Bergey Tilt Tower Installation Manual page 9

Step 2:
At the four guy wire anchor stakes and the gin-pole anchor stake, auger 6" diameter
holes at a ~ 45 degree angle oriented so that the anchor eye ends will be closest to the
tower base (center). The holes should be deep enough that the anchor rod projects 4"
– 6" above the surface when placed in the hole (without the bell attached).
Attach the rod to the anchor bell and insert in hole. Make sure it goes all the way to the
bottom of the hole. Expand the bell anchor using the Chance Expanding & Tamping
Bar or a heavy pipe. Turn the Eye at the end of the rod so that it is oriented vertically so
that the guy wires will attach in a straight vertical line. Make sure that the bell is fully
expanded because its "bite" into virgin soil provides the primary strength of the anchor.
Refill the hole about 12" at a time, then carefully compacting the soil using a tamping
tool. The fill must be compacted to develop proper strength and to keep water from
seeping in and compromising the anchor strength.
For weak or problematic soils, it may be necessary to use concrete for the anchors or
use an alternate anchoring method. These topics are covered in Chapter 8, under An-
choring.
Step 3:
For most installations the base plate will sit directly on the ground. This is actually the
preferred configuration. A concrete base is only needed when the soil strength is very
low, such as sand or marsh.
Assemble the four piece base plate with the 3/8" x 1" stainless bolts, washers, and lock-
nuts supplied with the kit as shown in
Figure 3. To prevent galling, apply anti-seize compound to the bolt threads before
screwing on the nuts.
Install the base plate with its up-turned flanges aligned with the tower lay-down direc-
tion. Sink the down-turned edges into the soil. Pound the 8' copper-clad grounding rod
into the ground through one of the two 7/8" holes in the base plate, using a sledgeham-
mer. Leave about 4" of rod above the Base Plate.
When using a concrete base for the tower we recommend a base that is roughly 26" x
26" x 12" deep, with several pieces of steel reinforcing bar placed horizontally. Assem-
ble the Base Plate. The Tilt Tower Base Plate must be secured to the concrete using
two 5/8" hex head bolts (not supplied) or concrete anchor bolts (not supplied) installed
through the ¾" holes normally used for the ground rods.
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