They were 43" long with a 4" helix, 5/8 shaft and inserted to within a few
inches of the ground and into our firm Alberta heavy clay..... They were
galvanized and had a welded eye. The welding on the helix looked well done.
I think they were purchased at either UFA or HomeHardware, cost was around
12-15$ if I remember (fall of 2008). I have a homemade drive system using a
hydraulic motor and gear reduction (mounted to the front end loader) to
screw them in. It is effortless for this size - I usually use the bigger
ones made from 2 3/8" pipe (8' long) with a 10" helix - and those are close
to the limit of my hydraulic system.
73 Don
On Sun, Nov 15, 2009 at 1:14 AM, Doug Renwick <ve5ra@sasktel.net> wrote:
> The others gave the easy answers but you, as always, gave the practical,
> empirical answer.
> What are the length, helix diameter and depth of insertion on those
> grain bin anchors?
>
> Doug
>
> I'll run the race and I will never be the same again.
> -----Original Message-----
> From: towertalk-bounces@contesting.com
> [mailto:towertalk-bounces@contesting.com] On Behalf Of Don Moman VE6JY
> Sent: November 14, 2009 3:53 PM
> To: TOWERTALK@contesting. com
> Subject: Re: [TowerTalk] New Tower installation
>
> Put one in and measure it. Then you know. Everyone is quick to say
> it's
> not enough and to do "what the manufacturer says". What you need to do
> is
> have a safe and practical installation for your tower situation.
>
> I recently helped put up a 100' L&R 20" face guyed tower (2 el 40 on
> top).
> We used grain bin anchors of the type described here - common and easy
> to
> find in the local farm stores. "Real" anchors were quoting a 6 week
> delivery time and winter was coming. I wasn't convinced they were
> enough -
> so we screwed two in at each anchor and pulled 5000 lbs on each (front
> end
> loader and a Dillon tension gauge) and nothing moved. And yes they were
> in
> line with the guys.
>
> Yes I'd prefer longer rods and a bigger helix but these will do the job
> for
> now. We can always screw in another backup anchor when available.
>
> I would, however, worry more about two other factors that have not been
> mentioned:
> 1 - the galvanizing -or lack of - on the anchors - some of them are
> merely
> painted and obviously would not last as long in some soil conditions.
> And
> remember you always need at least one insulator in each guy to prevent
> differences in ground potentials causing corrosion and early failure of
> the
> anchor rod.
> and 2- make sure the eye is not just bent over - it needs to be either
> formed or welded shut.
>
> 73 Don
> VE6JY
>
>
>
>
_______________________________________________
_______________________________________________
TowerTalk mailing list
TowerTalk@contesting.com
http://lists.contesting.com/mailman/listinfo/towertalk
|