How much weight for a 1.5 mtr dish floor stand?

[dog-man]

I am toying with the idea of changing my 1.1 metre Triax dish for a 1.5 metre dish. I don't think I could go any bigger without upsetting neighbours or my local council.

The obvious place for me to place it would be on a flat roof.

I am wondering how much weight I would need to ensure it doesn't take off in high winds?

It is a single storey flat roof, but as I live near the sea, it can get very windy.

[TonyO]

Bolted to a side wall would be better, on a flat roof you would need a lot of weight to hold it down, with the violent weather in the uk these days something not bolted down is likely to go walk about in a storm.

[Mickha]

There are some flat roof stands, specifically made, for this kind of installation. It allows you to spread the weight, using sand bags, paving slabs, or other method, to weigh it down.
How much weight you need is down to how exposed, the dish will be, and the force of winds, especially as you live near the sea, so could be exposed to severe gales.
How sturdy is this flat roof? Can it take all that weight, motor, dish, stand, and ballast?

[TonyO]

Most flat roofs are light timber with felt covering, you cant load them up too much or else the dish will come through the roof on a sunny day let alone a stormy one !

[Barney]

Both my 1.2 meter channel master offset and 2 meter prime focus dishes are ground mounted
i musta put 8-10 bags of sand,gravel and cement in to keep both dishes solid in high winds
maybbe a bit over the top but i took no chances and now im glad i didnt because since then both dishes survived 140kmph winds
and are still solid in place and ive never had to adjust or look at them since .
but im shortly gonna have no choice but to replace the actuator arm on my 2 meter dish for the 3rd time in 8 years
its certainly starting to struggle heavily when moving now not with rust however but maybbe some rain water got in the black plastic cover cap again on the actuator arm siezing up the arm ..not the first time thats happened ,
i guess maybbe 2-3 years is about the lifespan of an actuator arm anyways ,
but where ever you mount this 1.5 dish make sure you can change actuator arm easily and adjust LNB Skew without running up/down ladders thats the main reason i went for ground mounted dish no ladders required .
i also have a 1.6m fortec star solid offset dish but its laying in my garage since my 1.2m channel master out preforms it believe it or not
i think there maybbe a dent in that 1.6m dish anyhow probably the reason .
anyways good luck dog-man ,
and you could consider a Raven [ previously Channel master i think ] 1.2m dish that should preform as good or better than a 1.5 meter dish .
cheers ,
-
Barney

[satwyn]

ihave a floor stand you can have for free if you can pick it up new unused ideal for a flat roof

[TheBadger]

Can you remove a fascia board to check the depth of the roof joists? Minimum spec. should be 6"x2" at 16" centres to allow for insulation and ventilation. These should have been clad in at least 18mm OSB or exterior grade ply. I would guess that if your roof meets these specs. it will safely support half a ton of ballast plus satellite kit.

[dog-man]

Hmmm, thanks for all the advice.
I think perhaps I should play safe and make it wall mounted if I do get a 1.5 mtr dish as my 1.1 mtr dish is now.

[moonbase]

...and you could consider a Raven [ previously Channel master i think ] 1.2m dish that should preform as good or better than a 1.5 meter dish...
Barney

Barney,
I don't agree that a Raven 1.2m will perform as good or better than a 1.5m dish. Are you saying that a Raven 1.2m dish will perform as good or better than a 1.5m Gibertini offset dish or a 1.5m Precision prime focus dish? The OP has not indicated what make of 1.5m dish he intends to get.

On the subject of actuators, if a second hand Jaeger 1224 H-H motor could be sourced and an adaptor plate made to fit the dish then it will last for decades without the need for a replacement.


dog-man
If you are going to mount a 1.5m dish on the wall make sure you use some hefty brass rawl bolts to anchor the fixing brackets, there is a lot of wind load to consider. I am sure you probably considered it but better safe than sorry.

[dog-man]

My current brackets are fixed to the wall with some long rawl bolts that go through into both layers of brick so it is quite substantial.

I was thinking about putting a 1.5 mtr dish on the flat roof because I thought less chance of next door complaining. If I put it where my current dish is, it would obviously stand out much more and be more visible because of its size.

[moonbase]

My current brackets are fixed to the wall with some long rawl bolts that go through into both layers of brick so it is quite substantial.

I was thinking about putting a 1.5 mtr dish on the flat roof because I thought less chance of next door complaining. If I put it where my current dish is, it would obviously stand out much more and be more visible because of its size.

The ground stand in the illustration posted by "Mickha" will spread the weight of the ballast out more evenly than concrete kerb stones. If you are going for a flat roof mount I would get one of the "non penetrating" mount stands as posted by "Mickha". Make sure you get one with a 3" or 75mm diameter pole as they come in different pole sizes. I think the paving slabs that fit into the frame are standard size that you can get from any builders/DIY store?

Out of interest, what dish are you thinking of getting?

Good luck whichever way you go.

[dog-man]

No idea yet what dish I would get.