Spring loaded ground clamp

A grounding clamp system comprising:

• (a) a ground clamp head, including:
• a first jaw,
• a second jaw in opposed facing relation to the first jaw so as to define a gap therebetween,
• a housing containing a piston slidably mounted therein, wherein a first end of the piston is mounted to the first jaw, and wherein the housing is rigidly coupled to the second jaw so as to maintain the first and second jaws in their opposed facing relation,
• a linear spring mounted in the housing and coupled to the piston to resiliently urge the piston and the first jaw towards the second jaw so as to resiliently close the gap between the first and second jaws, wherein the spring has a spring force in the range of 140 to 250 pounds force required to compress the spring,
• a hot stick connector extending from a second end of the piston opposite the first end of the piston,
• (b) a hot stick having a hook retractably mounted in a first end of the hot stick, a rod linkage coupled to the hook at a first end of the rod linkage, and coupled at a second end of the rod linkage to a lever arm, wherein the lever arm is pivotally mounted on the hot stick, at one end of the lever arm, at a second end of the hot stick opposite the first end of the hot stick, and wherein the second end of the rod linkage, opposite the first end of the rod linkage, is mounted to the lever arm at a mechanical advantage distance along the lever arm and away from the hot stick,
• wherein the first end of the hot stick is adapted to have the housing seat thereon when the hook is engaged with the hot stick connector and the hook retracted to a first retracted position by rotation of the lever arm in a first direction so as to tension the rod linkage, wherein in the first retracted position the hook pulls on the hot stick connector to seat the housing onto the first end of the hot stick, and wherein continued and increasing tension on the rod linkage by further rotation of the lever arm in the first direction away from the first end of the hot stick and towards the second end of the hot stick retracts the hook to a second retracted position wherein the hot stick connector and piston compress the spring against a return biasing spring force of the spring so as to retract the first jaw away from the second jaw to thereby open the gap,
• wherein a flange on the piston is adapted to engage the spring so as to electrically couple the first jaw and the piston to the spring and to compress the spring upon the continued and increasing tension on the rod linkage,
• and wherein when the lever arm is rotated in a second direction opposite to the first direction, the return biasing spring force of the spring urges the first jaw towards the second jaw to thereby at least partly close the gap,
• whereby, with the lever arm rotated in the first direction to open the gap between the first and second jaws, the first and second jaws are positionable to place a conductor into the gap, and whereafter, with the lever arm rotated in the second direction to at least partly close the gap, the conductor is clamped between the first and second jaws.