Towertalk
[Top] [All Lists]

Re: [TowerTalk] Rusty Guy Wires

To: towertalk@contesting.com
Subject: Re: [TowerTalk] Rusty Guy Wires
From: "Roger (K8RI) on TT" <K8RI-on-TowerTalk@tm.net>
Date: Sun, 09 Mar 2014 14:09:17 -0400
List-post: <towertalk@contesting.com">mailto:towertalk@contesting.com>
On 3/8/2014 11:40 PM, Mark Robinson wrote:
This might sound silly but I wonder if there could be some sort of electrolysis going on up there which is damaging the galvanizing on the higher guys. The higher guys are more likely to be in a much higher volts/meter field than the lower guys.

It's much windier "up there" than at ground level which would normally keep wires drier, but it's also colder which causes condensation. Condensation keeps wires wet, but often there isn't enough liquid to collect and run off. "I wouldn't think" this would normally be a problem with just a hundred feet or so, nor would the increased angle. I do know that winds, temperature, and humidity can vary widely that last 500 feet or so, when landing an airplane.
However much depends on local climate and terrain.

73

Roger (K8RI)





Mark N1UK


----- Original Message ----- From: "Steve Maki" <lists@oakcom.org>
To: "towertalk" <towertalk@contesting.com>
Sent: Saturday, 08 March, 2014 6:26 PM
Subject: Re: [TowerTalk] Rusty Guy Wires


On taller towers (500' or more) we often see rustier hardware near the top then near the bottom. I always assumed that the air was more corrosive up there on average. Well I guess that must be a given :-) Not sure why that would be though.

-Steve K8LX

On 3/8/2014 4:04 PM, Donald Chester wrote:

In recent years, the guy wires on my tower have become what may be
dangerously rusty, and I plan to re-guy. The tower is 127' tall with
four guy levels, one every 30 feet.

The rust pattern is very interesting. The guys at the top two levels
are far more rusty than at the bottom two, even though all the guy
cable came from the same roll. I could probably get by with the
original bottom sets of guys for many more years, but the top two
definitely need replacing, sooner not later.

The only reason I can possibly figure for the differences in the rust
pattern is that the slope of the upper guys is much steeper, and
water would tend to run down the the wire and stay in contact with
the metal for longer, whereas the lower guys are closer to
horizontal, enough that water would tend to drip off instead of
running down the wire all the way to the end. The amount of rust is
nearly the same on the top set and next one down, and nearly the same
for the bottom set and next one up, but the difference between the
second and third guy level is tremendous.


Don k4kyv

_______________________________________________



_______________________________________________
TowerTalk mailing list
TowerTalk@contesting.com
http://lists.contesting.com/mailman/listinfo/towertalk

_______________________________________________



_______________________________________________
TowerTalk mailing list
TowerTalk@contesting.com
http://lists.contesting.com/mailman/listinfo/towertalk


_______________________________________________



_______________________________________________
TowerTalk mailing list
TowerTalk@contesting.com
http://lists.contesting.com/mailman/listinfo/towertalk

<Prev in Thread] Current Thread [Next in Thread>