30 Ft. Flag Pole

[E/S]

My wife has decided that "we" need a new flag pole, a 30 Ft. pole !

After pricing poles and recovering from the shock, I decided to build a tilt up pole. I have attached a drawing of what I plan to build and would appreciate your input.

One thing I should mention is that we regularly get 70 + mph. wind gusts and she intends for me to fly 2 - flags - 4 Ft. x 6 Ft.



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[sparc]

is that footing 2 feet in diameter and 5 feet deep?

 

[E/S]

Yes

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[coobie]

Word of caution.Before you put up that flag pole make SURE there are no POWER LINES around.I am a retired electric lineman and I have seen folks get hurt pretty bad by not looking up first.

 

[chim]

Word of caution.Before you put up that flag pole make SURE there are no POWER LINES around.I am a retired electric lineman and I have seen folks get hurt pretty bad by not looking up first.

When you cautioned about the power lines, it made me remember that before the proliferation of cable and dish TV it seemed that once or twice a year the local paper had a story about someone getting electrocuted while erecting a TV antenna.

The last time I recall someone nearby having a fatal run-in with a power line was when the boyfriend of a gal at work tried to retrieve a model airplane from a tree that had a HV line passing through the branches. Terrible thing to happen.

 

[mikim]

Assuming you have a hinge pin at about 4' ...are you then putting counter weight inside the center pipe up to that hinge pin? I was just thinking in order to get enough counter weight inside the pipe you might want to raise the height of the hinge pin. If you want a good look at the application of what you're designing - find a NWS ASOS site (surface observation system) and look at their tip over wind tower. They tend to be at airports but a good pair of binoculars will let you see what you need to see. Or visit the local NWS office (just walk in) and ask to talk to their ASOS tech. They're on the road a lot working on remote sites - but any ET in the office should be able to help you.....edit: you need enough counter weight in the lower section of the center pipe such that you have to pull the pole down - else it will come down with a vengeance and break the pole and anything that is unlucky enough to be under it. Also - I'd change the 2 support pipes to channel iron ...(just a preference)

 

[E/S]

coobie & chim,
As far as overhead power, its 900 ft. away.

mikim,
Thanks for the pointers.

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[coobie]

coobie & chim,
As far as overhead power, its 900 ft. away.

mikim,
Thanks for the pointers.

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Good deal,be safe.

 

[bigtiller]

is that footing 2 feet in diameter and 5 feet deep?

Yes

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I don't believe you have a big enough footing with only 15 cubic feet of concrete. Two 6' flags make a pretty large sail.

 

[sparc]

Assuming you have a hinge pin at about 4' ...are you then putting counter weight inside the center pipe up to that hinge pin? I was just thinking in order to get enough counter weight inside the pipe you might want to raise the height of the hinge pin. If you want a good look at the application of what you're designing - find a NWS ASOS site (surface observation system) and look at their tip over wind tower. They tend to be at airports but a good pair of binoculars will let you see what you need to see. Or visit the local NWS office (just walk in) and ask to talk to their ASOS tech. They're on the road a lot working on remote sites - but any ET in the office should be able to help you.....edit: you need enough counter weight in the lower section of the center pipe such that you have to pull the pole down - else it will come down with a vengeance and break the pole and anything that is unlucky enough to be under it. Also - I'd change the 2 support pipes to channel iron ...(just a preference)

All good stuff. I would run a piece of 3/4 sch 80 pipe throught the pole at the pivot point. It should run all the way throught and be welded to the pole then ground flush with the o.d.nof the pole. This will give added bearing surface over just the pipe wall.

 

[crash325]

I've had some experience with a 30+ foot flag pole & high winds.
Your pole is going to be overloaded with 1 4x6 flag, 2 will be a disaster waiting to happen.
My pole is 2" lower & 1.5" top with all joints reenforced with welded on angle iron.
Had a 4x6 flag for a while & the pole swayed a whole bunch 2' maybe more.
still sways with a 3x5 but not near as much.
Lower pivot is a 5/8" bolt through an old power pole about 4' into the ground, top is another 5/8" bolt. The old power pole is very solid in the ground. No movement at all. Bottom bolt near the ground top a little over 6' up. No movement in that area when the bolts are tightened up.
Flag pole is much to heavy to raise by hand. I've had it up & down 3 times, with out help. By using the FEL on the tractor.

Have gone through as many as 3 flags in a year, usually 1 or 2. Current flag came from Home Depot & seems to be a good one, about 6 months old & still in good shape.

