What type of tank? The hydropillar and waterspherioid style are generally well grounded.
I have seen some of the steel tank on a concrete pedestal style where the tank is not directly grounded to the pedestal but has a ‘spark gap’ between the tank and the base. I’m not sure if the purpose was to distribute the strike around the tank into the rebar in the column, or if it was an attempt to isolate the steel for corrosion reasons. The tank we are on like that consistently has the most lightning damage. I eventually ran a #6 copper from the top of the tank to the railing and down inside to tie everything together. It’s improved the situation considerably but it’s still not perfect. Mark Radabaugh Amplex 27800 Lemoyne, Ste F Millbury, OH 43447 419-837-5015 x1021 [email protected] > On Sep 28, 2015, at 10:19 AM, Adam Moffett <[email protected]> wrote: > > Yeah, I would think the tank itself is ground. > > On 9/28/2015 10:16 AM, Chuck McCown wrote: >> Common point grounding at the power ground would be the NEC answer. >> >> I would do that for power grounds and surge suppressor grounds because most >> surges come via the power lines. >> >> For antenna mounting grounds etc, I would make sure they were in good >> contact (bonded, perhaps with a separate bonding wire) to the tank or >> railing or whatever metal structure you are attaching to. >> >> From: Josh Baird <mailto:[email protected]> >> Sent: Monday, September 28, 2015 8:13 AM >> To: [email protected] <mailto:[email protected]> >> Subject: [AFMUG] Grounding strategies for water tanks >> >> We are going to be installing on several water tanks that do not have any >> other carriers on them. I'm assuming there is probably not a ground ring or >> system in place at these sites. The electrical service is likely grounded >> independently using a ground rod at the pole. >> >> These sites will have batteries and a charger at the bottom and fiber/DC up >> the tower. Admittingly, I'm fairly (ok, very) stupid when it comes to >> grounding systems. I understand that everything *should* be bonded >> together. However, if the tank it's self doesn't have a sufficient >> grounding system already in place, what is the best strategy here? >> >> Thanks, >> >> Josh >> >> >
