They make an electric hammer tool for driving them in. You can probably rent one. I would have went with a new copper clad steel rod as well $12.98 at my local Home Depot. Remember, that second rod has to be bonded to you home’s main ground rod which is probably near the service entrance. Otherwise you create a ground loop through your equipment and also an alternate path to ground for any surges that come in through the main electric service, also through your equipment.
I live in south La. and there isn’t any stone in the ground and it’s moist. I can “get away” with a shorter rod here because of the conductivity of the ground , but in an area like yours, It’s important that the longer rod is driven deep to where the contact with the earth is better.
when I said it isn’t all or nothing regarding effective grounding, that was in the spirit of a single proper ground rod bonded to the existing ground system, not compromises that may affect the ability of the system to perform. Just some copper tubing in the dirt could be worse than none in some cases. This is a critical component and the tubing over the steel rod may be fine until water seeps in the tubing between the steel and copper and begins to rust and corrode. Over time, this may affect the useful performance of the rod as an absorber. I don’t know for sure, but I do know it would fail an electrical inspection here.