Hope the pictures will up load. 1 Picture is when I had a 2" aluminum top section. Too soft & it bent.
- -

Have some more pictures, but up loader not working right. Sorry

 

[E/S]

I don't believe you have a big enough footing with only 15 cubic feet of concrete. Two 6' flags make a pretty large sail.

That's 2,250 lb. of cement, I hope that's enough.

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[E/S]

All good stuff. I would run a piece of 3/4 sch 80 pipe throught the pole at the pivot point. It should run all the way throught and be welded to the pole then ground flush with the o.d.nof the pole. This will give added bearing surface over just the pipe wall.

Thanks sparc.

E/S

 

[buickanddeere]

30ft looks tall on the ground but becomes a dwarf when stood vertical.

 

[murphy1244]

Try this site for flags and poles. Buy American Flags, World Flags, and Flagpoles at The Flag Company, Inc.

 

[chim]

Not an answer to the OP's question, but may be of interest. We had a rather humble looking home made pole (about 25') at our facility and the boss said he'd like to see us fix it up and add some height. On the route to work there was some remodel work being done at a commercial facility. There were four 40' steel lighting poles with multiple lights on each. I stopped and asked if they were re-doing the parking lot and replacing the poles. Answer was yes. Cut a deal for all four for $200. Snet our flatbed and they loaded them for us with a piece of their equipment.

A few hours in our weld shop and parts from the website below and we have a winner. It now sports a big anodized ball, official truck and a couple coats of 2-part white paint. Luckily the pole base has a pattern that matches the bolts that were concreted in a round base that is about 24" in diameter and has about 8" above grade and 6 feet below. Because of the added wind forces I had a large square dug out 12" down around the existing base and poured a pad around it for extra strength.

Flag Pole Trucks, Flagpole Accessories, flagpole parts, flagpole pulleys, convert a light pole to a flagpole

 

[mark02tj]

My neighbors have one of these poles in their yards. I think theirs is the 20' model. They are running a 4x6 US flag and a 3x5 John Deere flag. The cool thing is that when we're forecasted to get high winds they can go out and, in a matter or seconds, drop the pole from full height to 1/3 of it's normal height.

When ever I go to a home show or a farm show around here, there is always a vendor that is selling the telescoping poles. Might be something to look into.

 

[ace10]

My 25' one piece commercial flagpole is set into a very large hardscape installation: Surrounded by walkway. It's set in a large foundation sleeve buried in concrete. We have a windy site, and fly a single 4X6 flag. Even the high-end flags have a lifespan of 4-6 months.

Even with all that mass and engineering, the flagpole has still decided to lean about 2" since it was installed 3 years ago.

I'm watching it very closely, as a reinstall is going to be a very serious undertaking.

Two flags? Not a chance.

$0.02

 

[CurlyDave]

I have about a 28' commercial flagpole we installed last summer.

I agree with the foundation sleeve, this is more or less the standard way to set a flagpole.

Ours went into decomposed granite fill behind an 18' retaining wall. I buried a 24' diameter x 72" long piece of corrugated culvert vertically and compacted the fill in lifts of about 6" with a plate compactor as we set it in place. We used this as a form for the concrete we poured. There was a #5 rebar cage inside the culvert, with 4 pieces left vertical at the top of the culvert , and 8 pieces bent in an L-shape so they could be the basis for a spiderweb pattern reinforcement for a 6" thick pad with the top at grade level. The highest end of the culvert was 6" below final grade.

The 6" pad was in an octagonal shape, the sides were about 7' long ~12 ft diameter. We set the points of the octagon true to the points of the compass, which I thought was a nice little touch.

There is a flagpole base in the center of the octagon, which we poured with an 18" square base and 30" high. Sides of the base are also true to the points of the compass. Foundation sleeve is in the center of the base, with a rebar cage around it.

The foundation sleeve works by erecting the flagpole in the sleeve, and then pouring in sand. We used a course sand, about 1/8" mesh, mixed with about 60 mesh sand, tamped in as best we could.

The base was then sheathed in rock set in mortar.

No trouble at all with wind. 4' x 6' flag.

Think about how you will light the flag at night if you are not going to lower it. Get the electric in before the concrete.

Pictures tomorrow.

 

[E/S]

Thanks to every one for your input.
I'm going to start with 2 - 3 ft. x 5 ft. flags and watch the pole carefully, before i consider a increase in size / load on the pole.
I've had a 25 ft. and then a 20 ft. telescoping pole, the wind just beats them to death.
As far as lighting, I have been using a solar LED light on the top of the pole.


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