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I was thinking of purchasing this SDS Plus rotary hammer, and I'd like to drive ground rods with it. Unfortunately, almost all of the ground rod drivers are SDS Max, not SDS Plus.

I'm going to be investigating my options (making my own, using a deep socket, etc.), but I just figured I should ask here first. I'm unsure if this rotary hammer, or any SDS+ rotary hammer, is capable of driving a ground rod into hard soil. Any feedback on that would also be appreciated.

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Here's a video of just that http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5kfjhRYAUHg But why not just rent the tool? But if you must then check out this guy who modified a bit, then used some rubber hose, to get the ground rod in: http://www.n4lcd.com/groundrod/

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The rotary hammer in that video is an SDS-Max model (10 joules of impact energy), not SDS Plus (2.9 in the case of the linked model.) There are roughly 10 such videos, but none of them feature an SDS Plus drill. :( – Michael Jul 24 '12 at 7:56
The second link is indeed an SDS-Plus rotary hammer (and it is weaker than the one that I've linked)! I wonder what he means by "two minutes after starting," however. If the "start point" was the previous picture where he shows the radiator hose attached, then it looks like it's going nowhere? If not, then 2 minutes is very good for a weak hammer to almost fully drive a ground rod, which can take two men 30 minutes and a lot of sweat in hard soil. – Michael Jul 24 '12 at 8:01
Reading more carefully: "Then I put my 8' step ladder next to the ground rod and inserted the former chisel's shank into the 3" of rubber hose sticking out above the top of the ground rod, and pulled the trigger. Within a couple of minutes the ground rod was 7.5 feet into the ground." He is claiming that it drove the ground rod in 3 minutes. Very impressive for an SDS-Plus rotary hammer. I had my doubts, but I guess it can get the job done if he is to be believed. – Michael Jul 24 '12 at 8:09
I've broken 4+ sledge hammers driving ground rods and also one of those manual drivers with handles on the side, which, despite being made from 1/4" steel, can only take so many whacks from a sledge. (Not to mention the resulting mushroomed top that has to be cut and ground smooth.) The amount of force required to drive a ground rod in hard soil is truly maddening. It will be nice to not have to deal with that crap again. – Michael Jul 24 '12 at 8:13

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