1. good
2. good
3. if the bolts/nuts are that full of zinc then pre-starting them on the ground
is probably not bad, I have never seen them so thickly coated that they
couldn't be started on the tower though... on keeping one hand on the tower, if
you aren't confident enough to rely on your climbing gear to keep
you in position on the tower you probably shouldn't be doing that kind of work.
one hand is not enough to safely land a new section on the tower
and to do many other tasks like moving the gin pole, installing rotors, etc.
4. I would not use a tap and die as that would remove all the zinc, you only
want enough gone to allow you to start the nuts.
5. I have several rohn towers from 25 to 55 that have been up for up to 30
years now and have never seen a leg bolt loosen itself, the galvanizing
does a very good job of keeping them in place.
Sep 3, 2015 03:44:05 PM, dlight@prodigy.net wrote:
I guess that I need to be more specific.
1. I am assembling the entire tower on the ground and marking the tower
legs so that I can easily match them when I do assemble the tower.
2. Yes, sometimes the bolt holes do not match. This has not been a
problem. I have a 18" round tapered piece of steel that I insert into the
bolt holes and get the bolt holes properly aligned.
3. The bolts and nuts are factory supplied Rohn nuts and bolts. They have
been hot dipped in zinc (same as the tower sections). I've tried to use a
vise (on the ground of course) along with plenty of oil to try to put the
nuts onto the bolts. It can be done, but requires a very large ratchet and
very large wrench. When I am on a tower, safety is my first priority! I
use a safety harness and I always keep one hand on the tower. Keeping one
hand on the tower will be difficult to do with the size of the ratchet and
wrench necessary to tighten the Rohn supplied nuts and bolts.
4. The question is - I can use a tap and a die to clean out the threads on
the bolts and nuts so that when I am in the air, the bolts and nuts will not
be so difficult to tighten. This will only remove the excess zinc which in
some cases has completely filled the valleys of the threads of the bolts.
5. The second question is - the tower and the nuts and bolts are all hot
dipped in liquid zinc. Over the years, the torque on the tower from wind
and rotating the antenna might cause a bolt and nut to work loose. Would it
be a good idea to add a split lock washer that is also hot dipped in zinc?
-----Original Message-----
From: TowerTalk [mailto:towertalk-bounces@contesting.com] On Behalf Of
Richard Lightner
Sent: Thursday, September 03, 2015 11:17 AM
To: towertalk@contesting.com
Subject: [TowerTalk] Rhn 45 bolts
Later this year I am going to erect a Rohn 45. Before I start this job, I
have been checking everything on the ground to be sure all is good. I
discovered that the bolts that connect the tower sections have been hot
dipped in zinc. They are very tight, and I think that it might be too
difficult to tighten them on the tower when I am 30 feet or higher. Should
I take a tap and die to clean out the threads? Lock washers were not
included. Should I get some zinc ones before I start this job?
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