Fill 13 ft. pole for dish with concrete?

[bill190]

So that I can move my 12 ft. mesh big dish up higher to get a better view of things, I just installed a 13 ft. 3" schedule 80 pipe in a 3 ft. hole. (There are pieces of metal welded to the pipe below the concrete so the pipe will not turn.)

Even though the pipe is schedule 80 (very thick walls), when I hit the top of the pipe, it "wiggles". This would not be good on windy days.

I read that some people fill their pipe with concrete. If I did this, would this stop the wiggle?

What type of concrete should I use to fill the pipe? I figure dumping in a little dry concrete, then water, then more dry, then more water - would be the easiest. Or should I dump it in mixed and wet?

Or is there something better to use to fill the pipe with other than concrete?

 

[swampman]

I dont have c-band(yet) however I'd have to say a "wiggling" pipe is NOT a good thing. Hard to imagine that kind of pipe would have ANY wiggle. I'm no expert on that size dish(and maybe others can chime in), but a 12 footer is a big dish for that length pole---thinking wind resistance here. Exactly what deminsions is the hole? How deep and how wide?

Also I would recommend adding concrete already mixed, as I think you'll get a better mix and more stable results.

 

[Claude Greiner]

It can't hurt. Id rather have the pole filled with cement than filled with water!

 

[PopcornNMore]

I buy a high strength concrete mix in 60 lb bags and after mixing with water I use a solo cup and dump one cup in at a time until filled. Sure it takes longer, but you can rest assured that all the concrete had been mixed and that it cured properly.

 

[bill190]

...thinking wind resistance here. Exactly what deminsions is the hole? How deep and how wide?...

The pipe is 10 ft. above ground.

The hole is 3 ft. deep and 3 ft. wide and it is more wide at the bottom of the hole than at the top. Also there are 3 "spurs" dug out about 6 inches around the bottom and 3 more at bottom sides.

The pipe has three 1 ft. pieces of angle iron welded one ft. up going out at an angle to keep the pipe from twisting.

The hole is filled with 35 bags of concrete and that is 2,800 lbs. holding that pole down.

So bring on the wind! (And I pitty the poor person who tries to dig this pole out someday after I am long gone!)

 

[swampman]

So bring on the wind! (And I pitty the poor person who tries to dig this pole out someday after I am long gone!)

Won't be me! Sounds like you're set.

 

[bill190]

Here are some pictures if I can do this right...

 

[bill190]

BTW... The jagged edges on the pieces of metal welded to the pipe are there because I told the welder he could use scrap metal. And these were pieces of scrap metal he had laying around.

And I painted the pipe blue so that my dish install might fly better with my "female" neighbor (her favorite color is blue)...

 

[Anole]

You might capture air in the pole filling it with the concrete.
As awful as this sounds, if you have a 10' piece of rebar (or similar) to pump up and down in the pipe as you pour in the cement, that'll help it settle better.
Any part of the rebar you leave in the pipe won't hurt, either.
I'm thinking of the stuff that's round and about as big as your little finger.

If anyone has any experience with this procedure, please chime in.

By the way, when you have a pole that far out of the ground, isn't it common to tie a brace near the top to the building?
That'd put a crimp in the wiggle.

 

[lumpkin666]

By the way, when you have a pole that far out of the ground, isn't it common to tie a brace near the top to the building?
That'd put a crimp in the wiggle.

Good point. I used a cheap (thin-walled) metal fence post for a smaller dish and it wobbled a bit. I just bought 3 ground anchors, some hardware, and cable (probably 15 bucks total cost) and anchored it with the cables so that I had a solid pole AND the ability to tighten the cables just a tad if I found my post was not quite plumb.

 

[Anole]

stiffer is better

I have a 5' thin-walled fence post in a 5 gallon bucket of cement that I use for small-dish tests.
I was thinking of planting the bucket in the ground to make it permanent (and watering it to see if it'd grow).
But to hang a motor and 36" dish on it, off center as it were, I'd want it stiffer, even if it is planted.
I was already thinking about putting concrete in my 2+ inch post, and was very worried about capturing bubbles of air.
That's where I came up with the rebar idea.
And, a 3/8 chunk of rebar up my post would do wonders for my stiffness, too!

