[TowerTalk] Tower Legs in Concrete

[Mark Ketchell]

         Several years ago, I went to assist with a tower removal. It was 
only about 40 feet, with nothing but an old 2 meter vertical on it, but 
owner was now too old to remove it himself. Owner said it was "well 
bracketed and surely safe". It actually WAS bracketed to the 2nd story 
eave, and to the wall about head high. There were no guys.

         The problem was, it had a dirt base and with the naturally high 
humidity here in Louisiana, moisture had been condensing inside the tower 
legs for years and could not drain out. Upon inspection before climbing, we 
quickly noticed that the tower legs from the part bracketed to the house 
stopped about 2 inches above ground. Yep, there was about a 3 inch gap 
between the tower and the ground, with nothing but the house brackets 
holding the thing up. We cautiously lowered the tower until it touched 
ground and slowly let it lay over. I swore that I'd never recommend or 
participate in an installation using only a dirt base.

         There's a reason why Rohn (and other manufacturers) base plates 
have weep holes, and why they recommend the layer of rock in the bottom of 
the hole when you use a starter section. I strongly agree with the LXC 
prime directive - do what the manufacturer recommends, and also W3LPL's 
suggestion of minimum yearly inspection of all your tower and associated 
hardware. Be safe, guys, the life you save might be your own!

73,
Mark, K5ER

Louisiana Contest Club
N5LCC.com


>On 7/6/2011 1:22 PM, Eddy Swynar wrote:
> > Hi Again Roger,
> >
>... I've gone back to using "dirt bases"
>for small, guyed towers with relatively small antenna systems which work
>well in our soil.  The success of dirt bases and how much tower they
>will handle is highly dependent on soil conditions as well as the
>"Freeze/Thaw" cycle
>
>73
>
>Roger (K8RI)