A Hybrid Pole

This was something new for me to see, Valmont has designed a concrete pole butt for steel poles. Their selling point is that this butt is cheaper to install then framing your rebar and bolt cage and pouring a foundation. I have different thoughts on that, I see this not done with IBEW labor just like the substation control houses that are delivered pre-wired by non union labor.




This is a 95 foot pole so the Hybrid butt is 55 foot long set at 25 foot deep. When the butts are installed, concrete is poured the whole depth to hold it. The maximum on the joint is 11 foot, this one settled at 10 foot. The butt in the photo weighs 33,500 lbs. I just can not see that it is cheaper to haul concrete around the nation, but this pole is a river crossing so maybe the concrete butt is best for flooding.

That's crazy heavy, most utilities would have to re-tool just to set the butts!

Concrete must be cheaper than steel??

They ain't new and they aint worth a fuck.... the concrete sucks the mostore up to the steel and rots out the steel sleeve and bolts...they might have better gunk to paint them down with now adays but the one's Ive worked in the past were rotten as shit and crazy scary to work...I'd rather put a corten steel rumble base in and foam it then use that shit... how's the back fill and tamp done it looks like direct bury to me...no way that would be done on the east coast... we'd case the hole prolly 21feet or so then backfill and tamp gravel or sand up to about 2 feet from the top ten cap it with 'creete work good as shit on the old bayshore poles... but mixing creete and steel always ended bad...didn't matter how much neoprene you put down we still had to change out arms or splice poles with concret lentels… just a bitch over all...

for what it's worth...

Edge

BillWilliamson wrote:They ain't new and they aint worth a fuck.... the concrete sucks the mostore up to the steel and rots out the steel sleeve and bolts...they might have better gunk to paint them down with now adays but the one's Ive worked in the past were rotten as shit and crazy scary to work...I'd rather put a corten steel rumble base in and foam it then use that shit... how's the back fill and tamp done it looks like direct bury to me...no way that would be done on the east coast... we'd case the hole prolly 21feet or so then backfill and tamp gravel or sand up to about 2 feet from the top ten cap it with 'creete work good as shit on the old bayshore poles... but mixing creete and steel always ended bad...didn't matter how much neoprene you put down we still had to change out arms or splice poles with concret lentels… just a bitch over all...

for what it's worth...

Edge

You are probably correct with your analysis. What I see is with the length of these bases one has to have a Clearance just to set the base, and then another Clearance to set the tower after the concrete has set. The one in the photo is set in concrete. .