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imsmooth

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Joined: 07/02/2008
Location: United States
Posts: 214

Posted: 03:14am 09 Jun 2008

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I am getting closer to the tower phase and I am coming up with questions to myself each day:

I plan on having sections of pipe. One 3.5" OD for 15'; the other will pivot on top of the first, and the last 5' will be 1.75" OD pipe for mounting the turbine. The lower 15' section will have four guy wires. How does this sound so far?

My soil has a good layer of clay underneath. Should I still use concrete to secure the anchors or will duckbills work? If so, I was going to use a form tube and go about 6' down. Also, I was planning on a concrete pad 6' deep with a hinge mechanism for securing the bottom 15' pole for when I initially raise it. Does my plan sound reasonable?

Hybrid

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Joined: 05/05/2008
Location: Australia
Posts: 19

Posted: 03:38am 09 Jun 2008

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Hi imsmooth. I'm a retired metal worker. Personaly I would use 3" square & 2 1/2" round. Easier to hinge off.
Weld a few bars sideways down near the bottom of the 3" square tube. Cheers !

--Anthony
Petrol FWD & Electric RWD

brucedownunder2
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Joined: 14/09/2005
Location: Australia
Posts: 1548

Posted: 08:29am 09 Jun 2008

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OK ,,I'm ,,, you don't tell us how high the tower willl be ,,but ,,guessing it will be around 50 feet ,, i reckon on 4-5 foot guy anchors and a mast footing around 2 -3 foot square by 3-4 feet
Have a look at my tower footings in the irc picture album and you'll see what i did..

bruce

thats 4 foot deep by 1.5 foot wide and a "deadman" anchor at the bottom ,,,,get back to me if you don't know what a deadman is ,,,,,, Edited by brucedownunder2 2008-06-10

Bushboy

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Joined: 05/05/2008
Location: Australia
Posts: 19

Posted: 09:00am 09 Jun 2008

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Bruce, imsmooth says it's 20' high, not 100'
Ok..I'm blind.. Cheers !

--Anthony
Petrol FWD & Electric RWD

brucedownunder2
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Joined: 14/09/2005
Location: Australia
Posts: 1548

Posted: 09:18am 09 Jun 2008

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OK thanks ,,I'm blind also ...

20 feet high ,,,,I can pi%# that high ------ but serious ,, thats not a big problem around the backyard ,,and I guess he's talking about "around the surburban backyard.

I,m smooth ,,, what you are talking about is maybe ok ,,but check your local council first ,,go for it ,,,my mate

Bruce

Bushboy

imsmooth

Senior Member

Joined: 07/02/2008
Location: United States
Posts: 214

Posted: 02:03pm 09 Jun 2008

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The total tower height is going to be about 30 feet.
15 feet of 3.5" pipe
10 feet of 3" pipe
5 feet of 1.8.75" pipe

Bruce, what is a deadman?

Also, I plan on talking with my township in August about wind generators on residential property (2 acre lots). Any suggestions for my presentation to help them getting the township codes changed to accomodate wind generators?

brucedownunder2
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Joined: 14/09/2005
Location: Australia
Posts: 1548

Posted: 09:56pm 09 Jun 2008

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Hi the "deadman" part of the guy anchor assembly is the horizontal part that attaches to the angle strut that connects to the guy ,,via a turnbuckle.

I dig a trench ,,around 3-4 feet deep (i'm in fairly rocky conditions) and bury the deadman with rocks ,concrete,backfill,,Etc..

Here's a layout of the steelwork before I lowered it down ..

Bushboy

imsmooth

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Joined: 07/02/2008
Location: United States
Posts: 214

Posted: 12:51pm 18 Jun 2008

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I have gone through calculations on the poles and guy wire to make sure they won't fail in high winds looking at moments and loads. With regards to a tilting-style tower (bottom section guyed, top section pivots), I can pick the right guy wire and diameters to handle high winds. My question is how do you know that the weld joints on the pivot on your towers won't fail as the wind pushes against the top section? Do you reinforce the connection with U-bolts?Edited by imsmooth 2008-06-19

brucedownunder2
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Joined: 14/09/2005
Location: Australia
Posts: 1548

Posted: 10:36pm 18 Jun 2008

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Hi IM,,, You'd be wise to get pro help on this one .. I weld and bolt .. but without seeing a drawing of your design(do you have one) ,,then I'd be guessing ..

Remember ,safety is paramount here,,we should not give advice in areas where personal safety is concerned..

Hope you understand my way of thinking and my comments...

Bruce

Bushboy

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