know the model number of the fitting, that would help, too.
Ideally it would be fun to be able to find the model numbers in the
manufacturer's catalog to see what everything looks like, so when we
go to the rental place, we can tell if they have the right stuff, even
if they don't know it themselves.


Check out

http://bosch.cpotools.com/hammers_an...ammer_drills/?
ref=googaw808e

for quality hammer drills.

None of those drills is suitable for driving ground rods. They are all
regular electric drills, with a conventional 3-jaw chuck and a
lightweight hammer action that depends on the chuck going round.

For driving ground rods, you need a different kind of 'hammer' drill
that has a separate high-impact hammer action, that can be used
*without* the chuck going round.

The SDS+ system is the Bosch company's patented method to build
hand-held electric drills with a *serious* high-impact hammer action.
The system has been widely licensed to other manufacturers, so all SDS+
drills are basically the same. They all have a snap-lock chuck (if it
has a 3-jaw chuck, it ain't SDS) that takes a wide range of heavy-duty
drill bits and tools. Most have a shift lever that gives you the choice
between rotary action on its own, hammer action on its own, or both
together - all in a drill that you can hold in one hand. It makes those
old-style hammer drills look like toys.

The Hilti TE-76-ATC that Rick rented is based on the SDS Max system, the
'big brother' to SDS+, so it's no wonder those ground rods went right
in.


--

73 from Ian GM3SEK 'In Practice' columnist for RadCom (RSGB)
http://www.ifwtech.co.uk/g3sek