Changing Pole Diameter - 3.5" OD to 3.0" - How to?

[Newt]

Hi all,
Well I finally dragged home one of the many C-Band dishes offered to me for free. This one is only 7.5 feet and is mesh, so maybe that's why I actually managed to get this one home !

Here's my problem: the pole erected on my property by previous homeowner is 3.5" OD and the mount for this 7.5 footer requires a 3" OD pole. What is the best way to end up with a piece of 3" OD on top of the 3.5" OD pipe.
Welding is possible, but there is no easy way to get a portable welder to the pipe location.

Has anyone here ever had an adapter-reducer fabricated with, say, 3/4" set 'screws' {actually bolts}, to tighten the adapter to the original pole. Will the set screws {bolts} hold the adapter well enough? I'm assuming it should .... I have a 1.8m diameter offset dish that I got with the roof-mount stand assembly. It uses 4 set screws {bolts} to hold the solid dish in place horizontally. It seems quite solid. Also, I'm completely surrounded by trees and most really heavy wind is somewhat broken by the trees.

A threaded adapter ring reducer is out of the question as the original pipe is not threaded at the top. Would love to hear thoughts from anyone who has tackled this problem before.

Or is there a simpler solution that I've not thought of ??

cheers,
Newt

 

[gabshere]

this is just thinking , most likely the 3" od wil fit inside the 3 1/2 " od so just take a 2 ft section and insert 1/2 and either weld or stabilize with several bolts
this should be a fix for the problem.

 

[Anole]

Yea, that's what I was going to suggest.

Measure down 4, 5, and 6 inches from the top of the big (outside) pipe, and drill three evenly-spaced holes.
Ream out the holes to just pass your stabilizer bolts.
How does 1/4-20 sound? 3/8"? 1/2"?
Perhaps other members will have other suggestions.

Drop the inner pipe half way down into the big one, and mark the holes.
Remove inner pipe, and drill holes small enough to tap for the bolts you choose.

Debur and paint both pipes.
Assemble, with your three hex-head bolts.
By having them at different distances from the top, they won't run into each other, if you use long bolts.
And the three holes won't form a weak line around the pipe, either.


Edit:
In afterthought, maybe drill four evenly spaced holes, at 90º.
The two east/west holes should be an inch higher than the other two which are north/south.
Then, two 4" bolts go through both pipes.
Secure with nuts and washers to taste.
The bolts are at 90º to each other, and there is no threading involved.

 

[Newt]

Thanks for the replies guys. That sounds like the easiest way to go. I was so 'stuck' on having to weld the darn thing that I wasn't thinking much beyond that. Certainly sounds do-able, once I build a little platform to work from so I can reach the top.

thanks,
Newt

- once I get the thing mounted, there will be a bevy of questions on setting it up. Be forwarned !!

thanks again ...

 

[Anole]

Okay, but plan on posting some nice pictures, too !

 

[Claude Greiner]

Without welding it, the best thing to do is get a 3 inch of pipe and put it inside the 3.5 inch pipe. Thread atleast 2 bolts through both pipes, and fill in the gap with cement to provide extra stabelization.

The other thing you can do is put it next to the other pipe and get some muffler clamps to tie both pipes together.

 

[Newt]

As a follow up ... I went to a local machine / welding shop. They could build me an adapter which would work pretty slick, but with with labour rates & material cost & taxes , that solutions pushes 175$ ... ouch.

Sounds like drilling holes is a better option.

thanks for the replies guys ...

 

[gabshere]

now that same machine shop most likely has the drill press and can probably drill the holes for you ( shouldn't cost a lot) but you can also do it for no cost just your time....

 

[GreatFTA]

I got a similar situation:
I want to move my dish from a 3.5" OD pole to a 3.0" OD pole. The reason for this is because the new location for the dish has a 3.0"OD pole and I really don't want to pull it up and install the 3.5" OD pole. The mount that fits the pole has 4 bolts
Do I need to shim it? Or is there a adapter I can get to make it work?
Any suggestions is greatly appreciated!
Thanks

 

[waters]

I think that you will be better off to just replace the pipe! It is going to be hard to get the new piece to be level. The time and work spent will not be worth it.

 

[rv1pop]

adapt the post

a pipe inside or a pipe out side at least a foot longer than the mount. Do your best to keep the ends of the pipes close if going up to 3.5 or about a inch taller than the mounting bracket pipe if going down to 3 inch. Drill through both pipes with a drill big enough to pass the bolt you use (I recomend 5/16th). Use two bolts about 4 inches long spaced about 2 inches apart and at 90* angles. We do it regularly! Should work Great

this should maintain the squareness of your mount.

 

[stogie5150]

Lemme tell ya,3 inch pipe isn't cheap. I need a piece for my new install...3.50 a foot, 10.5 foot minimum. Scrap yard wants 30 bucks for a 10 foot piece, but a 10.5 foot galvanized 3 inch schedule 40 is 40.00 and some change new. I'm going pick up the new piece tomorrow. I'm gonna have to figure out something to reduce the diameter of the pipe to put some small dishes on top for music. Either that or use the 3 inch mounts I have leftover that I don't use for my 1m P*'s, and adapt them for the smaller dishes.