 

[tvropro]

So that I can move my 12 ft. mesh big dish up higher to get a better view of things, I just installed a 13 ft. 3" schedule 80 pipe in a 3 ft. hole. (There are pieces of metal welded to the pipe below the concrete so the pipe will not turn.)

Even though the pipe is schedule 80 (very thick walls), when I hit the top of the pipe, it "wiggles". This would not be good on windy days.

I read that some people fill their pipe with concrete. If I did this, would this stop the wiggle?

What type of concrete should I use to fill the pipe? I figure dumping in a little dry concrete, then water, then more dry, then more water - would be the easiest. Or should I dump it in mixed and wet?

Or is there something better to use to fill the pipe with other than concrete?

Fill the pipe with concrete it helps. When I do this I mix the concrete first then put it in with my hands. Takes a while but worth it. Your hands get really dried out by this method but that passes.

 

[swampman]

And, a 3/8 chunk of rebar up my post would do wonders for my stiffness, too!

We ARE still talking about dishes right?

 

[Jake_E]

Anyone have any idea how long it would take the concrete to fully cure in an environment like that?

Not looking at doing anything nearly as large as what he's talking about, but I'm curious how long it would take.

 

[Hermitman]

Technically, it takes about 28 days for concrete to reach nearly full strength. However, it does gain most of it's strength in much less time. I remove the supports that hold the pole plumb after 24 hours and mount the dish after 48 hours. Haven't had any problems with that.

As for using your hands to fill the pole, I would use an alternative. Like it's been mentioned, it's really tough on the hands. I've cut the top section off a large plastic jug and taped it to the top of the pole as a funnel. Then use a bucket or scoop to feed the concrete into the pole, rodding it every once in a while. Have fun.

 

[havenx]

Any city folk here? Heh, I don’t mean to belabor anyone, but just wow! Has anyone ever dug up an old satellite pipe and then cracked the concrete off it so that you could reuse the pipe? If you have I am sure you would have noticed rust. Yes, concrete on metal will rust. I’m not going to explain how corrosion works. So keep in mind that your post will rust from the inside out…. In about 10 years the pipe won’t be near as strong and it will literally break in two. The only time filling a pipe with concrete is acceptable is if it is galvanized, but even then, it will still rust believe it or not… just takes a bit longer.

Rather than rusting the inside of your pipe you might try using some cables. You would need three cables and some clamps. What you would do is tighten the cables on three sides of the pole (top and bottom) with something in the center of your pipe to hold the cables outward so to form an obtuse triangle. The cables stretched down the side of your pipe, from top to bottom, should keep it from swaying. Most farm stores have kits for this. I
I drew a little text diagram down at the bottom, sorry so crude but I could not find a good picture.

/|\
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[starman345]

Sorry to say, but your pole wiggles because it is too high and too small. 3" is not enough to hang a 12 footer on, especially at 13'. Putting guys on it I think would be the best option or bracing to a building if you have one nearby.

 

[bill190]

Food for thought...

Tall buildings have a "tuned mass damper" installed high up to reduce "sway" during windy conditions.

This can be a large weight (and I mean LARGE), or a chamber with fluid in it.

How about this for a high up dish antenna?

Basic info on tuned mass dampers...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tuned_mass_damper

 

[PopcornNMore]

I just filled my 2 3/8" pole last night with concrete using a solo cup. Up the ladder and down the ladder multiple times, but it was worth it.

 

[voomvoom]

I just filled my 2 3/8" pole last night with concrete using a solo cup. Up the ladder and down the ladder multiple times, but it was worth it.

Not only was it worth it, you must have lost 10-15 pounds while going up and down that ladder? Not to mention, anytime you work with cement, it's a real workout! Probably the hardest type work I've ever encountered?

Al