K4SB wrote:
> Stan wrote:
>
> snip...or a tower leg bolt actually breaking and/or falling out.
> >
> > Stan w7ni@teleport.com
>
> Well, you are about to hear of one. The only tower I have ever
> lost. About 60' of Rohn 25. I put it up in the summer, and really
> put a hurt on the bolts.
>
By this do you mean that you tightened the heck out of them? I just take
them up snug. One guy wrote me an said there was never any need to
deform the tower leg by tightening the bolts, but I have to say that the
nature of steel is such that when you put it in compression, even a
little bit of compression, it compresses. If that is what he meant by
deforming, then I guess we disagree and I think the bolts should be at
least snug. If he meant permanently deformed, then I have to agree with
him. That would probably be too tight.
I want to learn something from your bolt-breaking experience. Were the
bolts Rohn factory bolts or some substitute? If they were different and
you think that was the cause of the failure, what type of bolts should we
avoid? Were they just too tight, in your opinion? Any other information
you can supply on this will be appreciated.
Stan w7ni@teleport.com
>
> Then came January and a hard freeze ( at least for us ), about 15
> above 0, with strong gusty winds. The bolts of course had
> contracted in the cold weather, and
> one of them snapped right in two at about the 45' level. Winds
> must have rocked
> the tower, because all of a sudden, the top section collasped,
> antennas and
> all. Made enough noise to wake the dead about 2 am. Next morning,
> I found the
> nut still attached to the bolt, and the bolt laying on the deck.
> Break was right in the middle, and these were new bolts.
>
> Still mindful of that, even today, when I put up a 50 footer.
> Nuts and bolts are made to hold the tower legs together. Nothing
> else.
>
> 73
> Ed
>
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