1.2m Channel Master UK project

[Captain Jack]

Nice mount! Do invest in a Black Ultra - it's the best match for this dish that I've found.

 

[timo_w2s]

Nice mount! Do invest in a Black Ultra - it's the best match for this dish that I've found.

Thanks, will do, but I took all my spare Black Ultras to Finland so I need to order another. Oops.

 

[Piltdownpaul]

For me , i'd dig to 75cm or so. Flatten the end of the pole,cut two slots and flatten it like a wedge. Hammer the pole in the ground a foot or so and then concrete it in. In a sheltered location like that i'm sure you'd be fine.

 

[timo_w2s]

For me , i'd dig to 75cm or so. Flatten the end of the pole,cut two slots and flatten it like a wedge. Hammer the pole in the ground a foot or so and then concrete it in. In a sheltered location like that i'm sure you'd be fine.

That does sound like a good idea but I think I'd be very lucky to get the pole to go deep enough before I hit rocks or roots. I worked out yesterday ideally I need to leave 110cm of pole above ground to keep the dish at about the height of the fence (as the dish sits on top of the pole so no room for height adjustments) so I need to get another 110cm underground since it is 220cm long. It's also a heavy pole so cutting slots into it and making it wedge-like is not going to be easy for me.

 

[archive10]

That does sound like a good idea but I think I'd be very lucky to get the pole to go deep enough before I hit rocks or roots. I worked out yesterday ideally I need to leave 110cm of pole above ground to keep the dish at about the height of the fence (as the dish sits on top of the pole so no room for height adjustments) so I need to get another 110cm underground since it is 220cm long. It's also a heavy pole so cutting slots into it and making it wedge-like is not going to be easy for me.

I know what you mean. I have a 3" pipe here for a CM I am hoping to mount today or tomorrow, it is also of a gauge that makes cutting and wedging nigh impossible without heavy machinery.
Ironically, the one I have is 180 cm, and I could do with a litlle more height... (No neighbours or fences here).

 

[Piltdownpaul]

I'm lucky here, there's 3 to 4 foot of clay below the surface in my garden. Buggers the drainage up tho!

 

[timo_w2s]

I know what you mean. I have a 3" pipe here for a CM I am hoping to mount today or tomorrow, it is also of a gauge that makes cutting and wedging nigh impossible without heavy machinery.
Ironically, the one I have is 180 cm, and I could do with a litlle more height... (No neighbours or fences here).

Yeah I don't fancy sending this one in the post even if we could do with a swap... ;)

 

[timo_w2s]

I'm lucky here, there's 3 to 4 foot of clay below the surface in my garden. Buggers the drainage up tho!

My grandparent's garden used to suffer from constant flooding due to so much clay. It's not a problem for us though being on a hill with flint and chalk below, in fact the opposite is the problem with houses in the area suffering from subsidence due to water draining away...

 

[RimaNTSS]

It's also a heavy pole so cutting slots into it and making it wedge-like is not going to be easy for me.

Com on Timo! This could not be a problem at all! When you cement your pole ( agree with Piltdownpaul, it is better to flatten one end) just take angle-grinder and cut-off piece you do not need, it is one-minute work.

 

[timo_w2s]

Com on Timo! This could not be a problem at all! When you cement your pole ( agree with Piltdownpaul, it is better to flatten one end) just take angle-grinder and cut-off piece you do not need, it is one-minute work.

Actually, half an hour to drive to DIY/rental shop to get the angle grinder first, another half an hour to drive back, then a few minutes to try it out before I spend 1 minute cutting the pole. ;)

The pole does have a hole at one end so I was going to fix a long bolt to it before setting it in concrete to stop it rotating or slipping.

 

[RimaNTSS]

Long bolt in a hole before cement it is good idea. But, wait a minute, can not you buy angle-grinder for 25EUR which will last forever and you will use it in all you future projects?

 

[timo_w2s]

Yes it could be handy to buy one but I usually just work with wood if doing a bit of DIY so not so experienced with metal. It's a shame I'm not doing this in Finland where I would have access to friends and family equipment (loads of people build their own homes so have loads of cool gear lying around).

