CADweld Experiences

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Bob Applegate's Boring Page

Boring the web since 1994

What is CADweld?
Technically, it's called exothermic welding, but the name CADweld is a
registered trademark of Erico, which manufactures the product line. On
their web site, look on the left for Online Catalogs and then choose
"CADweld - Americas".
It's a pretty cool method to weld electrical conductors together. I'm sure
it can do a lot more, but the most common use for hams is to weld
ground cables to ground rods. For instance, I use #4 stranded copper
wire for all my ground connections outside, and have 10 ground rods in
my grounding system so far. Most of those rods are literally welded to
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the ground wire using CADweld.
Here is a sample weld, which was later buried in my yard:

Why Would I Use It?

The traditional method of doing ground rods is pretty flaky, often isn't
done right, and requires frequent inspections and touch-ups. The ground
rods normally stick out above the ground, and use compression
connectors to squeeze the ground wire for a "good" joint. Can you say
"corrosion?" That exposed connection WILL deteriorate, no matter how
much Penetrox you slop on it. And, since it needs to be inspected, you
have to keep the connections above ground. Yuck!
With a couple little kids running around the yard, and with poor soil that
needs lots of ground rods, I needed something better. Besides, I want to
make QSOs, not spend time checking/cleaning ground connections. Enter

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exothermic welding.
CADweld basically melts a metal around the joint where the ground rod
and wire meet. It's a molecular bond, which means no corrosion between
the wire and rod. It's a solid joint, a blob of metal. All of my ground rods
are buried, so there is nothing to see except from the base of the tower
to where the wires go under ground. The copper will rot before the
CADweld connection fails.

What Do I Need?
First, there are two basic groups of these things: one-shot and re-usable.
Their names describe them well. I have the most experience with oneshot molds.
No matter what type you use, you'll always use some sort of mold (either
ceramic or graphite), a "shot" (some sort of powdered metal) an ignitor
(a fine powder that burns like crazy) and a flint igniter (to ignite the
whole thing).
Here's the best part... you get the mold set up, pour in the shot, and
then ignite it... WHOOOSH! A flame shoots out for about 1/2 second,
then inside the mold it'll glow bright red as the molten metal forms
around the wire/rod. It takes only about 10 to 15 seconds for a solid
weld, but the mold will be brutally hot for quite a while.

One Shot
This consists of a kit to do one weld. Included in the small cardboard box
are the mold, the mold top, the metal thingy, and the shot. If you look at
the picture below, you'll see a typical one-shot mold. The mold is in the
upper right. The metal disc goes into the bottom of the mold, then the
shot (the powdery stuff being poured out of the blue container) gets
poured on top. Finally, the disc with the hole in the middle goes on top.

Reusable
I need another picture here. Below is a picture of the XXXX clamp that

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you'll definitely need to hold the mold in place. The clamp is used to hold
the mold in place; you need to buy the appropriate mold for you
application. You'll then need one shot per weld. When you're done, the
mold and clamp can be re-used, although there is a limited life of the
mold.

Here's a picture of the reusable clamp and mold, ready for the shot to be
poured in:

After the magic, the mold is released and this is the end result:

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Where Can I Get It?

I'm sure there are a number of places that sell it, but I found the R. F.
Connection first. They stock the CADweld one-shot molds, and can order
other products for you. They've gotten me shots, re-usable molds, etc.

Advice
Information
I screwed up a few molds, and had a pretty poor success rate at first. I
kept bugging the folks at R. F. Connection until they got me in touch with
the experts at Erico. Erico has a few products that I would highly
recommend to anyone consideringthis product:
How to CADWELD, An Easy Connection to Make (videotape)
CADWELD ONE-SHOT Connections (videotape)
Booklet: Installers and Inspectors Guide for CADweld Electrical
Connections
Booklet: Contractor Tips for the Use of CADweld Products
Contact a dealer or Erico for pricing on these. I had fouled up a number
of one-shots before getting this material, then had a 100% success rate
after looking at the data.

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Products
Reusable molds are expensive (about $90 each) and you need the XXXX
clamp (shown above, another $40). Keep in mind that molds don't last
forever, so you might get 50 welds from one. Assuming you get 40 welds
and each shot is $3 (about right), that's about $6.25 per weld. One-shots
are $7-$9 each, so this still works nicely.

Tips
For one-shot molds, there is a rubber gasket on the bottom that fits
around the ground rod. If your ground wires are pulling up on the mold,
it'll be a disaster. The molten metal will cause the rubber to pull away
from the mold, and it'll ignite. Molten metal pours out the bottom,
setting almost anything on fire. When I did my rods, they were all down
in holes so the whole thing could be under ground. This really was a case
of "fire in the hole!"
So, make sure the mold is pressing down on the ground rod. Easy to do
with little effort. This makes every weld a perfect one.
Use an Erico flint igniter. There's a long explanation for why, but trust
me, it does work better than a torch.

Storage, Handling, Etc

The boxes with the shots and one-shot molds are marked which end has
to be kept up. Pay attention to that! If you toss them around, the igniter
material will mix with the shot and won't light.
Keep them in a dry place for obvious reasons.

Common Problems
It Won't Ignite!
My biggest problem, but it was easy to solve with a few steps. First,
when you dump out the shot, the igniter at the bottom probably won't
come out. I use a little screwdriver to just scrape loose the material, and
then pour it out.
If you're using a reusable mold, make sure you put some of the igniter
on the lip of the mold. Get that started and the rest of the shot will ignite
without a problem.

1994-2011 Bob Applegate Contact Me

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