Post about posts

[northgeorgia]

Posts for C-band dishes that is! Well, I am considering buying a 10-foot Tek2000 dish, as I hear their quality of dishes has improved, but paying nearly $250 for a pole (after shipping) seems rather steep. The outer diameter of these poles are 4.5 inches and about 7 1/2 feet tall. However, on their website, I found this message before they started selling the pole masts:

"The best place to purchase your steel post is at your local Home Depot, Lowes or hardware store. They sell post sizes ranging from 7ft-10ft in length with a 3 inch diameter. They are located in the construction/masonry isle and are marketed as mono posts or jack posts and manufactured by Akron Products (www.akronproducts.com). They are perfect for installing a C-Band dish and the cost is only $40-$60 depending on the length. You will need to remove the foot plate from these posts and you may wish to spray paint the post black or grey to match your dish (original color is red)."

What are your thoughts of using this floor jack post as a in-ground mount?

 

[Brct203]

well, a 3in ID post is no substitute for a 4.5 in OD post... As far as thickness, Lowes mentions 11 gauge. I'm not sure how that compare to a Schedule 80 galvanized pipe. Last but not least, the corrosion protection on those pipes might not be as good as a galvanized pipe.
I like the idea though, so probably worth looking into it a bit more.

 

[ancient]

The outer diameter of these poles are 4.5 inches and about 7 1/2 feet tall.

Seriously, that large? Every 10 foot C-band dish I have ever come across uses a 3½" outer diameter pole. But whatever it is, you want to match the outer diameter of the pole to the inner diameter of the mount as closely as possible, making sure it's not too large. You cannot use a smaller or larger pole with good results, so if I were you I'd wait until I'd actually received the dish and measure the inner diameter of the mount so you have some idea of what you actually need (unless some other member of this forum has that dish and can definitely say what the pole diameter is). 4.5 inches isn't totally unheard of but you typically find them on larger or heavier dishes, for example I can believe a 10 foot fiberglass dish or a 12 foot mesh dish might take that large of a pole diameter, but for a 10 foot mesh dish that would be kind of rare. At the same time, 3 inches would be on the small side and you'd be kind of hard pressed to adjust for the slack, not saying it's impossible but it will be a lot easier if the pole size more closely matches the mount size.

I have had the best luck getting poles at a nearby scrap metal yard. 3½" seems to be a common size of thick-walled pipe and once I even found a new-ish looking galvanized pipe in that size. Most of the ones I have found have a light to moderate coating of rust, and I just take that off with a wire brush drill attachment, and then spray it down with Rust-Oleum Rust Reformer (or Rusty Metal Primer if they were out of the Rust Reformer), followed by a coating of black spray paint. I don't worry about the inside much because that will be covered by the dish mount on the top, so it should stay mostly dry. The biggest problem is getting one the right length; I prefer to get one that is 10 feet long or even a bit longer, but for smaller dishes (7½ feet or less) I've made do with a 8 foot (or even slightly shorter). The shorter the pole the more concrete you should use to hold it in place, but unless you live in hurricane territory or have exceptionally liquid soil you probably don't need to go hog wild; I've never used more that five or six bags of concrete in a hole (I know some people will disagree about that but I have never had a problem). The other thing I do is take a sledge hammer and TRY to flatten the pole slightly where it will be covered by concrete; this will help prevent it from turning in the wind although again I have never found that to be a problem (but we don't have hurricanes or floods here). Of course if you have access to a welder, feel free to weld some scrap metal to the pole to provide resistance to turning. Some scrapyard poles are so thick that you will have to beat them several times to make a dent.

For an 8 to 10 foot pole the scrapyard has always charged me $15. They determine this by weighing the pole on their scale. But generally the scales at those places don't work for a single pole so they may ask you to stand on the scale with the pole, then put the pole down (off the scale) and then they will just weigh you and subtract to get the difference. A couple times they started at $20 but if I mentioned that the last time I got one it was $15 they always took that.

I don't doubt that you could find a jackpost somewhat close to the size you need, once you know that size, but I suspect it will cost you a lot more and then more than likely you'll need to remove the square plate at one end (or just unscrew the part that screws in, which will cost you precious length). So unless there are no metal scrap yards within reasonable driving distance, I'd try the scrap yard route first, chances are you'll find something more suitable.

