Bat House Forum

[Markcuda]

I was going to go with a 4x6x20 foot treated pole, then I changed my mind to a 4x4x20.
Then I went and looked at a used utility pole yesterday=over kill.
So, now, I'm going with a metal pole, no, really I am
I will paint the pole before going in the ground.
The pipe will be at least 2 inch out side diameter.
The pipe will go in the ground 3 feet.
I am going to use a 12 inch diameter, 3 feet long cement tube.
I am going to cap the top of the pipe=no water getting in.
I am going to weld 2 or 3 scrap bolts(3-4 inches long) to the bottom so it has no chance in hell to turn, once in the cement.
Have I left out any thing?

[cloudman75]

Seems like you have plenty of money. A hole with a scrap 2x4 or 2x6 frame at the top would do just as well as the tube. I like this quick reply feature.
Also How are you going to stand the metal pole and bat house up to vertical? It will take two good men and a gorilla to lift it up. I'm sure you have all that planned but I would like to know for my future projects. I put up a 75 pound 5 chamber made out of plywood on a 1-1/4 inch schedule 40 steel pole
and it took 4 people to stand it up . They all told me not to call them next time. LOL. Good luck and I can see that your bat house will stay up once you get it in place. I used a wood board for my cap on my wood pole and a cap is a good idea on your pipe. I would paint the pipe green or some color other than white. The white acts kinda like a mirror to reflect. The bats I've read don't like shiny objects.

Frank

[Markcuda]

Frank, my 5 chamber house is only about 25 pounds.
No, I don't have plenty of money, but I don't cobble things either
I just got home from buying a 2.3/8 inch, out side diameter, EMT pipe, the guy welded on a cap and he also welded on some scrap at the bottom so the pipe will never turn=50 bucks, delivered.
So far, the metal pipe route is cheaper than the 4x4x20 treated wood, would of been.

Edit=after some more looking, it is not EMT pipe.
I assumed that it was , because the thinner wall thickness.

[William Bagwell]

The 2 3/8 OD is what you would expect with 2" schedule 40. If it is that size with thinner walls it might be fence tubing, since a lot of that is non standard. 2" EMT measures 2 3/16 (2.197) true OD and is difficult to source in other than 10' long. (I would have loved to found some in 12' for my recent side job. Now have over 70 one foot long leftovers that will eventually be sold for scrap.)

Is the pole galvanized?

William

[Markcuda]

Ok, Frank made me feel bad about spending money
I won't use a cement tube
So, there is 7 dollars and some change saved
4, 80 pound bags of cement=16 bucks.
A bag of all purpose gravel for the bottom=3 bucks
The paint I will use, I've had it for 15 years, so I won't count that cost
Frank, so far, how am I doing?
William, yes it is galvanized pipe, schedule 7, -21 feet long,it is used for sprinkler systems.
I Googled it and that is what I determined.
http://www.youngstowntube.com/submit/sch7_page.html

[cloudman75]

Sounds good to me.
Don't mind my chatter, I grew up poor and never got over it.

Frank

[William Bagwell]

Ah, schedule 7 is just a bit thicker than EMT. I was thinking the other day that if I could get the EMT in 20 sections it would be almost strong enough for a bat house pole.

2" schedule 40 is 2 3/8 true OD with a 0.154 wall thickness and weighs 3.6 pounds per foot.

2" schedule 7 is 2 3/8 true OD with a 0.084 wall thickness and weighs 2.05 pounds per foot.

2" EMT is 2 3/16 true OD has a 0.065 wall thickness and weighs 1.48 pounds per foot.

William

[Markcuda]

So, William, do you think what I got will be strong enough?
2" schedule 7 is 2 3/8 true OD with a 0.084 wall thickness and weighs 2.05 pounds per foot.

[Markcuda]

Ok, I just gave it the first coat of paint

[William Bagwell]

To hold up a 25 pound bat house, yes. To hold that same house up in a tornado, no. In straight line winds such as a hurricane, ask an engineer as I has no clue

It will not have the longevity against rust that a thicker pipe will have, so you will want to keep a close eye on the very bottom after the first few years. What is the wall thickness of various 'store bought' purple martin poles? I know some of them are square or even triangular, but some of them must be round?

William

[cloudman75]

My advice would be to face the house so that the prevailing wind is not broadside to the front or rear of the house to minimize the wind load if possible.
We ham radio old dudes have learned to give the wind the least amount of square feet to blow our antennas down by always turning our rotators to a certain direction away from the expected winds. If not possible or you don't want to do that, then I think you will probably be OK. I am not familiar with schedule 7 pipe but suspect it is for dry sprinkler systems that don't need threaded pipe and are for low pressure when the sprinlers are open due to a fire. The pipe is probably about like chain link fence posts and top rails in strength, but not sure. 2 inch should be plenty large to hold your bat house at less than 30 pounds.
If you expect a wind storm in the future , put some guys on it using a step lader and it will be there. I had to do that on my wood pole with three house this year already during a wind storm. It survived OK.

Frank

[Markcuda]

I was a CB guy back in the early 80s, so I know about the winds and my Moon Raker antenna, I would talk skip all the time with the hoods in Mississippi
The part that will get the prevailing winds is the 7 inch deep part of the house.
The house is 24 inches tall, 20ish inches wide and 7 inches deep.
The pipe on my Trio Castle is not very thick and it has been up for 22 years, in the ground, with cement, it also is galvanized.
I will try and get some pictures posted yet tonight.

[Markcuda]

A few pictures to prove I didn't change my mind again

[Markcuda]

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[Markcuda]

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