[TowerTalk] guy wire "ice sleeves"

[Dick Green WC1M]

Hill Radio supplied an ice sleeve for each of the 1/4" EHS Rohn Big-Grips I
ordered for the leaders at the bottom of my Phillystran guys. Texas Towers
supplied UV-resistant cable ties for the guy grips I ordered for the 6700-lb
Phillystran. 

Although it's probably not necessary, I put ice sleeves on the
downward-facing EHS grips because they couldn't be easily added later
(they're out of reach.) But I haven't gotten around to putting ice sleeves
on the upward-facing EHS grips at the anchors because I wanted to wait until
I was sure they didn't need to be re-wrapped. Planning on doing that this
winter. 

The cable ties on the Philly grips don't stay tight as the grip flexes, and
a couple of them slid off when I moved the cables from the garage to the
tower. I installed new ties in those cases and tightened them as best I
could. It's not clear if the ties really help with the ice situation, and it
won't be a simple matter to replace them when they finally disintegrate --
the upward-facing grips are 10+ feet off the ground, which slopes steeply.

Just for reference, a local friend has had EHS big grips with no sleeves or
ties on his tower for 20 years here in snowy, icy Western New Hampshire, and
I've seen no evidence of the grips unwrapping.

73, Dick WC1M

> -----Original Message-----
> From: bill rubin [mailto:brubin2010 at gmail.com]
> Sent: Tuesday, August 14, 2007 4:16 PM
> To: towertalk at contesting.com
> Subject: [TowerTalk] guy wire "ice sleeves"
> 
> I was reading http://k7nv.com/notebook/topics/TowerTips.pdf
> regarding the
> use of "ice sleeves" or "ice knockers" on the guy grips.  Any resource
> for
> this item ?  should i just use tape ?  any thoughts ?
> 
> 
> 
> 73's Bill N1HWC