Anyway, off to start the hole. I may be referring back to some of the ideas where when it get tired of digging... ;)

 

[RimaNTSS]

OK, if you have reservations to angle-grind your pole then just dig hole, deep enough to lower pole.

 

[dxsat]

Attached are ChannelMaster's Kingpost instructions.

 

[archive10]

Actually, half an hour to drive to DIY/rental shop to get the angle grinder first, another half an hour to drive back, then a few minutes to try it out before I spend 1 minute cutting the pole. ;)

The pole does have a hole at one end so I was going to fix a long bolt to it before setting it in concrete to stop it rotating or slipping.

That's called a rebar in the cm jargon.
The is likely from when the pole was galvanised, but it'll work fine as rebar.
I have no holes in pole, so I have a drill and purchased a 6 mm threaded rod to function as rebar...
I hope to get it done tomorrow, but i need to nail down the exact spot, as there is only a few holes in a tree-line, and I am having problems aligning to get euronews or sky news (using td64). Not worth getting the cement wet if there's foliage problems...

 

[timo_w2s]

Attached are ChannelMaster's Kingpost instructions.

Interesting, but I won't be able to do it quite as they recommend as I've just got a long pole. I'll try and make it as plumb as possible but since it's a fixed dish not too worried if it's not 100%.

So I've done a hole 80cm deep already in one afternoon. I guess that was the easy bit. Now I need to figure out if I can do another 30cm but the ground is getting very compact now so not really making much progress. Decided to continue another day. I managed to avoid too many roots and just had to saw out a few from the top layers. Also seem to have avoided too many large stones. The first 80cm was a lot easier than I expected, the last 30cm could be a challenge though...

This is the deepest I've been down in my garden.

 

[timo_w2s]

Managed to get a couple of hours work in this afternoon. Now down to 91cm... packed solid with small stones. I seem to have gone below the level of plant roots or any obvious animal life. 19cm to go...

 

[timo_w2s]

This may be a silly idea but the ground is so solid it's getting hard to go much further so I might attack it with a drill and a long masonry bit to see if I can break it up a little. Everything I try and poke down there (eg long heavy poles with pointy tip, fork, heavy duty spade, etc) is just bouncing off the bottom and having very little impact. If I can just shift 19cm more I'd be done... so close.

 

[archive10]

This may be a silly idea but the ground is so solid it's getting hard to go much further so I might attack it with a drill and a long masonry bit to see if I can break it up a little. Everything I try and poke down there (eg long heavy poles with pointy tip, fork, heavy duty spade, etc) is just bouncing off the bottom and having very little impact. If I can just shift 19cm more I'd be done... so close.

Good progress! But I'd reconsider the angle-grinder thing if I were you.

Put in the 3" pole for the summer-cottage-CM this afternoon.
Got down to 60 cm with a spade, then 70 cm with hand-showel.
Then I hit hard-packed gravel, had to use metal-bar (not sure of what the things is called) to loosen gravel all the way to about 80 cm.

Would have liked to have reached 90 cm. But then I thought:

1) Gotta cut lawn and pack car before leaving for home.
2) 80 cm below / 100 cm above should be good enough for a ligtly sheltered position.
3) I have just hit bedrock (or a very large stone). Next step is probably dynamite.

In therefore went the pole with rebar, and concrete. Kept the thing level with the trusty work-mate.
Needed to keep checking verticality with a spirit-level as the concrete sets. Seems to be slight movements as the setting progresses.
After one hour the pole was nice and firm in the foundation (but I did not want to overdo the leaning-on as the concrete was not quite dry yet).
Will post mounting process when I return to summer-cottage later this year.

Good luck with the digging... maybe the hour-and-a-half required employ the metal-grinder may compare favourably to what you spend on exploring the netherworld of your garden as it becomes juuuust out of arms reach... 8)

 

[timo_w2s]

I like the workmate pole holder. The ground you are digging also looks annoying stone free for most of it!

I'm actually enjoying exploring the depths of my garden, especially when you think how many years it would have been since the stones I'm pulling out have last seen daylight.... I almost feel sad I have to fill it eventually, it's like a work of art.

You make a good point about the metal-grinder (regarding time) but I haven't given up just yet. ;)