Are 12' dishes 1-piece? 4-piece?

[drg]

Last night, I removed a free 8' mesh dish from a couple's back yard. I was excited at first when they said that I could have it(it would be my first dish)...but, on close inspection, I noticed a lot of rust. Some of the radial supports are rusted enough that they have holes. Many of the bolts were essentially welded with rust and simply sheared when I attempted to remove them. Anyway, I eventually got it disassembled into the mount pieces and the 4-quarter mesh dish pieces. There is a Von Weise actuator thing(presumably usable post-cleaning and lubrication), an old Chapparel LNBF(I assume obsolete), and a scaler/mount thing.

Long story short, I'm bummed about the rusted through radial support arms. So:
Would you try to rehab a dish in bad condition?
Would you hang on to the parts(mount, actuator, etc.)to use in another project, but recycle the dish?
There's a 12' fiberglass(I think) dish available kinda near me. Would you recommend that I go get that instead? If so, do fiberglass dishes come apart into sections like this one did? Because, I don't know that I can handle it by myself.

 

[FTA4PA]

Last night, I removed a free 8' mesh dish from a couple's back yard. I was excited at first when they said that I could have it(it would be my first dish)...but, on close inspection, I noticed a lot of rust. Some of the radial supports are rusted enough that they have holes. Many of the bolts were essentially welded with rust and simply sheared when I attempted to remove them. Anyway, I eventually got it disassembled into the mount pieces and the 4-quarter mesh dish pieces. There is a Von Weise actuator thing(presumably usable post-cleaning and lubrication), an old Chapparel LNBF(I assume obsolete), and a scaler/mount thing.

Long story short, I'm bummed about the rusted through radial support arms. So:
Would you try to rehab a dish in bad condition?
Would you hang on to the parts(mount, actuator, etc.)to use in another project, but recycle the dish?
There's a 12' fiberglass(I think) dish available kinda near me. Would you recommend that I go get that instead? If so, do fiberglass dishes come apart into sections like this one did? Because, I don't know that I can handle it by myself.

Would I try to rehab a dish in bad condition? That depends on what is rusted and how bad the rust is. I have seen rust that turned out to only be on the surface and was easily fixable but if the framework that holds the mesh reflector together is rusted through badly then probably not. Torn mesh is fixable so yes in that case. If the arms that hold the lnb(f) are damaged they can be replaced with conduit from the big box stores so in that case I would as well. Could you post a few pics of where and how bad the rust is?

Yes, I would hang on to any good parts as they are hard to come by and the next dish you find may need something from the bad one.

No experience with fiberglass dishes so I can't comment.

P.S. Von Weise is an excellent actuator. I had one that was in bad shape when recovered but I was able to take it apart and get it working. It is moving our 10 foot dish now. More here.

Finally found a 10' dish!!

 

[ancient]

Last night, I removed a free 8' mesh dish from a couple's back yard. I was excited at first when they said that I could have it(it would be my first dish)...but, on close inspection, I noticed a lot of rust. Some of the radial supports are rusted enough that they have holes. Many of the bolts were essentially welded with rust and simply sheared when I attempted to remove them.

I got a dish like that two or three years ago. Used a rotary wire brush on a cordless drill to knock off as much rust as I could, painted all the rusty parts with Rust-Oleum Rust Reformer, and then wherever there were holes I packed it with auto body filler. One part of the rim of the dish was so bad that I basically had to keep shaping the auto body filler with my fingers until it cured enough to not fall off. Then I painted the whole thing with a top coat. It's not the best looking dish I have, and it may not even be an absolutely perfect parabolic shape, but it has continued to work well enough to reliably pick up C-band signals (except when it gets full of snow). One tip: If you plan to use it as a fixed dish parked on one satellite, plug the ends of the tubes at the center of the dish with body filler if gravity would cause the water to run down them to the rim. But don't plug the ones where the water would run down the tubes to the center, so that any water that might find its way in can escape. And also, drill a weep hole at the very lowermost point of the rim (or the lowest point on both sides that's not packed solid with body filler, if the lowest point is solid body filler) so any water that does get into the rim can escape. Dishes that rust like that tend to have been poorly designed in such a way that water that gets into the rim can't escape, and that's why they rust so badly.

