Depth of 26' light pole and how to dig it?

[Michael35]

Hello All,

I am a new member and this is my first post. I live in WA State and recently bought my first tractor. A JD 4120 with FEL, Brush Hog and Box Blade. I am currently needing to stand a 8x8 PT 26' pole so I can get internet out here in the boonies.
I think I need a minimum of a 6' hole. I have checked into 2 man augers and such but they only go down to about 4 feet. Does anyone know how I can get a 6' hole without breaking the bank and hiring a utility company?

Thanks in advance for any advice.

Michael E
WA State
JD 4120

 

[vwnotrunning]

Many augers have extension for getting deeper, may check into that. You could also get out the hand post hole diggers and put extensions on the handle!

 

[k0ua]

There are several "rules of thumb" 1/6 of pole. 10% +2 foot. etc. so about 4.5 feet should be suffecient, unless you tell me you are putting up one heck of a wind load on it... What are your historic wind velocities and how many square foot of wind load is the antenna? In general I don't think you need a 6 foot hole.

 

[JPRambo]

10% of height of pole add 2 feet

 

[Mendonsy]

There is another thing you could do (if necessary). Set 4 anchor points in concrete about 5' out on each side and tie them into the pole at about 5' up with steel cable.
Just curious ..... how did you arrive at the 26' height number???

 

[chim]

When I was a young pup working for an electrical contractor I'd sometimes get the task of hand digging for wood poles. Start with a regular long handle round point shovel for a couple feet. Then switch to a manual posthole digger (two handle clamshell type). Then use a digging iron to loosen things up and a "goon spoon" to clean loose stuff as you go deeper.

WHATEVER YOU DO, make certain the diameter of the hole is sufficient all the way to the bottom. I had one misadventure where the pole stopped going down into the hole about 3 feet before it bottomed. The guys seemed pretty upset with me that day. Must not take much to get them flustered.

Oshkosh Tools still sells spoons with handles up to 16 feet long if you get real ambitious!

 

[zzvyb6]

Cut it down to 20'. Then your 4' digger will be OK. :laughing:

 

[weedpharma]

Surely it also depends on the soil type and if you simply drop it in or cement it in. I have a 12m out of the ground steel pole, with 1m in a block .8m sq by about 1m deep cement and rocks. The soil is clay and it isn't going anywhere.

If you are in sand, you could just dig a larger hole and pour cement and rocks around it.

Weedpharma

 

[ace10]

What is your soil like?

Two man augers are not fun in rocky soil or hard pan. Or even hard clay.

If your tractor has hydraulics on the FEL, just rent an auger with an extension for the bit. No back aches. No short cutting the depth.

 

[jenkinsph]

I would call a couple of local electricians to see who they use to stand up temporary poles. It should be cheaper to do than you think and would save you a lot of grief and hard work. Making the hole is a big job but standing up the pole can be difficult too.

 

[Deere Dude]

What about digging a square hole 3x3x3 and putting a tripod antennae mast up and fill with a yard of concrete. Then you can climb up easily, they are stable and those won't move. They are more expensive than poles no doubt, but can be added to if the trees get taller.

 

[jenkinsph]

What about digging a square hole 3x3x3 and putting a tripod antennae mast up and fill with a yard of concrete. Then you can climb up easily, they are stable and those won't move. They are more expensive than poles no doubt, but can be added to if the trees get taller.

What you are describing is something like a Rohn 25G tower available in 10' sections with a concrete base section. I started to suggest this but in reality in a few short years he won't need any of this even in remote areas. Long and short of it, the OP needs a five year fix that is cheap. Someone with a skidsteer and hydraulic auger can do this easily and is what I would suggest. Might cost $200 or so but is the easiest and cheapest way out imo.

 

[AKwelder]

use the FEL to dig low enough for the 2 man auger to go deep enough, set the pole then back fill what you dug out with the FEL

 

[Michael35]

Thanks for all the reply's!
The 26' height was chosen because I have to see a tower up on the mountain and I have to see over some trees in the neighboring property. It is also the tallest size I could haul on my trailer so that's how we arrived at 26'.

 

[Michael35]

AKwelder,

I was thinking about something like that. I didn't know which was more important: depth or undisturbed soil.

 

[Michael35]

That's what my dad would have done. he was a CB guy. I like that idea, I will try my large post first. I am planning on digging the hole today.

 

[Texasmark]

I put in a pole of about that height for my night light. I used my 12" standard auger and let it go as far as it would. Used my FEL to get the pole in the hole; worked great. Then filled hole with concrete. No problems. The use of ground wires as mentioned makes for good insurance.
---------------
Tried the local guys with the towers and too many trees on both ends even though there is a valley between us. Tech has to set up your system and zero your antenna. He has to install it. On a 20' pole?????

Giving up on that I went with the Satellite, more expensive, but no choice on the matter.

Around here we use Excede and Dish (buys service from Excede and uses same equipment and satellites) satellite nets Since we have Dish satellite TV we get a discount for bundling. They are pickey about how/where you mount the antenna. Seems the beam is very narrow and the satellite is 25k or thereabouts miles in space in the synchronus arbit region. A few seconds (degrees, minutes, seconds) of pointing error can completely miss the target. I have a pole mounted and roof mounted. The pole is 2 3/8 tubing in concrete and about 4' off the ground. Excede is on that one and they installed it as Dish did the roof mount. It is in a protected area of the yard and is sturdy.

One of your first problems is getting the tech up the pole to zero it in. Excede uses a tone for zeroing and the guy has to be next to the antenna to hear it.

Down here the looking angle is about 30 or so degrees up in a SW direction. You might do better to cut some trees and install it in the conventional manner. Actually when you get your service, it's a requirement that they install it as they have to go through the hookup software so that the satellite knows that you are down here.

HTH,
Good Luck,
Mark

 

[Michael35]

Mark,

All good points to consider. Thank you for the information.
I am putting the dish on the pole because I am shooting at a tower on the Mountain/hill about 1 mile away. The trees I am trying to clear are on protected land so I doubt I can cut them.
I got the hole dug down to 5' now. I tried standing the pole once already and it fell sideways instead of going in the hole. I need to re-figure my strategy and try again.

Michael

 

[k0ua]

Mark,

All good points to consider. Thank you for the information.
I am putting the dish on the pole because I am shooting at a tower on the Mountain/hill about 1 mile away. The trees I am trying to clear are on protected land so I doubt I can cut them.
I got the hole dug down to 5' now. I tried standing the pole once already and it fell sideways instead of going in the hole. I need to re-figure my strategy and try again.

Michael

Try chaining the pole to the bucket with the opening of the bucket pointed down and resting on the pole with 5 foot sticking back towards the tractor, raise slowly and rotate bucket back and set in hole. Be careful. Chain tightly.

 

[Gordon Gould]

Dig a ramp ditch a little wider than the pole so it goes down into the hole a foot or more. Set your pole so it is over the ramp with the bottom end over the hole. Block up the far end of the pole so it is starting tilt into the ditch. Get two helpers and put a set of guy ropes from the top of the pole one on each side to keep it from tipping sideways on the way up. Get under the far end with the bucket and lift. Work forward, the pole will be against the side of the hole. Dump the bucket so the pole is not on the sharp cutting edge and slides on a smooth part of the bucket. Work the tractor forward til she drops in the hole.