While anxiously anticipating the arrival of my WeatherFlow station, I’ve been plotting out my installation. I’m not much of a home handyman, so I could use some advice on installing the Sky on my rooftop.
First off, the mounting bracket: I’ll likely attach a 1" galvanized pole (10’) to the fascia boards on the eaves of my house using something like this mount: https://tinyurl.com/y6w6rkrd
I’m just not certain this will work without modifying the 1" pole to fit. Can anybody recommend a mount that will work with a 1" pole, as suggested by WeatherFlow?
Secondly, grounding: My install will likely be at the opposite end of my home from our electrical panel, so it’d be difficult to run a grounding wire all that distance. I asked a satellite dish installer about this, and he suggested running the grounding wire to an outdoor lighting fixture, and connecting to the ground wire there. This would certainly be more convenient, but does this sound like an acceptable solution?
I’ve also heard reports of folks using PVC pipe and filling it with sand for stability. Some say this removes the need for grounding. Thunderstorms are rare in these parts, but they do occur. Does this sound like a decent solution?
My first concern with that mount is that it won’t likely hold a 10 foot pole rigid enough. Mounting the pole at two points at least 18 inches apart would be better. A short pole (1-2’) on that mount might work.
As for grounding, I personally wouldn’t run a lightning ground wire to my electrical panel. It should run to a separate ground rod or rods as close to the pole as possible. Here is some items at Home Depot showing some rods, wire clamp, and wire used for grounding purposes. I don’t know what would be needed in your case but I do know that when I built a house in Southwest Washington state in 1996, code required two ground rods 2 feet apart for the electrical house ground. There are several variables which affect the effectiveness of a ground rod. Maybe you can find a Ham Radio operator in your area who might know what you need for grounding.
My first concern with that mount is that it won’t likely hold a 10 foot pole rigid enough.
I’m certainly hoping something like that mount will do the trick, as attaching the pole to my fascia boards is just about the only real option I have. Do you think I’d have better luck with something like the item shown in this video?
As for grounding, I personally wouldn’t run a lightning ground wire to my electrical panel. It should run to a separate ground rod or rods as close to the pole as possible.
Interesting. I’ve been studying antenna installation videos and web pages, and most advise connecting an antenna to the same ground as your household ground, usually installing it at the electrical panel or directly to the home’s ground wire. I thought that since I don’t have a coaxial cable to contend with, no wires of any sort, actually, that it might be an even less critical installation. But again, I’m a novice at this stuff, so perhaps a separate ground rod would be a better choice. This too would be difficult seeing as how the previous home owner poured cement right up to the property line, which would mean a very long run to reach anywhere that I could pound in a grounding rod.
Depending on your exact roof configuration, you might want to consider a device called a “non-penetrating roof mount” (please see a picture of one such device, below).
Using such a mount you might find that you can use just a short length of 1" PVC pipe (the perfect size mast for SKY). And . . . the shorter mast will cut down on excessive movement of the SKY device in the wind and probably reduce the “false precipitation” problems that some of us have seen in field testing the SKY device. Plus . . . you probably won’t need to ground a PVC mast (of course, you may wish to install some other sort of lightning protection for your home anyway).
Here is an example of a Non-Penetrating Roof Mount. This one is designed for a peaked roof and you would set concrete blocks into the open spaces in the metal frame. They are also available in flat-roof models. Either design can be easily found from on-line merchants.
Dan, thank you for the mounting suggestion. That could be a contender.
Using such a mount you might find that you can use just a short length of 1" PVC pipe (the perfect size mast for SKY).
How tall a PVC pipe would you suggest? I think the WeatherFlow specs suggest mounting the sky 10’ above any surface. I’m not clear on why the type of mount would change that recommendation, but it would certainly make things easier to use a shorter pole. And if I could get away from grounding altogether, that would make my install a breeze.
The pole in this case doesn’t need to be long as long the Sky is in clear open sky, if there is no near obstacle higher , just use a short pole so it is about 2-3 feet above you roof (to avoid wind being tunnelled from roof to sky) and not to close to any chimney
Eric, the location I’ve chosen is beautifully clear directly north, south, east and west. I do have a very large treetop to contend with toward the northeast, but it would take a magic beanstalk on my roof to get above that.
This “furniture grade” Schedule 40 PVC pipe, which is UV resistant, looks like it might be a good option: https://tinyurl.com/y78xx299
By using a 5’ PVC pipe, it sounds like I might get away with skipping the grounding, no? Unless it’s likely static electricity might be an issue?
Static electricity isn’t a problem according me (to be confirmed by staff), what is more of a potential problem is vibration (though the Sky learns over time to cope with it, to a certain point) but as they say, the less problem there is, the less solution you need. Just use the length to be clean from roof and it’s possible influence but not more …
If the tree is far enough it won’t cause much difference (my Sky is surrounded by very large trees but most are far enough not to block it, though pure north I know my reading will be low, like you I would need some 50 m pole to get over it)
