KeysNole Posted November 7, 2018 Share Posted November 7, 2018 This year we are replacing our LED mega tree with a similar pixel tree. We are strongly considering moving it to the left so as not to block the home and have the background drown out the pixels. The issue is that the area to the left is on a slope. We have used the christmaslightshow mega tree kit (four pole base and guy wires) with success. The pixel tree will be in the 23' range...has anyone had success mounting a below ground concrete base with PVC sleeve, and sliding the entire mast into that frame? Stronger than the CLS setup? I don't think a JUMP pole is my answer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
k6ccc Posted November 7, 2018 Share Posted November 7, 2018 Not a mega-tree, but that is exactly how my 25 foot flagpole is mounted (seen in my profile avatar). The PVC sleeve is (if I remember right) 24 inches long and buried in about 500 pounds of concrete. I firmly believe that the pole will bend before the base will move. For a mega-tree, you would want to cap the sleeve when not being used. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mpageler Posted November 7, 2018 Share Posted November 7, 2018 Guessing there's a ton of past threads on mega design, mounting and setup. Do a threa dtitle search by "mega thee". I've always found search thread for a specific subject very useful in that I stumble on a ton of other useful info, even though I wasn't specifically looking for it at that time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GriswoldStyle Posted November 7, 2018 Share Posted November 7, 2018 (edited) My tree this year I went with black iron pipe from Lowe's they had 10 foot sections for $29 a piece. I bought the 12" pole pin coupler online for them and I have my tree mounted into a PVC sleeve surrounded by concrete in the ground. The hardest part was grinding down the inside seam on the poles so the pole pin coupler would fit. Mine is actually mounted 4 ft into the ground. Making it 16 feet tall. I also have the guy wire kit from one of the approved vendors as well. We had a strong rain the other day with wind gusts exceeding 45 miles an hour here in Florida and that pole did not budge at all. Thank you to all those in the forum who suggested that heavy duty black iron pipe. 100 times better than that flimsy top rail stuff. Edited November 7, 2018 by GriswoldStyle 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sticks4legs Posted November 7, 2018 Share Posted November 7, 2018 I don't like pointing you to another forum but there is a great thread over at DIY Christmas with pictures and info on what people have done. Everything from PVC, conduit to gas pipe. Its 30+ pages so get comfy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KeysNole Posted November 7, 2018 Author Share Posted November 7, 2018 2 hours ago, GriswoldStyle said: My tree this year I went with black iron pipe from Lowe's they had 10 foot sections for $29 a piece. I bought the 12" pole pin coupler online for them and I have my tree mounted into a PVC sleeve surrounded by concrete in the ground. The hardest part was grinding down the inside seam on the poles so the pole pin coupler would fit. Mine is actually mounted 4 ft into the ground. Making it 16 feet tall. I also have the guy wire kit from one of the approved vendors as well. We had a strong rain the other day with wind gusts exceeding 45 miles an hour here in Florida and that pole did not budge at all. Thank you to all those in the forum who suggested that heavy duty black iron pipe. 100 times better than that flimsy top rail stuff. My tree has two 10' sections and a 5' section on top. My pixel tree will be a bit shorter (theoretically this would be buried into the PVC sleeve)....my question is, how the heck do you safely get the tree down after the season? Get on a ladder and separate it where the pins are? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caniac Posted November 8, 2018 Share Posted November 8, 2018 9 hours ago, GriswoldStyle said: My tree this year I went with black iron pipe from Lowe's they had 10 foot sections for $29 a piece. I bought the 12" pole pin coupler online for them and I have my tree mounted into a PVC sleeve surrounded by concrete in the ground. The hardest part was grinding down the inside seam on the poles so the pole pin coupler would fit. Mine is actually mounted 4 ft into the ground. Making it 16 feet tall. I also have the guy wire kit from one of the approved vendors as well. We had a strong rain the other day with wind gusts exceeding 45 miles an hour here in Florida and that pole did not budge at all. Thank you to all those in the forum who suggested that heavy duty black iron pipe. 100 times better than that flimsy top rail stuff. Black iron is your friend!! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caniac Posted November 8, 2018 Share Posted November 8, 2018 6 hours ago, KeysNole said: My tree has two 10' sections and a 5' section on top. My pixel tree will be a bit shorter (theoretically this would be buried into the PVC sleeve)....my question is, how the heck do you safely get the tree down after the season? Get on a ladder and separate it where the pins are? make sure you use lots of WD40 when putting together and a day or two before taking it down. I am assuming you are using a pole pin to connect the sections? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KeysNole Posted November 8, 2018 Author Share Posted November 8, 2018 3 hours ago, caniac said: make sure you use lots of WD40 when putting together and a day or two before taking it down. I am assuming you are using a pole pin to connect the sections? Yes...we actually use liquid wrench at the beginning and end of every year. Those things can be a bear if they get rusty. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sticks4legs Posted November 8, 2018 Share Posted November 8, 2018 15 hours ago, caniac said: make sure you use lots of WD40 when putting together and a day or two before taking it down. I am assuming you are using a pole pin to connect the sections? Permatex silver or copper anti-seize works great too Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. P Posted November 8, 2018 Share Posted November 8, 2018 (edited) My very first year, not really knowing what I was doing, I made my mega tree 48' tall. I won't do that again, it now stays around 20'. With experience comes knowledge. Edited November 8, 2018 by Mr. P Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caniac Posted November 8, 2018 Share Posted November 8, 2018 47 minutes ago, Mr. P said: My very first year, not really knowing what I was doing, I made my mega tree 48' tall. I won't do that again, it now stays around 20'. With experience comes knowledge. We had someone here in NC do that 5 years ago, with PVC (48' tall). Mother nature dealt with it harshly! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. P Posted November 8, 2018 Share Posted November 8, 2018 7 minutes ago, caniac said: We had someone here in NC do that 5 years ago, with PVC (48' tall). Mother nature dealt with it harshly! I used aluminum military antenna pole since that is what I was use to using for 25 years. It stayed because I knew how to secure them for high winds. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard365 Posted November 8, 2018 Share Posted November 8, 2018 I used 2 10' section of black pipe. [ I tried the 10' sections of the fence post and they just bent. ] Last year I just buried 2 feet of black pipe and just thread the 20 foot of pipe with the lights on them into the 2 foot section in the ground. Was just a pain threading the pipe with the lights on. They just got twisted up. This year I bought a wider black pipe 4 feet long. Buried 3 feet of it with a foot above ground. Then my plan is just put the 20 foot section into the 4 foot section. Drill holes. Have not decided if (1) Just drill hole threw both pipes and put a bolt threw it and tighten with a nut keep the tree from spinning. (2) or drill a hole threw the first pipe and the 2nd pipe which is the 20 feet tree. Drill and tap the 2nd hole and use bolts to keep tree from spinning. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. P Posted November 8, 2018 Share Posted November 8, 2018 Why do so many people have issuea with mega trees bending and falling? Do they not use guide ropes? I have six guide ropes, three at ten feet and three at the top. The light strings also act as an anchor as mine are staked to the ground. I can actually climb my pole with no issues. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caniac Posted November 8, 2018 Share Posted November 8, 2018 1 hour ago, Mr. P said: Why do so many people have issuea with mega trees bending and falling? Do they not use guide ropes? I have six guide ropes, three at ten feet and three at the top. The light strings also act as an anchor as mine are staked to the ground. I can actually climb my pole with no issues. I don't use guide wires or not to the extent most do but I do put 300lbs of sandbags on the base. It handled 40mph plus winds of Nebraska Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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