Setting the pole

[4311wade]

Team,
The steel for my C band satellite dishes main 3 1/2 inch ID pole will be delivered tomorrow. When setting in concrete Should the mast be installed perfectly plum or should it favor the Opposite side of the load from the polar mount and dish Slightly?
thanks,

 

[phlatwound]

Perfectly plumb.

 

[4311wade]

Perfectly plumb.

Thank you!

 

[RimaNTSS]

Should the mast be installed perfectly plum or......

Sure, it is better to concrete it plumb. But, unfortunately, when you hang the antenna on the plumbness will, most likely, be gone. So, I would say, it is much better to have possibility to adjust the plumbness of the pole after concrete is cured.

 

[stecle]

Team,
The steel for my C band satellite dishes main 3 1/2 inch ID pole will be delivered tomorrow. When setting in concrete Should the mast be installed perfectly plum or should it favor the Opposite side of the load from the polar mount and dish Slightly?
thanks,

If your pipe is moving when you install the dish, you aren't using the correct pipe or enough concrete. The pipe should be schedule 40.

 

[4311wade]

If your pipe is moving when you install the dish, you aren't using the correct pipe or enough concrete. The pipe should be schedule 40.

Thanks,
I did order schedule 40 pipe. The hole will be 4 feet deep and 12 inches in diameter.

 

[Comptech]

Set it plumb and deep. As said schedule 40 pipe will not move on a good base. Have a way to tie it off to make sure it stays plumb. Rope to trees, anything that will hold it in place. Also what I find works here in hard clay is to go in with hand tools and mushroom the bottom of the hole out

 

[Comptech]

Make your concrete soupy, and let it cure for a week. If you really want stability, make a batch of extra soupy and pour it down the pipe.

 

[4311wade]

Make your concrete soupy, and let it cure for a week. If you really want stability, make a batch of extra soupy and pour it down the pipe.

Thanks,
I was concerning putting two 2 inch holes in the pipe one at one foot off the bottom of the hole and one at two feet off the bottom of the hole so the concrete can flow into the pipe.

 

[primestar31]

Thanks,
I was concerning putting two 2 inch holes in the pipe one at one foot off the bottom of the hole and one at two feet off the bottom of the hole so the concrete can flow into the pipe.

NO, do not do it that way!

Drill a hole about 1ft up from the bottom, place a long bolt or all-thread all the way through, that hangs out a few inches on each side. Once the cement sets up, that keeps the pole from possibly spinning in the cement due to extreme wind load.

Here's what I did on my last dish install, in 2018, quote from an older post:

Last year I put up a 7.5ft SAMI dish. I used an 11' pole, 4 feet in the ground, 18" hole at top of ground, oval cut on one side, and belled out at the bottom. 1 bag of gravel leveled in the bottom for ground water drainage, and a heavy metal plate in the center that the pole sits on before pouring cement (so it can't sink) I used 980 POUNDS of cement. I mixed it, and did this all by hand, AND I had a broken rib at the time!
You can read my thread (further in for C-band install as I wasn't sure if my new property could work for satellite reception) for ideas if you like. I installed my first C-band dish in 1984, and this one is my 6th C-band dish install from 1984 - 2018. I'll take "Name that satellite" for $500 please! HELP!

 

[Comptech]

What you want more than anything is to cut the pipe at a angle, or drill though it and but a rod through it so it can not turn in the concrete.

 

[4311wade]

NO, do not do it that way!

Drill a hole about 1ft up from the bottom, place a long bolt or all-thread all the way through, that hangs out a few inches on each side. Once the cement sets up, that keeps the pole from possibly spinning in the cement due to extreme wind load.

Here's what I did on my last dish install, in 2018, quote from an older post:

Thank you for sharing

 

[4311wade]

Thank you for sharing

Thank you for sharing

I have two 4 inch by 4 inch by 1/4 inch thick fins one for each side of the pipe to keep the mast from spinning in the concrete after welded in place.

 

[4311wade]

Thank you all for your input.
I will post pictures as the project moves forward.

 

[armadillo_115]

Make your concrete soupy, and let it cure for a week. If you really want stability, make a batch of extra soupy and pour it down the pipe.

'Soupy' concrete cures weaker than concrete with less water added.

Vibrating or tapping around the pipe with a hammer will remove voids and air pockets.

 

[primestar31]

Make your concrete soupy, and let it cure for a week. If you really want stability, make a batch of extra soupy and pour it down the pipe.

'Soupy' concrete cures weaker than concrete with less water added.

Vibrating or tapping around the pipe with a hammer will remove voids and air pockets.

'dillo is correct. Do NOT make the concrete "soupy". Look at the side of the bag, and use the bare minimum water you need to mix it up and just wet it all. For instance, when I mixed my 80lb bags, I used a hair over 1 gallon of water. That's IT. That's all you need, a maximum of 1-1/4 gallons of water per 80lb bag. Anymore, and you'll compromise the concrete.

After setting and staking the pole completely level and filling the hole slowly around all sides with concrete, you let it dry for a minimum of 5 -7 days before mounting the dish on the pole. Round the top of the concrete slightly higher than ground surface, so rains runs off it and doesn't pool at the pole. I cover the top of the concrete with the empty bags, and soak them damply during the week of curing. You don't want it all to dry too fast.

 

[RimaNTSS]

I will post pictures as the project moves forward.

Yes, pictures are much appreciated.
More than 5 years ago, I made this base for an antenna. It was a deep hole poured with almost 1 ton of concrete. After curing, I used anchor-bolts to attach a piece of thick-walled 140mm OD pipe with 6 welded nuts on it. Now it is possible to install and adjust plumbness of any pipe up to 100mm OD. In addition, I do not have obstacles when moving the grass around.

 

[JFOK]

Hi all,

For better or worse, I’ve always installed my poles on a tripod base. This would allow me to compensate for possible shifts in the ground or concrete base itself and then allow for easier adjustments back to “plumb.”
Never had an issue in the 30 years I‘ve followed this practice.

John

 

[4311wade]

Thank you all for your input.
I will post pictures as the project moves forward.

Yes, pictures are much appreciated.
More than 5 years ago, I made this base for an antenna. It was a deep hole poured with almost 1 ton of concrete. After curing, I used anchor-bolts to attach a piece of thick-walled 140mm OD pipe with 6 welded nuts on it. Now it is possible to install and adjust plumbness of any pipe up to 100mm OD. In addition, I do not have obstacles when moving the grass around.

3 1/2 inch ID schedule 40 mast with 4 inch by 4 inch fins welded in place painted with oil base Rustoleum.

 

[4311wade]

3 1/2 inch ID schedule 40 mast with 4 inch by 4 inch fins welded in place painted with oil base Rustoleum.