How to make a 12' to 15' light post?

[Rock Crawler]

I purchased some solar LED 300W street lights to place along my driveway. What I did not think of was how to get a post to mount them to. I saw some Youtube videos where people tried 4x4 posts and they said that a 16' 4x4 stuck 3' into the ground with concrete swayed like the dickens in wind with these lights mounted.

I have tried Amazon and Google to find say 12'-18' steel posts, but my fail has been consistent and enduring.

Do any of you folks have an idea for an affordable and functional street light posts?

The lights I ordered:

300W Solar Street Light, 2 Light Set Motion Sensor Dusk to Dawn 15000LM Solar Lights Outdoor with Remote Control

 

[MossRoad]

How about a 6x6?

 

[Mendonsy]

Maybe your local power company might have some left over or reclaimed power poles you could get a deal on??

 

[Diggin It]

I've come up with a couple of old utility poles. Cut to 20' above ground and whatever you want 2, 3, 4 feet below ground. Auger or dig the hole, use the FEL to stand them up, backfill the hole.

I mount a big U hook and a pulley to the top and string steel cable before I set them upright. Then use 1" EMT conduit to mount the lamp unit itself. Rig up a hinge at the bottom and use the cable to hoist it into place. Makes it easy to pull down for service later.

They ain't purdy though if you're going for appearance.

How are the four mounting holes in that bracket spaced? Will they take a U bolt to go around the conduit?

 

[crashz]

A quick Google search revealed this site:

Light Poles - Light Pole Products for Sale | Made in USA | LightMart.com

LightMart.com specializes in commercial lighting poles. Street light poles, steel lighting poles, aluminum lighting poles, light pole brackets, and more!

www.lightmart.com

Not cheap, but professional grade stuff.

 

[ROUSTABOUT]

Get some 2 3/8" pipe. Cut an 8' piece to concrete in ground. Blow a 3/4" hole @ 5' or so, cross ways both sides. Then you can take a 20' piece and blow holes cross ways at @ 5'. Put a bolt through it and use as a hinge. Then you can let it down to fiddle with the light if you need to. In 1978 we set a 65' antenna at our house. It has two pipes on bottom with one hinging in the middle. It's still there. We'd tie it to the truck bumper to work on it, using the truck to let down and stand it up. It had a rotator on it that needed attention periodically. We'd let it down on a 6' ladder to keep antenna off the ground. We could get ABC, CBS, NBC, PBS, and Super 7 out of Little Rock. That was big time back in them days. Considering 20 miles from here is Louisiana.

 

[tfuller]

You live in Pittsburgh it shouldn't be very hard to find a steel supplier local to you. They should have steel pipe available and may even have someone on site that can fabricate any mounting points or wire access holes you need.

 

[Diggin It]

^^^ You haven't seen the price of pipe lately, have you?


Although, maybe a scrap yard might have a few pieces of round or square tubing in a long enough lengths. I got a 16' piece of 1" round bar for $10 not too long ago.

 

[ljjhouser]

Many years ago, I was doing some radio tower work. The owner wanted a horizontal antenna mounted on a 5" pipe mast.
He got the pipe from a fencing company. It was galvanized 5". They might have 3". That pipe was 20 or 21 feet in length. And steel is high today, but so is everything else. Don't know it that would work for what you wanted. I have a camera mounted on a wooding beam I built and stood up - 18 feet. It is hard to work on that camera, unless you have room to use the tractor bucket to get at it.

 

[MossRoad]

Many years ago, I was doing some radio tower work. The owner wanted a horizontal antenna mounted on a 5" pipe mast.
He got the pipe from a fencing company. It was galvanized 5". They might have 3". That pipe was 20 or 21 feet in length. And steel is high today, but so is everything else. Don't know it that would work for what you wanted. I have a camera mounted on a wooding beam I built and stood up - 18 feet. It is hard to work on that camera, unless you have room to use the tractor bucket to get at it.

Fencing posts might not be a bad idea. A friend of mine and I built a little league diamond and we used something like that for the backstops. They had nice caps available, too.

 

[MossRoad]

Fencing posts might not be a bad idea. A friend of mine and I built a little league diamond and we used something like that for the backstops. They had nice caps available, too.

As I recall, we got ours from a fence company that would give the little league a discount. I'd start looking at a fence company, not box stores.

 

[Raul-02]

Do any of you folks have an idea for an affordable and functional street light posts?

Bakert or Kencove? They have Steel Fencing supplies

 

[Tinhack]

Those lights are nearly four foot long and probably stuffed with batteries. I think you'll need utility poles.

 

[Diggin It]

Listing says:

Item Weight​	‎17.96 pounds
Package Dimensions​	‎31 x 16.7 x 6.3 inches

The post is another 20" though>

 

[Raul-02]

The lights I ordered:

300W Solar Street Light, 2 Light Set Motion Sensor Dusk to Dawn 15000LM Solar Lights Outdoor with Remote Control

I'd like to see a video of them working. I ordered a solar outdoor light and it was underwhelming.

 

[grsthegreat]

ive never had luck with any solar light working past a year or two. my arena lights are 1000 w metal halide. i simply purchased 4 25' treated utility poles from a local company. they are wood, and back then about 1/3 rd the cost of steel. today a steel light standard would need a loan. prices are out of the world.

 

[grsthegreat]

do a google search




post and pole (in your state or location)

 

[John0829]

We have many solar lights, get for not having to run electric lines and they put out a nice bright light. When they quit working usually it is just a matter of replacing the battery. Some are over 10 years old and still going strong, just not with the OEM battery.

 

[BnRidge]

You could do like the local county park guys did a few years ago. Several park entrances were graced by a very nicely warped like a boomerang stack of 2x6's, stacked, nailed together, and installed, with a nice street light at the top. After about 2 yrs the light at the top was about 10ft off the ground, warped over, on a 20ft pole. Apparently couldn't get good help at the time.

 

[LD1]

two things come to mind

1. Our local power company gives poles away. When they replace poles, if you are the property owner you can request they be left. Alot of people dont want them but think they can make a buck so they sell them on c-list or market place. But the ones they take back to the yard....are free they just ask for a donation. Maybe things have changed....but thats how its always been.

2. TV antenna tower. The triangle 3-leg kind. They are pretty rigid. But with alot of people going to cable/dish/streaming..not many people use the towers anymore but they also dont take the time and/or pay someone to remove them. Drive around your neighborhood. See if anyone as a tower they arent using and offer to remove.