I need a drill for driving ground rods

Archived from the Tools In Action forum (Power Tools). This thread is read-only.

AnupamMember since Nov 2021Nov 26, 2021 1:11 AM CT

I’m absolutely tired of renting here. I need a drill for driving ground rods and soil is moderately hard one

I wanted to know how big/heavy drill I need for ground rods. 10-13 amps, and around 12-15 lbs. Will that be enough? i know demo hammers are usually a bit higher than that

Have done quite a bit of research on the internet. it seems most prefer demolition hammer.

Also few suggesting SDS Max/Plus Rotary Hammer Drills are quite effective.

like always, i don’t want to waste my hard earned money.

What you guys actually do? Will greatly appreciate any advice, thanks

winglessMember since Nov 2017Nov 26, 2021 11:24 AM CT

Welcome to the forum.

When I drive my ground rods I use my Bosch RH540M SDS-Max Rotary Hammer w/ a TEMCo TH0376 5/8″ bore SDS-Max ground rod driver adapter bit. It is a short bit w/ a cylindrical cavity at the end.

The ground rods go into the Earth like a hot knife through butter. There is sometimes a rock slowing progress, but I just wait for a second, then it continues to the desired depth.

Unlike using a sledge hammer, the ground rod end looks new.

FWIW the grounding on the house shown in the image was horrible before it was fixed by me. There was a 3′ ground rod, not even buried, w/ a solid 10AWG bare wire connection to the main panel, nothing to the copper plumbing. Now everything is done to current code.

[External image (live.staticflickr.com), not copied]