Light Pole Systems, Inc.

02/22/2024

Cone Base Covers don’t just cover look good, they also keep irrigation water and landscaping from prematurely rusting your poles.

11/21/2023

This week's tech tip: Is there a pole too rusted for a PRK?

NO!

We have never seen a standing pole too rusted to install a Pole Repair Kit. The Pole Repair Kit takes 100% of the load off the base of the pole. The brace was developed and tested assuming the pole is completely rusted away. As long as there is no structural rust higher than 8” from the pole base, the Pole Repair Kit works great! Poles rust from the base up, and any pole with rust that high would have fallen over long ago.

We have had customers with poles that have already fallen, or that fell when they were being worked on; they cut off the rusted section at the base, installed the Pole Repair Kit, and stood the pole with the brace base plate, just like a new pole. If you have rusted poles, give our Pole repair kits a try. They come in 3 sizes: 4 inch, 5inch and round tapered.

Happy Tech Tip Tuesday and the Light Pole Systems Team wishes you and your families a Happy Thanksgiving!

11/14/2023

This week's Tech Tip: What to do if my anchor bolts are too short?

There are 3 main fixes for having anchor bolts that are too short to install a light pole. The first is to pour a new footing. The second is to drill and epoxy new anchor bolts into the existing footing. Both of these options are awesome except can be expensive and time consuming. The third and our favorite is to install Thread Extenders. Thread Extenders are designed to lengthen anchor bolts that are too short but still structurally sound. This can happen if the original anchor bolts were set too deep in the footing or maybe the top part above the concrete had rusted. If that’s the case, chip away some concrete to expose the useable thread, cut off the rusted top portion and install the Thread Extender! Thread Extenders come in 3 sizes: ¾ inch, 1 inch and 1 – ¾ inch reducer that threads onto an existing 1 inch anchor bolt but has a ¾ inch stud and hardware. Thread Extenders are an in stock, off the shelf option that can be ordered from our website.

11/07/2023

Another Tech Tip Tuesday is upon us!!

HID sport light fixtures often have remote ballasts, so the fixtures mounted on the top of the pole are only about 20lbs. New LED Sport Lights mostly have integrated drivers and weigh 60lbs+. When upgrading to LED we often see the overall fixture count cut in half so overall pole strength (wind load and fixture weight) is often ok. The arms holding the fixtures however are often not designed for the higher weight or mounting bracket type of the new fixtures. When installing LED sport lights, be sure to take a look at the specs of the existing arms and include new arms if that is needed.

Even if the existing arms are accessible, it can be cost effective to replace them with new. Depending on the design, fixture racks can be completely assembled on the ground, including mounting, wiring, and aiming the fixtures. Proper lifting points allow the entire assembly to be installed in one lift: greatly saving time in the air and equipment rental. Arms can be simple angle iron cross arms with mounting holes to more complex racks that include set mounting points, internal wire raceways, custom mounting brackets for the exact pole, and integrated lifting points.

We inspect the poles and racks as well as design and build new fixture arms and racks.

https://youtu.be/uCJJ4o2Ngl4?feature=shared

10/31/2023

Happy Halloween and Happy Tech Tip Tuesday!

With the Holiday season upon us we start seeing more decorations and banners hanging from light poles. As much as we love the added festiveness for the season there are a couple things we need to keep in mind. Banners add EPA wind load which needs to be taken into consideration when installing the banners on the pole. Most banner companies don’t take this into consideration when selling the banners and brackets. LED fixtures often have an EPA of less than 1 SqFt. Most banners are at least 3 SqFt each. Smaller banners or mounted lower on the poles are often not an issue, but larger banners, multiple banners on a pole, and banners mounted at the top of the pole grossly overload the Max EPA rating of any pole.

So what are some solutions for those Holiday banners and decorations? The only definite solution is knowing what your light pole and fixture’s max EPA is. But, some quick fixes are to look at where they are mounted, look for banners that have wind slits that allow wind to pass through the banner and look for flexible or spring mounted brackets to mount to. All of these will help to lower the EPA load.

10/24/2023

Our Light Pole Systems Team strives to make ordering light poles as easy as possible, but there are a few questions we will ask to make sure the pole is exactly what you need when it gets to the job site, rather than sending a pole and figuring it out later thats why this week's Tech Tip Tuesday is How to Order a Light Pole!

The info we will need is:
• Light pole height
• Material: steel or aluminum
• Size, shape, and thickness: 4” round 7gauge, 5” square 11 gauge etc
• Existing anchor bolt circle and size; If new, do you want anchor bolts
• Pole Color
• Any fixture mounting needs
• Any other custom additions

If you don’t know the strength requirements, (Steel vs aluminum, size, shape, and thickness) we will ask a few more questions to provide the best solution for your needs
• Where the pole is being installed: We need to know this to determine the wind speed in that area
• How many fixtures and what is the EPA of the fixtures per pole: We can find or figure EPA from the fixture spec sheet.

These will tell us how strong the pole needs to be based on the fixtures you are using and the wind speed in your area. From there, we can determine the material, size, shape, and thickness that is best for your application.

If you don’t know what fixtures are best, we also provide turn key packages with fixtures. We regularly ship poles, single or large quantity, across the country for single pole replacements or new installs.

10/17/2023

Sorry to have missed Tech Tip Tuesday last week as our team was at the 70th Annual NALMCO Trade Show and Convention in Indian Wells, CA. We are back this week with the topic: What if my light pole doesn't fit on the existing Anchor Bolts? This is a much more common problem then a lot of people would think. Normally the measurements are off because someone measured a bolt square pattern instead of a bolt circle. Other times, the anchor bolts for the pole you’re replacing are larger than the anchor bolts needed for the new pole being installed. If you’ve run into this problem, give our Anchor Bolt Adapters a try. The Anchor Bolt Adapters come in 3 sizes: ¾”, 1” and 1 to ¾” reducers.

10/10/2023

Ready for Day 2 at Nalmco Convention. Stop by the booth and pick up some koozies and coffee mug!

10/09/2023

All set up and ready to go for Day 1 of Nalmco convention! Come by and check it out!!

10/09/2023

First night of the 70th Annual NALMCO - The Standard For Lighting Management Quality Convention

10/03/2023

Happy Tech Tip Tuesday!! This week's tech tip: How to Level a Light Pole.

Here is a quick tech tip on how to level a light pole. there are many ways to do it, here is our way. We recommend using new nuts and washers, the proper wre...

09/26/2023

Happy Tech Tip Tuesday! This week's tech tip: What is the benefit of ultrasonic testing? Ultrasonic testing a light pole will show you the structural integrity of that light pole and tell you if it needs to be repaired with a Pole Repair Kit, completely replaced or monitored for preventative maintenance. Ultrasonic Testing is a more detailed and analytical way to provide data for financial approval for pole repairs versus just a visual inspection or hammer and punch test.

· Ultrasonic Testing

An overview of our Ultrasonic Testing and Pole Inspection Process by Light Pole Systems, Inc. provide your customers a more detailed inspection with data to ...