Best Mast Pipe

[Brain the Dog]

I will soon install my A99 with Ground Plane Kit. I need a mast pipe that will be 36-feet tall. It will be cemented into the ground, bracketed to side of house, and appropriately grounded. About 10 feet of the pipe will extend beyond the roof line, with the A99 antenna on top of that. I'm not sure if I need to use guy wires for that portion above the roof.... ??

Anyway, I'm thinking Schedule 80 pipe at 1.5 inch diameter will be plenty strong.

Where do I get such pipe? A local metal manufacturer wants to charge me $1,800 for such a pipe!

Do you have any other recommendations for such a pipe?

 

[PA629]

How about two 21ft. sections of chain-link fence top rail?

https://www.lowes.com/pd/Galvanized...-in-x-21-ft-Actual-1-66-in-x-21-ft/1000005096

 

[Captain Kilowatt]

How about two 21ft. sections of chain-link fence top rail?

https://www.lowes.com/pd/Galvanized...-in-x-21-ft-Actual-1-66-in-x-21-ft/1000005096

Good call. If the mast is secured at the bottom and near the top then it does not need to be heavy like schedule 80. That is WAY overkill. Years ago I had about 14 feet of unsupported 2 inch black iron water pipe with a Wilson Shooting Star on it above the house. It survived more than a couple hurricane force nor'easters.

 

[Brain the Dog]

Good call. If the mast is secured at the bottom and near the top then it does not need to be heavy like schedule 80. That is WAY overkill. Years ago I had about 14 feet of unsupported 2 inch black iron water pipe with a Wilson Shooting Star on it above the house. It survived more than a couple hurricane force nor'easters.

Do you reckon Schedule 40 water galvanized water pipe will be sufficient?

 

[Captain Kilowatt]

If it was 2 inch sure. 1 1/2 inch no idea. Never used anything that small before.

 

[Paul-W5lz]

Chain-link fence top rail will only hold so much. It was never made to do that sort of supporting, so why expect it to? The heavier the 'sidewalls' the more sideways pressure a pipe can take. Schedule 40 steel pipe would be the minimum I'd consider if there's going to be much 'wind-load' on it. I sure believe in beig 'frugal' but there are limits...

 

[Captain Kilowatt]

To be honest I am not sure the wall thickness of schedule 40 pipe. My reference files including that one are on my laptop at home. I am currently on vacation on Grand Manan Island and too lazy to Google that info.

 

[Troubleshooter]

I will soon install my A99 with Ground Plane Kit. I need a mast pipe that will be 36-feet tall. It will be cemented into the ground, bracketed to side of house, and appropriately grounded. About 10 feet of the pipe will extend beyond the roof line, with the A99 antenna on top of that. I'm not sure if I need to use guy wires for that portion above the roof.... ??

Anyway, I'm thinking Schedule 80 pipe at 1.5 inch diameter will be plenty strong.

Where do I get such pipe? A local metal manufacturer wants to charge me $1,800 for such a pipe!

Do you have any other recommendations for such a pipe?

I got 2 2" 10 foot pipes and a 1" 10 foot pipe from my plumbing supply house.. There is a thread with pics of my setup and a discussion. I made a sleeve out of 3" pipe with nuts welded to the sleeve, it slips over the reducer that goes from 2" to 1" pipe.. I am in the process though of raising it another 10-12 feet.. But here are a few pics to give you an idea.

 

[Brain the Dog]

Good call. If the mast is secured at the bottom and near the top then it does not need to be heavy like schedule 80. That is WAY overkill. Years ago I had about 14 feet of unsupported 2 inch black iron water pipe with a Wilson Shooting Star on it above the house. It survived more than a couple hurricane force nor'easters.

Do you reckon Schedule 40 water galvanized water pipe will be sufficient?

Chain-link fence top rail will only hold so much. It was never made to do that sort of supporting, so why expect it to? The heavier the 'sidewalls' the more sideways pressure a pipe can take. Schedule 40 steel pipe would be the minimum I'd consider if there's going to be much 'wind-load' on it. I sure believe in beig 'frugal' but there are limits...

What do you think about this: Using Schedule 40 pipe the whole way up. But for the 10' portion that extends beyond the roof, insert a another Schedule 40 pipe INSIDE the main one. Plug-weld or bolt it in place. Do you reckon that would be an acceptable way to beef up the pipe?

Below that 10' foot section, the rest of the pipe would be bracketed to the side of the house and cemented into the ground

 

[Troubleshooter]

Do you reckon Schedule 40 water galvanized water pipe will be sufficient?

What do you think about this: Using Schedule 40 pipe the whole way up. But for the 10' portion that extends beyond the roof, insert a another Schedule 40 pipe INSIDE the main one. Plug-weld or bolt it in place. Do you reckon that would be an acceptable way to beef up the pipe?

Below that 10' foot section, the rest of the pipe would be bracketed to the side of the house and cemented into the ground

Schedule 40 is what I used, I posted pics in the above response.. Like I said I am in the process of raising it up another 10-12 feet, and that is exactly what I am going to do.. I am going to remove the sleeve and drop the pipes 2-3 feet inside one another and cross bolt them... Good luck and let us know how you make out or if you have any other questions..

 

[bob85]

don't you guys have aluminum builders scaffold poles & joints over there,

ours are 48.5mm x 4mm wall, usually up to 22ft long with two bolt sleeve connectors,
lighter than galvanized scaffold, more flexible and plenty strong enough for any cb vertical without guying up to about 35ft

the poles & joints cb shops sell here are are a joke.

 

[Brain the Dog]

don't you guys have aluminum builders scaffold poles & joints over there,

ours are 48.5mm x 4mm wall, usually up to 22ft long with two bolt sleeve connectors,
lighter than galvanized scaffold, more flexible and plenty strong enough for any cb vertical without guying up to about 35ft

the poles & joints cb shops sell here are are a joke.

Where do you get such stuff? Any stores online?

 

[bob85]

I am in the UK, scaffold is used everywhere over here by builders from domestic housing to power stations,

its popular with cber's because its much stronger than 2" thin wall & connectors from a ham/cb shop, usually less expensive & easier to find,

scaffold suppliers often sell new & used galvanised steel or aluminium tube & fittings,

http://www.scaffoldingsupplies.co.uk/products/scaffold-tube.html

what do builders use in the USA ?

 

[HomerBB]

Never sern the scaffold poles here. Aluminum is pretty expensive here.
If one is determined to use heavy gauge pipe, then try for used oilfield tubing from a steel yard. Dirt cheap here.
Otherwise, EMT from a DIY store like Home Depot is relatively inexpensive and sturdy.
I can get around 35' total extended feet of either for <$40.
BTW, oilgield flow line tubing runs in various lengths from ~27' to ~35'.

 

[Marconi]

I have used 4' foot sections like shown here that stack.

They are heavy wall cast aluminum and have available military surplus supplies that are used to support and guy the sections up to about 36' feet maybe.

https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_fr...ntenna+masts.TRS0&_nkw=antenna+masts&_sacat=0