[TowerTalk] Guy Anchors

[David Robbins K1TTT]

My first questions are, of course, what kind of tower is it and what
does the manufacturer say?

On your specific questions:
> 
> Looking for suggestions for good, strong tower guy anchors.  Are the
heavy
> duty screw in type acceptable? (like power company uses to support
poles)
> If so, best to screw in at angle toward tower, away from tower or
straight
> down?

Not necessarily, it depends on their rating, and how good your soil is.


Screw anchors should always be angled toward the load so the pull is
along the length of the rod.  The rod is not designed to be pulled
sideways and would quickly bend or break if angled away or put in
straight down.

> 
> How about the deadman anchors, or maybe auger a hole, put in a screw
> anchor and cement in.

deadman anchors like are specified for rohn towers are probably the
best.  It does take some professional backhoe work to do them properly
as you need a hole that is at least 4' deep and normally a minimum of
2'x4' at the bottom.  You also need the right rods, rebar, and cement to
do them properly.

Screw anchors are meant to be screwed in so they are pulling against
relatively undisturbed soil.  Augering a hole defeats the purpose of
screwing them as it removes the soil, and you can never pack it back in
the hole so its as strong as it was before.  And adding cement won't
really help as it won't have anything to pull against, it would just
pull out of the top of the hole.

> 
> Any suggestions as to the best?  Tower is capable of supporting 38 Sq
Ft
> round load, weight of tower is 2300 lbs.

the best is what the manufacturer calls for.  Normally this will be a
concrete deadman type of anchor as those are probably the overall most
consistently strong designs in all soil types.



David Robbins K1TTT
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