>
A recent fire in my neighborhood burned a few houses and most of my 5
acres, but mostly spared my buildings (now brightly decorated with fire
retardant and melted vinyl). The tower is 100' with two levels of guys: the
Rohn
catalog configuration except for the use of Phillystran HPTG6700I for the
guys. The lower portion of the guys (up to about 15 feet above ground) is
? EHS. The tower base is fine, as the area around the base was well
cleared; no damage to coax and equipment at base.
> We are, however, concerned about one guy wire that passes over a stand
of scrub oak. There might be damage to the PVC coating on the
Phillystran, but we can't see clearly from the ground even with binoculars,
and will
probably be bringing in a lift to get a closer look.
> My questions are:
1. Is there a point at which I need to worry about the steel EHS
losing strength due to heat from the fire?
I don't think so. A grass fire probably doesn't get hot enough
to have much influence on the steel guys.
> 2. If the PVC coating on the Phillystran is intact, do I need to
worry about the underlying aramid (Kevlar) cable?
No. The jacket is for abrasion resistance and doesn't do
anything for the strength. If it would've gotten hot enough to catch fire,
then
the whole guy would have burned up.
> And then the big question... any referrals to someone that would be
able to (1) inspect, and (2) replace/repair as necessary? The tower is
located 20 miles southwest of Salt Lake City, UT.
Can you drop the guy and inspect it? The best way to inspect
Phillystran or any other type of jacketed wire is to run it thru your hands.
Any
imperfections will be spotted easily. But if it didn't catch fire, I'd say
you're good to go.
Cheers & GL,
Steve K7LXC
TOWER TECH
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