Rohn 25G Tower - Lock Washers or No Lock Washers?

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Rohn 25G Tower - Lock Washers or No Lock Washers?	Reply
by KB9WIS on October 29, 2009	Mail this to a friend!
Eham is awesome, allows me to inquire with other hams that have more experience/history than myself.. I have been in the hobby for years, however this is my first actual tower project (used masts and trees always in the past). I may be over paranoid with this question, however all of my Rohn sections come with only bolts and nuts, but no lock washers.. Should I add lock washers? With the torque and wind vibrations, isn't it possible some of these nuts could come loose? If I don't use lock washers, should I tigthen the bolts securely enough to flex the adjoining leg walls together? Meaning, if I tighten down enough, it seems to close the walls of the legs into an ever slight oval shape. Or should I use some type of anti-seize and/or loctite adhesive (or both) on each bolt and nut? Should I use anti-seize at all? Also, the Guy Bracket has some weird looking lock washers (I'm guessing that's what they are), but don't seem to thread on smoothly. They also don't appear to be heavy duty. Can I use standard lock washers instead, and/or loctite adhesive?

RE: Rohn 25G Tower - Lock Washers or No Lock Washers?	Reply
by WB2WIK on October 29, 2009	Mail this to a friend!
Rohn doesn't supply lock washers because they are inappropriate for the application. No, never tighten the bolts down so far that the legs become slightly oval-shaped! That can make them weaker and impossible to take apart. The sections won't try to lift apart from each other unless you have a hell of a tornado passing straight overhead, in which case the whole tower, antennas, and house could go. You really can't plan for that; but for all other normal weather the design as supplied has proved very valid without any changes.

RE: Rohn 25G Tower - Lock Washers or No Lock Washers?	Reply
by AA4PB on October 29, 2009	Mail this to a friend!
I don't recall Rohn using any lock washers. There is one large bolt and one smaller bolt per leg joint. The instructions are to tighten enough to squeeze the outer leg against the inner leg but not enough to distort the inner leg. Its a good idea to check the bolts every year, especially after the first year. I haven't noticed any lossening of the bolts on my 25G. I've assisted in taking down a couple older Rohn towers. Even with the bolts completely removed you need a tower-jack to separate the sections.

RE: Rohn 25G Tower - Lock Washers or No Lock Washers?	Reply
by WB0GOA on October 30, 2009	Mail this to a friend!
The guy bracket probably has Pal lock nuts with the bolts. The Pal nut goes on after the nut and bolt is tight. It acts as a jam nut. Only use galvanized bolts and nuts together. Do not mix with other types of metal bolts. Do as AA4PB said about the sleeves. The sleeve should grip the inner leg to prevent leg from rocking and wearing bolt holes out and tearing thru the leg ends. You do not have to use lock washers.

RE: Rohn 25G Tower - Lock Washers or No Lock Washers?	Reply
by K9KJM on October 30, 2009	Mail this to a friend!
I agree. And do NOT use any anti-seize compound! A local ham here did that trying to make his tower easy to take apart in the future. What he wound up with was a tower that MOVED and flexed with any wind! Stick with what Rohn specs say. No lock washers, NO anti seize of any type, And follow Rohns specs to torque the nuts. (The towers come apart very easy using a "Tower Jack" which is a simple lever affair, Advertised in QST magazine and elsewhere.)

RE: Rohn 25G Tower - Lock Washers or No Lock Washers?	Reply
by KB9WIS on October 30, 2009	Mail this to a friend!
K9KJM, did the antenna stay up, even with the anti-seize applied? Did it really cause that much flexing.. I'm only asking, because I already put anti-seize on 3 of the sections.

RE: Rohn 25G Tower - Lock Washers or No Lock Washers?	Reply
by W8JI on October 30, 2009	Mail this to a friend!
Use WD40. We brush it inside the leg joints to help towers slide down. In a few weeks it will all go away. I wouldn't worry much about wiggle on a properly guyed tower. I would on a self-supported area.

RE: Rohn 25G Tower - Lock Washers or No Lock Washers?	Reply
by WB2WIK on October 30, 2009	Mail this to a friend!
I sure would not use anti-seize anywhere in the assembly of a Rohn tower. If you're concerned about nuts vibrating off the bolts, use another nut to lock the first one in place. But I don't bother doing that, either. The guys do all the work.

RE: Rohn 25G Tower - Lock Washers or No Lock Washers?	Reply
by KB9WIS on October 30, 2009	Mail this to a friend!
The Anti-Seize causing problems, kind of surprised me simply because it was recommended by other hams to use it. The crane operator even suggested it.. Now I guess I'll need to take all the sections apart, remove it, then reassemble. A big bummer..

RE: Rohn 25G Tower - Lock Washers or No Lock Washers?	Reply
by K9KJM on October 30, 2009	Mail this to a friend!
The anti seize on a guyed tower may be a nice idea, As the guy wires do all the work. But for sure NOT on a free standing tower!!!!! The WD-40 idea may have merit, As WD 40 does seem to "go away" in time, While the anti seize will not. The only solution is to take it apart and clean the joints really good with something like lacquer thinner to get all traces of the anti seize off! Whoever told you to use it on a free standing tower knows little about that type of tower! Any type of permanent lube on a free standing tower with joints like a Rohn 25G is just asking for problems in the future. The small amount of "wiggle" every windstorm will soon wear the bolt holes out so the tower REALLY starts to move in the wind. The basic design of the tower is meant to have the bolts tightned enough to cause enough friction between sections to prevent any movement.

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