To use a comparison that would have been apt a year ago, grounding is like “Bruno.” For the most part, people don’t talk about it. I’ve never been the sort to shy away from a conversation, so I talk about grounding a lot. Why? Because a little bit of time and money invested in grounding could save your house from a devastating fire.
For the most part, grounding is simple. Run a wire from the stuff on the roof to something attached to the dirt. It could be a cold water pipe, a grounding rod, or the chassis of your breaker box. It depends on the local laws and ordinances where you live.
But, when it comes to grounding, like horseshoes and hand grenades, getting close is still better than getting it perfect. You really should ground everything the way it’s supposed to be grounded, but doing it wrong is better than not doing it at all.
Which brings me to…
…the question. When you look at the price of ground wire, it’s not cheap. Copper is a pretty expensive metal all things considered. Ground wire is solid copper and it’s pretty thick. So you might be looking around and trying to figure out what you can use instead.
If you’re like this one guy I know, you’ve kept literally every coaxial cable that has ever entered your property. This guy is one of those “I’ll find a use for it sometime” sorts. While that sometimes seems annoying, darned if he doesn’t find uses for things.
If you’re like that, you may have the notion of using that extra coax for grounding. Let me explain why that’s not the best idea.
Problem 1: not enough copper
The wire inside coax cables isn’t very thick. It’s not as thick as grounding wire, and that means it can’t carry as much current. Plus, a lot of coax cables have a thin coating of copper over a steel center. This means they are even worse at carrying current. A coaxial cable just isn’t going to do a good job dissipating electricity. That’s why you have grounding wire in the first place. It’s because coax isn’t enough.
Problem 2: flammability
If you do put too much current through a coaxial cable, there’s always the chance it could melt, smoke, or even catch fire. Some coax cable is rated for use in airways, meaning that it won’t give off harmful chemicals, but most isn’t. Certainly the stuff used in most homes isn’t. This means that not only is coax cable going to be unhelpful in grounding, it could potentially make things worse.
Something is better than nothing but…
When it comes to grounding, having something there is better than having nothing. But all things considered, using random coax cable for grounding isn’t a very smart idea. You may be able to scrounge up thick copper wire from other sources which will work better. In the meantime, if you want to do it right, shop at Solid Signal for the grounding supplies you’ll need.
