tall pole mount install help

Hart5150

SatelliteGuys Pro
Original poster
Feb 27, 2004
3,273
159
Temple, Pa
I am going to finish up an install and I need to mount a 61.5 dish 300 atleast 6ft off the ground. I am going to buy a 12' fence pole at home depot. Exactly how do I cement this into the ground? How far down do I have to dig?
 
If you want to avoid problems with heaving, dig below the frost line use a concrete footing form then add "quickrete" and you can forget about ever having to tinker with it.

If you don't mind re-peaking each spring, go as shallow as it will hold the dish.

Watch out for underground utilities.

Eddie
 
I just installed one.

Its 5 1/2 feet above ground and 3 feet below ground. I went to the local plumbing shop and bought galvanized water pipe. It's thicker than the standard steel fence post. (and a whole lot more expensive) I drilled 1/4 inch holes in the bottom and stuck 6" long 1/4 inch bolts to keep the post from spinning in the concrete. Make sure you hole is deep enough to go below freeze line.

Gray1
 
If you're using a line post, paltten one end with a hammer and mix the conctrete before you plant the pole, this way you have some concrete insiade the pole and with the pole being "squared" in the ground it won't spin on you.
 
I would seriously get some Gas line or something more thicker than a fence post!

Seriously, we use Fence posts in all of our installs and when the customers don't pay I literally go to the customers homes and rip out the pole from the ground with my bare hands.

Its not an issue when we install 3 feet off the ground, but at 6 feet there is too much leverage!
 
Line posts work just fine for a dish and if buried 30 inches with concrete your not going to rip them out with your hands.
 
I think the most important point is to make sure there's something to keep the post from spinning in the ground. One easy method is to drill a hole in the pole and insert a piece of rebar. Once it's buried it can't turn and it can't be pulled out either. I've also seen the end simply bent over itself.
 
dishjockey said:
Line posts work just fine for a dish and if buried 30 inches with concrete your not going to rip them out with your hands.
This is my 2 cents:

http://www.satelliteguys.us/vbgarage.php?do=view&id=3788

Unfazed by Hurricanes Ivan and Dennis--hole is 3 feet in diameter, 4 1/2 feet deep, 2 sch 40 3 1/2" OD galvanized 10' long conduits end to end coupled together with concrete inside full 20' length with 2 rebars through pipe inside concrete--holds the 10' Orbitron C/Ku 16' in the air plus the pizza pan dishes. I can't rip that out with my hands either.
 
My current dish is mounted on a 5' 2 3/8" fence pole. It is about 18" in the ground ans 3 1/2' out of the ground. It isn't rock solid, but it's holding up a LOT more weight than a dish 300. This being said I wouldn't go for it 6' out of the ground.

I just bought a 5' mesh (small BUD) and bought the supplies for planting it.

A 10' 2" schedule 40 galvinized pipe is only about $35 @home depot (vs $13-$20 for a fence post) and I think it's a good investment. It's the same 2 3/8" Outside diameter as the fence post and WAY stronger. For added strength I plan on filling the pole with Cement.

If you don't want any problems, I'd go for the galvinized pipe. Either way concider filling the pole with cement for added rigidity.

Like mudder said - don' forget to include some means of stopping the pole from rotating.
 
Once I mounted a dish on a 6x6 piece of pressure treated lumber that was 18' tall. 6' of it was below ground. I bolted on two 4' long 2x4s in the North-South direction, and above those two more 2x4s in the east-west direction. Dug a big ass hole and buried all that with 30 bags of concrete.

I'll be able to show my grandkids that install ;)
 
I have you all beat!!

http://www.snakeyez.us/images/satelliteguys/DSC03242.JPG

Yes, this was done by a "professional installer" too. I called ahead and got permission to put the galvanized fence post in the ground (like 3' with concrete) and they told me to go ahead.

They came out a couple of days later and did the rest. One big rusty bolt in the top hole...they didn't have any more rusty bolts to put in the bottom hole. Hence the black zip ties going through the bottom hole and around the post. I don't think this was the correct mount to mount the dish to a pole with....

I added the salmon can to keep the water out of the post. It's a bit rusty now...

The setup works flawlessly....but the installers are no longer in business. Can you imagine? hehe