Quick Question - Pole in Bucket?

[iafirebuff]

Good morning all! Well, just got back from Home Depot, and bought a 5 gallon bucket, a 50lb bag of cement and a 6' 2 3/8" fence post. Now here is my question: To me, the 5 gallon bucket looks too small to be able to hold up a Primestar dish. I had planned on trimming the post down to 4' height. Can anyone confirm if a 5 gallon bucket with cement will hold up this size of a dish? Thanks! I just wanted to wait before having a bicket full of cement go to waste

 

[PSB]

I have severe doubts, I have a 5 gallon bucket here full of cement with DirecTV Phase III on it. Its very unstable.

I reckon you would need double the size of bucket and more cement. Above all the dish will have to be VERY low, just above the height of the bucket and no more for real stability!

After the cement had dried I would top off the bucket with some potting soil and plant some nice flowers around the base of the dish. This should brighten it up, and help with the "wife factor"

 

[iafirebuff]

Thanks! That is what I was thinking! I think I will wait for my lnbs to show up this week, and then go around my yard and see where I can hide it I have a spot behind my house, but it would be about 6-8' from the side of my house. The height in that part of my house roof is about 11-12', so not sure if I would have the LOS I need. Thanks again, you saved me from wasting my supplies

 

[PSB]

The height in that part of my house roof is about 11-12', so not sure if I would have the LOS I need

Here is one sure way to find out before you go to all that bother...........

http://www.bjupress.com/services/bjhomesat/tech_support/obstacle.html

Just enter the elevation to the satellite you are after and the hieght of the building you are trying to clear!

Not so bad with a bucket, if it does not work you can drag it elsewhere in the yard!

 

[iafirebuff]

Thats a great tool, thanks!

 

[sikma]

I've got 2 P* dishes in buckets right now.............never had a problem, although I almost never have a wind issue.

 

[iafirebuff]

You have them in 5 gallon buckets? And about how tall is your pipe? Thanks

I've got 2 P* dishes in buckets right now.............never had a problem, although I almost never have a wind issue.

 

[sikma]

The pipes are about 2 feet above the rim of each bucket. Also keep in mind that my P* dishes are 36" ones, not the 40" or the round 4-footers.

 

[i4tas]

poll in bucket works, just like you described. I had a superdish in a bucket, and it worked fine. Later i dug a hole and hid the bucket, looks great and is easier and is removable!

In certain situations this is the perfect solution.

 

[iafirebuff]

I just measured the Primestar and it is 40" across. So, if I had the pole about 2' above the bucket, I wonder what if any problems I might have? Down low like that, I wonder if it would be ok?

 

[W_Tracy_Parnell]

poll in bucket works, just like you described. I had a superdish in a bucket, and it worked fine. Later i dug a hole and hid the bucket, looks great and is easier and is removable!

In certain situations this is the perfect solution.

That's a good idea! I used the "pole in a bucket" for my testing and when I was done I still had a "pole in a bucket" taking up space. I wish I would have bought a TPod instead-at least then I would have something I could hang on a wall in my shed. I don't know if it would hold a Primestar dish though:

http://www.satelliteguys.us/showthread.php?t=35456

 

[iafirebuff]

I am not sure what to do now. I think I will wait a doy or 2 until the lnbs get here, then throw one on the primestar, and go around the yard to see where I get a signal from, then put the pole in the ground there. I am afraid the primestar is just too big for a 5 gallon bucket. Thanks all for the tips!!

 

[MikeI]

I bought 2 of the big pots that Home Depot sells for 2 of my dishes. I have 2 Fortec meter dishes in both of them. They cost about $50.00. On the bottom. I bought a roller with wheels for the pot to sit on incase I move it around. SBS 6 dish gets moved to AMC 6 and the AMC 2 dish either goes to AMC 3 or AMC 5. To work around the trees, I have to move the dishes on the patio for these birds. The pots will break apart if you drag them, so I bought the roller on wheels. It fits perfectly on the bottom of the pot. You will need 2 people to place the pot on the rollers before you put the cement and water in the pot.

 

[iafirebuff]

Sounds pretty slick! Heavy too

 

[MikeI]

I used one bag of cement and the hose to mix it. After a week or so, I put mulch about 4-6 inches deep and then planted plants. All the plants still doing well even in this hot summer here in California.

 

[PSB]

I used one bag of cement and the hose to mix it. After a week or so, I put mulch about 4-6 inches deep and then planted plants. All the plants still doing well even in this hot summer here in California.

Any pictures Mike? Sounds NICE!

 

[partyharty]

I used a 5 gallon bucket (but as soon as I saw how tiny a base it made vs. my direcpc dish I decided to go different).

I got a 20 gallon "play" bucket. It is a big (blue) plastic bucket with rope handles (that you can usually find in either the yard supplies or mabey even the kids area).

I have more pictures up at my site www.chrisrowland.com however at the moment the site is down (due to a problem with the hosting provider, I have emails in to them so it should be up later today).

Anyways with a bag and a half of cement in it (120lbs) I have yet to have it move at all. Also have had no problems with it moving (we have had 20-40 mph winds with storms and no movement whatsoever). The Rope handles are also very convenient whenever one has to drag it (you will not pick it up :>) across the yard to reposition the dish.

I also drilled small holes so that the water (rain) will drain from the dish. The first time it stormed I had about 8 inches of water in the thing (it's positioned next to a runoff point for the house). We are planning on planting flowers around it (we thought about ivy of some sort and letting it climb up the pole but I decided I didnt want to have to work to keep it cut back).

Pics are below.
The first pic is the dish mounted in a 5 gallon bucket (with the 20 in the background)
2nd is the 20 gallon -w- dish (how it is currently setup).
3rd is dish mounted in the 5 gallon (very top heavy).

 

[iafirebuff]

Great pics! I will look into the bigger bucket. I might just put it in the ground and be done with it

 

[partyharty]

In the ground is the best, however I have quite a few tree's that "could" cause problems when they bloom out so it is nice to be able to move it if it becomes necessary. Also since FTA is our only source of tv (other than 3 ota network stations) anything that keeps it from going down for a long period of time is a plus (and with my schedule, waiting for me to dig a hole, concrete it in, etc would probably take a while).

With the pole-in-a-big bucket all I have to do is move it, and sight it in (a 10 minute procedure (tops)).

 

[iafirebuff]

That is a neat idea I might make one oout of the bucket I go, have it down low, then find out where in my yard I want it. Then I can keep the bucket mount and use it on a smaller dish.