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

[Patrick Greenlee]

I guess I am glad that my rebar cage, by my request shipped in advance 
of the tower which hasn't  shipped yet, has no hollow structure.  It is 
all rebar where it contacts the concrete with rectangular solid steel 
pieces welded to thee three HD vertical rebar pieces which protrude 
above the concrete foundation.  These steel pieces are welded to the 
vertical rebar and have 6 mounting holes in each  to mate to the 
triangular tower section used as a tilt fixture.

There just isn't any place in this rebar cage or tilt fixture design  to 
store water that could freeze and cause mischief as in many other designs.

Gene, your quote is well taken and beyond that buying from a 
manufacturer whose designs just are not susceptible to certain problems 
is likewise a good caveat.

Awaiting a Tashjian (ex Tri-Ex) DX70 with two each 1 hp motors for power 
up/down and tilt.

Patrick        NJ5G

On 1/29/2016 12:53 PM, Gene Smar wrote:
> Patrick:
>   
>       I recall a wise man once admonishing us, both here and in his book, "Up the Tower" (which my kids got me for Christmas and which I wish I would have bought before I constructed mine), " DO what the manufacturer says; DON'T do what he doesn't say."  Caveat Amateur.
>   
>   
> 73 de
> Gene Smar  AD3F
>   
>
>
>
> On 01/29/16, Patrick Greenlee wrote:
>
> What does the brain trust think about the idea of plugging the ID of
> tower legs slightly above the top of the concrete foundation and
> drilling a weep (drain) hole at the top of the plug. It would require
> poking into that hole periodically to prevent insects or whatever from
> plugging the hole but should eliminate the need for any concern or
> proactive adding of pea gravel below the tower legs or acid soil eating
> on the bottom of the legs.
>
> Patrick NJ5G
>
> On 1/29/2016 10:40 AM, Chris Wynn via TowerTalk wrote:
>> On my first Rohn 25 tower that I put up while in college, I had water get into a leg and actually busted outwardly. It left about an inch and a half rip looking seam. This occurred about 4 feet from the top of the concrete pad. I could only imagine that there was some type of obstruction in the leg that allowed water to build at that point. When it froze, the water expanded outwardly, busting the leg.Regardless, the tower lasted throughout my college career and until I later got married and moved out. I would imagine that my father is still using that section to hold up one of his bird houses.I would add that pea gravel as a way to drain any moisture, just in case....
>>
>> Good luck
>> Sent from Yahoo Mail on Android
>>
>> On Fri, Jan 29, 2016 at 8:51 AM, Larrylknain at nc.rr.com> wrote: 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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