[TowerTalk] Tower Leg Maintenance

[Bill Marx]

Just when I thought I had enough to worry about, I have to think about 
the inside of my tower legs.....it never ends!

Bill Marx W2CQ



On 12/7/2011 12:32 PM, K8RI wrote:
> On 12/7/2011 8:29 AM, Jim Thomson wrote:
>> Message: 5
>> Date: Tue, 06 Dec 2011 21:44:17 -0500
>> From: K8RI<K8RI-on-TowerTalk at tm.net>
>> Subject: Re: [TowerTalk] Tower Leg Maintenance
>>
>> On 12/6/2011 4:39 PM, Frederick Vobbe wrote:
>>    ## U could also,[ if the tower is all in sections], stuff the TV
>> camera into each leg, like the plumbers all do, and see the inside of
>> the legs... in colour. Dunno how small an ID those things will fit
>> into though.
> Better yet is a "Bore Scope". It's a tiny TV camera on a flexible shaft.
> They are used to look at the inside of aircraft engines, pipes, and
> other inaccessible places.
>
>>     IF it's not that bad inside, you might be able to hit it with a pressure washer,
>> or fabricate something that will fit inside each leg...and fit onto a pressure washer.  IF you use
>> the rotating brush, you may just tear off zinc left and right,
> If the Zinc coating is that fragile I'd worry about rust underneath it.
> Normally a wire brush just makes it shine.
>
>>    and make things worse in the process.
>> Then pour in a ton of cold galvanizing   from a 1 gal container.  If you capped off the bottom legs
>> 1st, then poured it in the top legs, then capped off the top legs, then balanced it on a single
>> saw horse, you could pivot it like a teeter-totter..and get it fully coated really good.  Then
>> roll the tower onto another face, then repeat.
> I've used that method to coat the inside of DOM masting.
>
>> Then open off the 3 x caps  on the bottom, one at a time, and let any excess drain into a container.
>> Now I can see why solid legs are popular. Pi-rod uses em.
>>    Trylon also makes a 10' tower section,  http://www.trylon.com/lightdutytowers/stgtowers.asp
>> 18" wide, but 129 lbs per section, solid legs, and stronger than 65G.   7/8" solid legs..and  1/2"
>> solid bracing.  Not cheap though. I have never seen one. The way the connections bolt together
>> looks slick though.  A single 5/8" A-325 bolt [6" long]  for each leg, via a welded spigot. Just
>> 2 x hollow tubes welded to the tower legs, one at the bottom of the upper section....and the 2nd one
>> is at the top of the lower section.  6" bolt just drops in.  The solid legs butt against each other.  I have seen
>> that exact splicing technique years ago, at one of our telco sites, on a 26"  wide tower.  It makes
>> for a fast assy.
> ROHN 45G and up are listed as available with solid legs.
>
> 73
>
> Roger (K8RI)
>> I have also see towers, like rohm 65G, where square  plates are welded to the bottom of each leg, and
>> 4 x bolts join the 2 x plates.  A drain hole is on each leg, facing the inside of the tower.  Seen these things
>> get plugged up, fill with water, then split wide open when it freezes, what a mess.... with a 16" rip right
>> up the leg.  The tower engs finally said screw it, and went to solid legs...or  angle legs.  Angle leg towers
>> were either 60/90 deg..and of course  either 3 or 4 sided. On 4 x sided towers, 8 x guy wires were used per level,
>> 2 x per face.  They don't budge, and no star [TQ] bracket required.   Some of these installs  are on mtn tops,
>> or way out in the bush, or on small islands etc.  They only get inspected 1-2 per year, wx permitting. That
>> orange/white paint only last so long too.
>>
>> later.... Jim  VE7RF
>>
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