[TowerTalk] Tower buried section legs -- Buried in Concrete orBelow the Concrete?

[Larry]

I have always put the pea gravel in the bottom as spec'd by Rohn. The way 
the legs are constructed and assembled on G sections I suspect there is very 
little water that gets in the legs. Probably more of an issue if the top 
section is just another straight section and the ends are not capped in some 
way. But I could imagine a very small amount of seepage perhaps through the 
bolt connections and perhaps over time rusting out the bottom of a leg that 
is sealed in concrete.  Perhaps condensation in some environments could play 
a role. The latter two seem awfully remote to me.

73, Larry  W6NWS

-----Original Message----- 
From: Larry Loen
Sent: Friday, January 29, 2016 7:17 AM
To: TowerTalk
Subject: [TowerTalk] Tower buried section legs -- Buried in Concrete orBelow 
the Concrete?

The Rohn spec calls for the legs of the bottom section to be buried a few
inches in pea gravel below the concrete.  My contractor suggests that as
long as the top is properly sealed, it's overkill and that overall, it's
better to encase the legs in concrete, protecting them from corrosion from
that rare day in Arizona that the water levels would reach the bottom of
the tower.  He suggests that the tower will be adequately sealed on top.
Soil here is acidic enough that I've been advised not to let the tower
sections touch the ground for even the short time they are stored here
awaiting erection.  Even if some got in over the years, rainwater is
presumably less acidic.

I don't try to innovate in these matters, but I wonder who is right here.

Thoughts?


Larry WO7R
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