 

[Magic Static]

My first AJAK mount had been modified for a 4" OD pole from 3 1/2". I managed to find a full stick (21') of 4 1/2" OD Well Casing. $60 From a store that recycles building materials and leftovers from construction jobs. So I modded the AJAK again to that size. Metal dealers want about $250 for a full stick of 4" ( 4-1/2" OD) schedule 40 pipe, About $200 for the 3" (3-1/2"OD). Schedule 80 is way expensive and overkill and my second AJAK sits on a short piece of Schedule 80 2-1/2" pipe I found cheap with a piece of schedule 40 3" sleeved over the top end.
Think outside the box Any kind of structure that can support the weight of the dish may be used. Only the top piece that the mount fits has to be straight and level.

 

[northgeorgia]

I've placed the order for the dish, as they claim prices will increase soon. Still listening in to your thoughts.

 

[. Raine]

I tried using one of those red jack posts on a 10' dish here and a strong wind bent it right over. I wouldn't use one of those, they're very thin gauge metal.

 

[northgeorgia]

I'm guessing two of these connected together would be a bad idea because of the weakness at the connection? I also wonder if the gauge is too thin and/or the composition of the material isn't as strong. Shop Selkirk 4-in x 60-in Galvanized Pipe at Lowes.com

 

[Magic Static]

I'm guessing two of these connected together would be a bad idea because of the weakness at the connection? I also wonder if the gauge is too thin and/or the composition of the material isn't as strong. Shop Selkirk 4-in x 60-in Galvanized Pipe at Lowes.com

Well considering that is used for a duct on a gas appliance, I would say it has as much strength as an aluminum can.

 

[northgeorgia]

Well considering that is used for a duct on a gas appliance, I would say it has as much strength as an aluminum can.

Oh, true. Cursed late night browsing. Probably the aluminum can has more strength!
Hmmm, it's harder that I thought to find a good sturdy post at a reasonable price.

 

[Magic Static]

Oh, true. Cursed late night browsing. Probably the aluminum can has more strength!
Hmmm, it's harder that I thought to find a good sturdy post at a reasonable price.

True, but you can make it easier by adjusting your "reasonable price".

 

[. Raine]

If there's a scrap yard or a welding shop nearby you, you could probably find some suitable pipe there.

I picked up a nice 15-20' or so piece of pipe, cement anchors and steel pieces to make a base this past summer at a scrap yard for $38, for the 7.5' dish I picked up last summer.

 

[Magic Static]

Years ago I used to be able to go to the metal recycling yard and pick through the pile and buy scrap for pennies a pound. But OSHA put a stop to that. But as Raine said, visit with a welding shop. Show them a picture of the mast that TEK2000 sells and ask them if they could come up with something like that for your price. It doesn't have to be pretty. I'll bet a lot of these guys have scrap enough on hand to whip something together cheap.

 

[Gray Hair]

This might be considered:
Courtesy of Greg Mueller

"Mounting pipe for Primestar....

In case you did not get the pipe with your Primestar and need one...
I just bought a 3" OD x .120" Wall x 6' L ASTM A513 ERW Welded Mechanical Steel Round Tube at a place called Fastenal for $57 and change (including tax) new.
I guess Fastenal is a national chain so you might be able to find one in your area.

3" OD x .120" Wall x 6' L ASTM A513 ERW Welded Mechanical Steel Round Tube

Greg
W9WD
#58 Greg Mueller, Jan 15, 2018"

 

[bpalone]

Don't recall if this was mentioned in any of the prior posts or not.

Check with water well drillers in and around your area. They might have a piece of pipe around that will work and not be to proud of it. They may also have some bent DRILL pipe, that they would make a deal on, just need enough straight to work. Also, remember that you can make, or have made, adapter piece to fit the mount. One other thing, drill pipe will be HEAVY.

