On Tue, 25 Nov 2008 12:28:31 -0500, "John Grabowski"
wrote:


drb wrote in message ...
I have a grounding cable coming out of the side of a brick house and
it can't be pulled thru to make any longer so I'm stuck with the
length provided. It detached from the grounding rod and appears now
to no longer be able to reach it. Can these cables be spliced so I
can extend them say another foot and with what? Any idea what type
cable these are or what do I call them if I buy in, say home depot?
Do I just call them a grounding cable or are there different types of
grounding cables? Meanwhile I'll google around. Appreciate the
replies.



It is probably a #6 or #4 stranded or solid copper wire. You can use
stranded or solid bare or insulated. The stranded is easier to work with.
It cannot be spliced through conventional means. You should just install a
new wire. If you use insulated wire, wrap the entire length with green
electrical tape to identify it as a grounding conductor. I have had to
replace a few grounding conductors over the years because people thought
that they were cutting into their cable TV wire.


Thanks John. I called a local homedepot and they said #8 was the most
common around here because it's the most flexible compared to #6 or
#4. I know I have an insulated stranded wire. One person at a store
told me #8 is rated for 55 amp which I know the house has more amps so
I'm not sure how they design this ground wire. Two stores told me
that I can splice this stuff with a split bolt connector but I have no
idea what it is till I google it or go to the store. They said all it
takes is a screw driver to work on it.