On Mon, 10 Jun 2019 09:27:42 -0500, Terry Coombs
wrote:

On 6/10/2019 8:14 AM, wrote:
Until you get a local ground electrode out there I would be careful
bonding anything. It is best to drive 2 rods 6 feet or more apart.

Ground rods alone are not a good substitute for the the 4th ground WIRE.

I think you need to run the 4th wire so the safety ground is WIRED.

Even the best ground rod is many ohms

m

Â* So the ground rod I drove 8 feet into the ground under the meter is
useless ? I suppose the ground wire on the power pole is useless too ?
What's the point of even grounding the system if the most common means
of grounding is useless ? I'll be taking gfretwell's recommendation to
ground the panel in the shop .

It is not useless but it is also not 100% effective. A lot depends on
what kind of soil you have and where the water table is.
My house probably has the best grounding system on my street, 6 rods
in different places, a concrete encased electrode in my addition, the
2400 square foot patio slab is bonded and I have an in ground pool. If
I measure the grounded conductor on my service I have over 2 amps of
current with my main breaker off. I am grounding the whole street I
imagine. I also looked at the pole grounding conductors going up the
road and they vary from 0.5a to almost 3. It is clear ground ain't
"ground".
The good news for me is I have never had any lightning damage since my
surge protection system has a good ground to work with.