Warning: I just realized my panel grounds were all wrong for 4 years

I was in a crawlspace in Austin last Tuesday swapping out an old DSC panel. Got curious and checked the ground resistance on a whim. 45 ohms. That panel had been reading fine on the keypad for 4 years. I checked two more jobs from that era. Same story. Turns out I was just driving a ground rod and hoping for the best. Never actually tested with a clamp meter. The false security alarms were probably from bad grounding the whole time. Anyone else skip testing grounds and regret it later?

2 comments

2 Comments

jesse9884d ago

Hold on, is 45 ohms really that big of a deal for a security system? I've had panels running smooth for years with way higher resistance. The keypad was reading fine, the alarms worked when they needed to, and you didn't have any fires or electrocutions. Seems like the real problem is people overthinking this stuff with expensive meters. Maybe all this "proper grounding" is just a way for the tool companies to sell more gear. If it ain't broke, don't fix it is my motto.

jana_hill274d ago

Damn man, 45 ohms is rough. I had a similar wakeup call last year when I finally got a clamp meter after years of just hammering in rods and calling it good. Found one install where the ground rod wasn't even in the soil deep enough because it hit a rock. Felt like a total idiot lol. The false alarms make so much sense now when I think back. It's one of those things you just assume is working until it isn't.