In a message dated 6/5/2009 5:18:01 P.M. Central Daylight Time,
towertalk-request@contesting.com writes:
> As one of those things I was going to do when I got a 'Round Tuit',
today I started inspecting my guy anchor rods. (Tower is 78' Rohn 45G, three
guy levels; installation 16 years old). I excavated the first rod and found
good news and bad news. The good news is that it is structurally sound
without extensive corrosion. The bad news is that has no galvanizing left and
has a light coat of rust. Does anyone know of cathodic protection appropriate
for ham tower use? I can find commercial systems on the 'net, but they
cost ~2K$.
Hi, Tony --
Good catch on the rod! Dave Leeson, W6QHS, had a commercially
overloaded 45G at his 140 MPH QTH that fell down when the below ground anchor
rod
rusted through. It could've been so easily avoided. Oh well.
I would just treat it like any other tower member - wire brush it off,
primer it and put some good cold galv spray paint on it. A couple of coats for
sure. Just do this every 10 years and that's all you'll ever have to do.
You could also consider a commercial coating that would encapsulate
the anchor rod in the area of interest. Older towers that have lost their
galvanizing are sometimes epoxied - another long lasting product. The key here
is surface prep. Use TSP (there's another one - some sort of solvent I
think) and just do an over-engineering-type job on it and you're good to go.
(You do know how to over-engineer, don't you Tony?) (Just kidding. Tony is a
very good and intuitive engineering type.)
Don't have anything to share about the cathodic protection and I'm
sure you're right about the price.
Cheers & GL,
Steve K7LXC
TOWER TECH
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