Wish I hadn't laughed at that old timer about grounding rods

I been doing this for about 6 months in the Phoenix area and thought I knew it all. This older guy at the supply house told me to always check my ground rods with a clamp meter before leaving a job. I kinda blew him off thinking it was extra work. Last week I came back to a house where the internet kept dropping and found the rod clamp totally corroded. Customer was pissed and I lost a whole afternoon fixing it for free. Now I check every single time and it takes like 2 minutes. Has anyone else had a simple thing like that bite them later?

3 comments

3 Comments

the_uma2mo ago

That line about the clamp meter thing. Reminds me of when I ignored a guy telling me to silicone the weatherproof covers on outdoor outlets. Told myself it'd be fine. Next rainstorm, zap. Customer's dog got zapped. Not a good day.

baker.ben2mo ago

Gotta push back a little here. That old timer's advice might save you a headache but honestly how often are ground rod clamps actually failing bad enough to cause real problems? Corrosion buildup over a year or two rarely makes enough of a difference to drop an internet signal. Plus spending two minutes on every single job adds up fast when you're trying to make money on volume.

grant.jason14d ago

Hows your success rate on those quick jobs though? I mean, do you ever end up having to go back to a place because the signal drops out six months later and the customer is mad? That two minutes of cleanup might save you a return trip that eats up way more time and gas. Plus, if the clamp is bad enough to cause a spike or something weird, it could mess with the equipment and then you're explaining to a customer why their expensive modem fried. Just wondering if the volume math actually works out or if it's one of those things where you get lucky until you don't.