 

[Arion]

I looked into a post but just went ahead and purchased the one from Tek. I checked all the local suppliers up here and nobody had anything the right size or right length and some of the special order shops where you can have something shipped to you is going to cost you just as much with shipping. Tek's pole comes already painted nicely and with the wings welded on the bottom to prevent the pole from turning under wind load. Sucks that shipping cost as much as the pole itself but it is what it is. Obviously if you can find something local do it but I would rather have a pole the right diameter than especially to use a smaller pole and put the big dish on it. You do get into significant wind loading issues with a 10' and larger dish and you should probably use as big a pole as practical even with a mesh dish. Mine has held up very well so far for my first winter with it.

 

[wvman]

Posts for C-band dishes that is! Well, I am considering buying a 10-foot Tek2000 dish, as I hear their quality of dishes has improved, but paying nearly $250 for a pole (after shipping) seems rather steep. The outer diameter of these poles are 4.5 inches and about 7 1/2 feet tall. However, on their website, I found this message before they started selling the pole masts:

"The best place to purchase your steel post is at your local Home Depot, Lowes or hardware store. They sell post sizes ranging from 7ft-10ft in length with a 3 inch diameter. They are located in the construction/masonry isle and are marketed as mono posts or jack posts and manufactured by Akron Products (www.akronproducts.com). They are perfect for installing a C-Band dish and the cost is only $40-$60 depending on the length. You will need to remove the foot plate from these posts and you may wish to spray paint the post black or grey to match your dish (original color is red)."

What are your thoughts of using this floor jack post as a in-ground mount?

Tubing sizes are ID, not OD. A 4 inch ID pole is actually 4 1/2 diameter when counting the wall thickness on a schedule 40 pipe. The best place to get these is at a place like McJunkin/Redman, a company that supplies the oil and gas industry. The same applies to a 3 1/2 inch diameter pipe used to most dishes. If I were you, I'd allow an additional 3 feet to go in the ground in order to keep your dish high enough to mow under without knocking your head off on the dish.

I don't know how extensive the oil and gas is in Georgia, but I would think there's should be somewhere to get a piece long enough to do what you want. You should not have trouble with the wind bending it. I've never had one to bend in 30 years installing BUD's. If you're afraid of it bending, fill it with concrete when you install it. Places like Home Depot and Lowes has nothing but thin wall stuff.

Mcjunkin Redman Corporation is located at the address 4411 Bibb Blvd in Tucker, Georgia 30084.(770) 493-1754) MRC Global is the parent company.

 

[phlatwound]

This may be a longshot for you but I have gotten 2 nice sat poles that were old-school driveway basketball goals in a former life. One was 3 1/2" OD and the other was 4".

They were both at houses and the backboards and rims were totally trashed so I stopped and asked if the owners would like them to disappear, they said yes and POOF, they were gone.

Cut both of them off with a fire axe and then poured the pipe that was in the ground full of sackrete.

You could also use an abrasive blade or portable bandsaw to cut them if you don't have access to a torch.

 

[northgeorgia]

I looked into a post but just went ahead and purchased the one from Tek. I checked all the local suppliers up here and nobody had anything the right size or right length and some of the special order shops where you can have something shipped to you is going to cost you just as much with shipping. Tek's pole comes already painted nicely and with the wings welded on the bottom to prevent the pole from turning under wind load. Sucks that shipping cost as much as the pole itself but it is what it is. Obviously if you can find something local do it but I would rather have a pole the right diameter than especially to use a smaller pole and put the big dish on it. You do get into significant wind loading issues with a 10' and larger dish and you should probably use as big a pole as practical even with a mesh dish. Mine has held up very well so far for my first winter with it.

Thanks, Arion. I've come to the same conclusion. I appreciated all the great ideas offered, but this seemed to be the most practical (albeit pricey) solution with my work schedule and all. Thanks!

 

[Jason S]

One more suggestion, Redstone Corral & Cattle Equipment in Winder, GA is a GoBob Pipe & Steel dealer.

 

[northgeorgia]

One more suggestion, Redstone Corral & Cattle Equipment in Winder, GA is a GoBob Pipe & Steel dealer.

View attachment 131591 View attachment 131590

Although I've just purchased the TEK2000 one, that location is local and has reasonably priced ones! But I don't regret it for my first install. I know my dad and brother will mock me to start with, but they may quickly become jealous and decide to get a dish put up, too. Good to know about Redstone for the future!