 

[drg]

Quick update and some requested pics:
the LNB is an Echostar LNB-EA030(I have a Titanium C1-PLL C-band Phase-Locked Loop LNBF with WiMax Filter FTA PLL LNB being shipped courtesy of KE4EST) (Thanks!)
Feedhorn and integral scalar ring thing is a Chaparral(can't find a model #)
There's a servo attached that I'm guessing controls polarity?(can't find a make or model #)
The mount has lots of rust, but is structurally sound and very heavy and robust
Oh, and regarding rust(and old paint), I have been using an angle grinder with
3 in. Twisted Wire Cup Brush
and
7 in. Diamond Turbo Cup Wheel

The diamonds and wire and high speed(much higher than drill) laugh at rust and eat paint for breakfast

 

[FTA4PA]

Quick update and some requested pics:
the LNB is an Echostar LNB-EA030(I have a Titanium C1-PLL C-band Phase-Locked Loop LNBF with WiMax Filter FTA PLL LNB being shipped courtesy of KE4EST) (Thanks!)
Feedhorn and integral scalar ring thing is a Chaparral(can't find a model #)
There's a servo attached that I'm guessing controls polarity?(can't find a make or model #)
The mount has lots of rust, but is structurally sound and very heavy and robust
Oh, and regarding rust(and old paint), I have been using an angle grinder with
3 in. Twisted Wire Cup Brush
and
7 in. Diamond Turbo Cup Wheel

The diamonds and wire and high speed(much higher than drill) laugh at rust and eat paint for breakfast

If that tube is the worst of the rust damage then I would definitely try to save it.

 

[drg]

tube...worst of the rust damage then... save it.

Really? Yes, those holes are the bad ones. OK, cool. I'll get to stripping.
The bolts/hardware are unusable. No big deal though. I would have replaced them with stainless steel bolts anyhow.
Anything that will fit in the oven(and tolerate the heat) will get powder coated black.

I just opened up the actuator. It's a Von Weise V76-90. I'll test it when I get a chance, but it looks to be in serviceable condition

 

[Brct203]

If that tube is the worst of the rust damage then I would definitely try to save it.

I agree, doesn't look all that bad.

I would maybe try to reinforce that section before attempting to sand/brush the rust away, as that action will add pressure on an already weakened part.

 

[FTA4PA]

I agree with Brct203. Try to reinforce before going too heavy on the sanding, etc. The auto body filler that ancient used sounds like a good option. Let it firm up really well then have fun.

 

[Z_finigan]

I know you mentioned you have a chance to get a solid satellite dish.
I had one. It got broke during the 2nd hurricane. I still have one panel. Hoping to cast 3 from it. So I can put it back up.

I will tell you. Mine seemed to work better then the mesh ones I've had.

Mine came apart in 4 pieces. It was put together with all Stainless Steel nuts and bolts.

I still have the tripod stand. I put my second mesh satellite on it.

The stand I have is more then 500lbs put together.
The the fiberglass satellite was over 150 lbs put together...

In order to take mine apart. You had to take the satellite on the ground. It comes off the stand in one piece. So make sure you have help.

But I'd sure get it. But pay attention to how the stand is mounted. And make sure to do the same.. So it stands hurricane force winds.

Mine was very dependable. We had TV on it during the 1st hurricane till the power failed.

Oh and these new actuators are not made for the weight. It will work. But I got lucky. My failed 2 years later. So if you use a cheap one. You'll want to inspect it.
The parts that held the actuator together and lifted the satellite drove the rod out the other side where the motor is.