oilmoney Posted November 14, 2017 Share Posted November 14, 2017 I thought 1" EMT conduit would be stronger than this, I had 64 100ct strings up there, a topper, a flamingo, and two strings of strobes. Building it again today, just shorter this time! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
B.Y.R.G. Posted November 14, 2017 Share Posted November 14, 2017 (edited) Whoa unfortunate situation.....sorry to hear and see. Your sigh/shrug at the end sums it up.....more work to do. Edited November 14, 2017 by B.Y.R.G. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oilmoney Posted November 14, 2017 Author Share Posted November 14, 2017 Thanks, I'm just going to use 1.5 and 2" tubing this year lol. Rebuilding it today. Lucky for me I didn't have too many strings wrapped yet, it wasn't that bad of a mess to untangle.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
B.Y.R.G. Posted November 14, 2017 Share Posted November 14, 2017 Just now, oilmoney said: Thanks, I'm just going to use 1.5 and 2" tubing this year lol. Rebuilding it today. Lucky for me I didn't have too many strings wrapped yet, it wasn't that bad of a mess to untangle.... Have you thought about using galvanized pipe? Much stronger and that's what I use for the pole of my 20' pixel tree which doesn't even have the weight of what you're putting up. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oilmoney Posted November 14, 2017 Author Share Posted November 14, 2017 6 minutes ago, B.Y.R.G. said: Have you thought about using galvanized pipe? Much stronger and that's what I use for the pole of my 20' pixel tree which doesn't even have the weight of what you're putting up. No but the suggestion is appreciated. I'm just going to try to make something usable for this year and then start fresh next year. I need a better factor of safety as the tree is in close proximity to the street. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
k6ccc Posted November 14, 2017 Share Posted November 14, 2017 1 hour ago, oilmoney said: I thought 1" EMT conduit would be stronger than this, I had 64 100ct strings up there, a topper, a flamingo, and two strings of strobes. Building it again today, just shorter this time! I would not even consider EMT for your tree. Definitely want something stronger. EMT is a real thinwall tubing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheDucks Posted November 14, 2017 Share Posted November 14, 2017 Was that 30 or 40' tall? 2" RIGID comes in 10' sections. I think I would still add guy wires at the 20' mark (and maybe 30') to handle WIND loads. AND deep stakes Your lights /wires create a lot of surface area for wind to drag on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LOR Staff Posted November 14, 2017 Share Posted November 14, 2017 As will snow and ice. Remember your physics: Cylinders are very strong in the direction they are made (compression). They are super weak perpendicular to that direction (tension). If you could keep that cylinder perfectly plumb it will hold HUGE loads because it is under compression and ALL the material of the pipe is under the load. However once that load shifts even slightly off balance, the pipe experiences uneven tension stress, and usually cascade fails (like your tree did). Keeping that pipe straight up and perpendicular to the ground (plumb) is key. Once that pipe starts to bend, it's pretty much all over. As the ducks said: guy wires help keep things straight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oilmoney Posted November 14, 2017 Author Share Posted November 14, 2017 50 minutes ago, TheDucks said: Was that 30 or 40' tall? 2" RIGID comes in 10' sections. I think I would still add guy wires at the 20' mark (and maybe 30') to handle WIND loads. AND deep stakes Your lights /wires create a lot of surface area for wind to drag on. I'm guessing 21ft Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheDucks Posted November 14, 2017 Share Posted November 14, 2017 (edited) 2 hours ago, DevMike said: As will snow and ice. Remember your physics: Cylinders are very strong in the direction they are made (compression). They are super weak perpendicular to that direction (tension). If you could keep that cylinder perfectly plumb it will hold HUGE loads because it is under compression and ALL the material of the pipe is under the load. However once that load shifts even slightly off balance, the pipe experiences uneven tension stress, and usually cascade fails (like your tree did). Keeping that pipe straight up and perpendicular to the ground (plumb) is key. Once that pipe starts to bend, it's pretty much all over. As the ducks said: guy wires help keep things straight. 2 hours ago, oilmoney said: I'm guessing 21ft 2 hours ago, DevMike said: As will snow and ice. Remember your physics: Cylinders are very strong in the direction they are made (compression). They are super weak perpendicular to that direction (tension). If you could keep that cylinder perfectly plumb it will hold HUGE loads because it is under compression and ALL the material of the pipe is under the load. However once that load shifts even slightly off balance, the pipe experiences uneven tension stress, and usually cascade fails (like your tree did). Keeping that pipe straight up and perpendicular to the ground (plumb) is key. Once that pipe starts to bend, it's pretty much all over. As the ducks said: guy wires help keep things straight. Great catch. Alberta ! Yep, Snow and Ice. Edited November 14, 2017 by TheDucks wierd post Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
k6ccc Posted November 14, 2017 Share Posted November 14, 2017 (edited) Let’s see, last year you break bones putting up Halloween, and this year you have your tree come down during setup. You’re going to get a bad reputation around here if you keep this up! Can you come up with a piece of well casing? That ought to be beefy enough... Edited November 14, 2017 by k6ccc 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TitusCarnathan Posted November 15, 2017 Share Posted November 15, 2017 I wouldn't recommend using thin wall (emt) for a mega tree mast. I would either use ridged or iron pipe. I use 1.5" iron pipe for my 20ft tree. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
big joe Posted November 15, 2017 Share Posted November 15, 2017 Currently running 3" pipe, 13' long, that slides over a heavy solid 2" rod that is welded to a 4" wide x 4' "cross" box frame with 4 cement bricks on top of each leg, also running 4 guy wires attached about 9' up. Very sturdy this year. Had problem with 1 1/2 conduit last year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
big joe Posted November 15, 2017 Share Posted November 15, 2017 I'll post a picture tomorrow Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thebug Posted November 15, 2017 Share Posted November 15, 2017 Well I think you beat me for woops of the year. What did you do to fix it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mega Arch Posted November 15, 2017 Share Posted November 15, 2017 Man that stinks. I use 1-1/4” rigid for mine. Lots stronger than emt. Good luck with the rebuild. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oilmoney Posted November 15, 2017 Author Share Posted November 15, 2017 13 hours ago, Thebug said: Well I think you beat me for woops of the year. What did you do to fix it? Cleanup only took 15 minutes. I got rid of the 1" and mounted my topper to the 1.5" . I've got 8, 1/4" , guy wires supporting it. Hopefully that's enough for this year, next year I'll scrap and start over.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
big joe Posted November 15, 2017 Share Posted November 15, 2017 18 hours ago, big joe said: I'll post a picture tomorrow Seems it won't let me post pictures, sorry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
k6ccc Posted November 16, 2017 Share Posted November 16, 2017 (edited) 2 hours ago, big joe said: Seems it won't let me post pictures, sorry Here's the trick on posting photos. The forum has a quite limited amount of storage for each user. The solution is to upload the photo onto some website and post a link to the photo. You can use either a specific photo sharing site (such as Flicker), or storage space (such as Google Drive), or a website you control. For example, the photo below is actually hosted on my own web server: I just entered the url, and the forum software grabs the photo whenever someone views the page. Edited November 16, 2017 by k6ccc 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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