[TowerTalk] Insulating towers

[Jim Lux]

On 12/26/13 11:39 AM, Patrick Greenlee wrote:
> Any thoughts on insulating a tower?  I have some Rohn 25 that I want to
> use to make a home brew version of a Hy-Gain Hy-Tower multi-band
> vertical.  I am considering two approaches:
>
> 1.  Buy a plastic cutting board to cut up for material to home brew
> insulators to be electrically between the tilt base and the tower
> proper. (I have a friend with MS Mech Eng and 35 years hands on
> experience who will, if asked, consult on this or help me design it.)
>
> 2. Pay the $ and buy 3 insulators from Hy-Gain as replacement parts for
> a HY-Gain Hy-Tower antenna.
>
> Any thoughts on item 1 or other ideas to git 'er done.
>
>

Cutting board (HDPE) is a great insulator.  You're probably not looking 
at more than 10 kV, so almost any thickness will work, as long as the 
surface creepage path is long enough.

HDPE is NOT a great structural material, though. You could use 
fiberglass bolts to clamp HDPE in between layers.

You can also buy fiberglass tubing (Extren is one brand): McMaster-Carr 
has a lot of it in various shapes and sizes. Again, creepage path is 
your primary thing to worry about, breakdown-wise.