Doctor Bob said:
The Ground Rods must be bonded (connected properly) with # 6 bare copper, every 20 feet, and bonded (connected properly) to the Utility Ground (at the house)...
My question was regarding this statement. It lead me to question whether or not the poster meant that ground rods every 20 feet was required (I didn't find it in the NEC). I know of this practice being used for lightning protection (I've used it myself to ground radio towers), but as one poster said, the purpose here is safety, not lightning protection.
As for #2 AWG solid copper tinned wire, it's costly (copper being a commodity) but I wouldn't call it a Cadillac. I've seen a project where 1.5 miles of 4.5-inch wide oxygen-free flat copper strap shipped in from Sweden was used as a buried ground conductor for tower sites.
Now you have really heard everything.
When it comes to splicing ground wires underground, mechanical connections are just not adequate due to corrosion problems. Exothermic bonds, when done right, fuse the materials together so that there is no chance of corrosion forming between the wires. One-shots are $9 a pop last time I checked, but you will never need to worry about it going bad and that's what matter. Who is going to go out, dig a hole, and inspect a buried ground connection on a regular basis?
Regardless, call in someone that knows the code. Local electrician and/or inspector.
Though I do have one question for the original post. You said that there is a ground block 75 away from the dish and the dish is 225 feet away from the house. Am I correct in assuming the ground block is 150 feet away from the house? If so, what is the ground block doing out there? Did the installer use it to splice coax cables together or something?
