PING Bill Wright: aerial mast to concrete post

[Tim Watts]

Hi Bill (or anyone else)

Any idea if there's a pole bracket that could be bolted to these:

(Bracket-clamp for slotted concrete fence posts)?

Would be even better if it was easy to loosen and drop the pole for battery changes (see below).

The application is to mount a wind speed/direction sensor (weather station) onto a concrete fence post as said post is in the area least obstructed by trees and buildings.

I need to get it about 4 ft above the top of the fence so a 6ft pole should do nicely.

This is the best I could find, but I'd probably only be able to bolt the top end (too long for the post bracket)

TIA

Tim

[Bill Wright]

(This part of the answer you will disregard) Personally, I wouldn't use that. I'd probably fit a conventional 6" wall bracket to the post by means of drilling the post and using either plastic plugs or anchor bolts.

Brackets&cct=4&prodref=7/1G

Blakes do a very similar thing. Or try ATV Sheffield.

(Here's the bit you might actually do) However, if you prefer to use the postfix thing (to avoid drilling the post, I guess) I suggest you use two, one above the other, and mount the wall bracket on both of them. You would need to drill holes in the two postfix things and insert bolts (M6 is adequate) from the back, before fixing to the post.

Bill

[Tim Watts]

On Tuesday 17 September 2013 01:57 Bill Wright wrote in uk.d-i-y:

Hi Bill,

That was indeed my first thought... Then I remembered the posts have 4 bits of thin rebar in them, but I could not remember where the bar is exactly - sod's law I will hit it. I am also worried about cracking bits off the posts (in particular the exxtrusions around the slots are not thick). So I kind a went off that approach.

That looks like it would work - not sure why I did not think of that. I was focussing on two little brackets spaced apart perhaps, instead of a single big bracket spanning 2 postfix things.

Thanks!

Just to double check what I think you said - is one of those 6" brackets enough to support a 6ft pole with perhaps 1kg of kit up top?

Ta very much,

Tim

[Andrew Gabriel]

I mounted mine on an aerial pole mast. One of the diameters is the same diameter as a rotary clothes airer, so I got a spare ground socket for one of those, and the pole slots in easily. It's been there for nearly

3 years now without needing a battery change, so I'm not sure how easily it would come out now. I wedged some galvanised capping in too, to make sure there was no wobble at the base. IIRC, I used a 10' or 12' pole.

[Tim Watts]

On Tuesday 17 September 2013 08:15 Andrew Gabriel wrote in uk.d-i-y:

That's very lateral thinking - I like it!

I'll probably get told off for having things poking out the lawn - so I will probably stick to the fence post - they are new, well set and vertical :)

[Harry Bloomfield]

Tim Watts has brought this to us :

Be aware that if the rain sensor is mounted high on a pole, the slight rocking of the pole in high winds can cause the buckets to tip and record faase rain.

[Tim Watts]

On Tuesday 17 September 2013 10:54 Harry Bloomfield wrote in uk.d-i-y:

This is true.

The rain sensor will be bolted to a separate post at top of post height :)

I am very specifically going to get an inexpensive setup from Conrad where all the sensors are full wireless and not wired together - The optimum position for the wind sensor is usually the least optimum for the temperature sensor and as you say, the rain sensor wants to be stable.

If I wanted to do this properly, I'd get an expensive wired system and mount the wind sensor off the chimney - but I'm not *that* keen :-|

[Bill Wright]

It's usually spaced at about a quarter and three-quarters of the width. When I've done this job and hit the steel I've simply started again and drilled another hole a bit lower down the post and a bit to one side. Sometimes it's easier to drill right through and use a length of threaded bar and some big washers. If you do that and you hit the steel you can often fiddle it by angling the drill a bit.

I am also worried about cracking bits off the posts

Yes...

As long as you don't live at Tan Hill! The mast needs to be 1.25" or even 1.5". A strong steel 1" mast would be OK though, I suppose... If you're unsure of the bracket just double up. If you do that you could use three of the postfix things with the middle one holding the top of the bottom wall bracket and the bottom of the top one. If you're going to take this down now and then you could make some half round shims by cutting a bit of the mast longitudinally. They will reduce the chance of the V bolts deforming the mast. So the shims don't keep falling whilst you're tightening the bolts make a little hook-thing on them. This will hook over the V bolt. Like this:

There are of course all sorts of refinements possible.

Bill

[Tim Watts]

On Tuesday 17 September 2013 12:53 Bill Wright wrote in uk.d-i-y:

Thanks for all that Bill - I knew you'd have lots of tips :)

Tim

[dennis]

I put big jubilee clips around mine.

[Bill Wright]

I got the impression he didn't want to go right round the post.

Bill

[Tim Watts]

On Tuesday 17 September 2013 20:07 Bill Wright wrote in uk.d-i-y:

That did also cross my mind - but then I'd have to drill the panels too and the neighbour might not like the look ;-|

[Bill Wright]

No, I guessed it was on the boundary. They'll probably object to the weather station. You would then have to use a cranked mast so the whole thing was a foot away from their air.

People can be so funny.

Bill

[Tim Watts]

On Wednesday 18 September 2013 04:22 Bill Wright wrote in uk.d-i-y:

Yep - the device I'm looking at already has an offset mount - and the best position I can easily get with the least amount of trees is behind the neighbour's shed, which is hard up against my fence.

I figure I can put it on a pole 2ft above his shed roof and they'll probably not even notice it - it's right in the corner of our gardens.

Like I said, Ideally, to do it "properly", I'd fix it to the house chimney on a 6ft pole, but not a unit with batteries in. It's only a bit of fun - I really want the device for the 5 temp/humidity sensors it supports dotted around the house.

It's this one:

Weather-Station

Ta

Tim

[<me9]

Mines on a 1" 8' pole clamped to the clothes post (which is a foot from the fence) It could really do with being higher to get a true wind reading, I may move it to the gable but people may then notice my aerials that I don't want them to notice too much.

I got a worried neighbour who had spotted a red LED on my previous weather station flashing every 30 secs. She thought she may have been spied upon. She seemed happy after I explained it was a weather station (I also turned it round so I could see the LED).