[TowerTalk] Guy Anchor Failure

[Fred Gern]

I moved 2 1/2 years ago and took down a 44' Rohn 45 tilt over.
Of the 4 screw in guy anchors, ONE was pulled apart very easily trying to
unscrew it.
Very heavy clay and it had been in for 10 year.
I'd be more careful the next time!!
Fred, K2FR

----- Original Message -----
From: "Jack Hicks" <jackhicks@qwest.net>
To: <towertalk@contesting.com>
Sent: Monday, January 01, 2001 21:19 PM
Subject: [TowerTalk] Guy Anchor Failure


> A 70 ft. ham tower 2 blocks down the street from me came down about a
> week before Christmas in a windstorm we had here in Western Washington.
> Was just a pile of scrap steel and aluminum when I saw it a couple of
> days later. Fell on his roof and that of his neighbor. He had just
> installed a new Force multiband yagi on it last summer. The tower has
> been in place for at least the last 7 years that I have lived in the
> area and probably a lot longer than that, maybe up to 20 years.
>
> I stopped to chat with him and he said one of his tower guy earth screw
> anchors had totally disintegrated in the ground and the guys broke free
> in the wind. The other two anchors were like new he said. It is a
> mystery why one anchor virtually dissolved or rusted out and the other
> two were ok. He wonders about potentially corrosive soil or electrolytic
> corrosion. The anchors are the standard earth screw kind used by the
> power companies. Fortunately, no one was injured and he said insurance
> will cover the replacement cost.
>
> Is screw anchor corrosion a typical problem? How does one keep tabs on
> this? Can it be detected or prevented?
>
> Jack
> KD7OE
> Des Moines, WA
>
>
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