FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Quick answers to your questions based on our team’s years of experience.

Light Pole Inspection FAQ

Ultra sonic 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 Light Pole Repair Kit.

Download PDF to see how ultra sonic testing can keep your light poles safe

Many lighting maintenance contractors offer services to test the poles using a number of methods.

Visual inspection is most common and often very accurate. Lift the base cover up and look for signs of rust.

Rusted light poles often have a flaky rusty look to them and need to be repaired.

A punch test, where the light pole is tapped with a hammer and punch on the most badly rusted part of the metal to test for fatigue and rust.

If the metal bends, dents or flakes the light pole is in need of repair.

And finally, an ultrasonic wall thickness tester can be used to measure the thickness of the poles. Not all contractors have the equipment to Ultrasonic Test Poles.

Please call (714) 786-8983 or email us at Sales@LightPoleSystems.com and we can help you find a contractor to help you in your area.

Yes, light poles often fail below the base cover where a visual inspection is often over looked.

Lift the light poles’s base cover and make sure it is not rusted through.

Inspect for flaky looking metal rust, that is a tell tail sign of the light pole in need of repair.

If you are unsure of a parking lots poles condition please call (714) 786-8983 or email us at Sales@LightPoleSystems.com and we will be happy to assist you.

Even if the light poles look great on the outside with new paint and a base cover they can still be in danger of falling from rust.

Many times light poles are maintained only above the Base Cover with new paint every few years.

Majority of light poles fail below the hand hole cover and under the Base Cover where moisture collects and causes the lowest 12 inches of the pole to rust and become a liability and safety hazard.

Over irrigation from near by planters and lawns are often the root cause of the rusted light pole base.

Weather is hard on light poles, particularly rainy areas where light poles do not get a chance to dry.

However Non Routine Maintenance is a reason why light poles rust to failure instead of being caught in early stages of rust.

Light Pole Systems Light Pole Base Repair Kit will repair your pole to new structural integrity in most cases.

We Recommend a Light Pole Cone Base Cover to keep water from rusting your light pole bases.

Pole Repair Kit FAQ

The base is engineered to repair rusted poles up to 35 feet tall with 2.5 square feet of head surface area.

This means that at 35 feet tall and wind surface area of 2.5 feet, the bases will withstand 125 mph of wind.

Our engineers have approved the use of a box bolt to attach the base to the pole.

Hold the large hex body with a wrench and tighten the smaller hex bolt with an impact or ratchet until the small hex breaks off at 57 ft/lbs of torque.

A box bolt works much like a rivet. It is inserted into the hole in the base and pole.

The outer shell is held constant when the inner bolt is tightened.

The expansion nut is pulled into the shell and the bolt expands inside the metal.

The Pole Repair Kit is engineered for any 4 or 5 inch, round and square pole.

The pole anchor bolt circle for 4-inch poles must be within 8.75-11.5 inches with an anchor bolt no larger than 0.8127 inch.

For a 5-inch pole the bolt circle must fall inside 10.375-12.75 inches with an anchor bolt no larger than 1.25 inch.

The pole needs to be standing with good structural integrity above the hand hole.

Locking Hand Hole Cover FAQ

Any standard 1-inch shackle lock will work.

The Universal Locking Hand Hole Cover fits any pole 4 inch and larger. The 4″ cover fits a hand hole with a minimum 1” wide X 3” tall inner opening and a maximum 3 5/8” wide X 6 5/8″ tall outer lip. The 6″ cover fits a hand hole with a minimum 1 1/2” wide X 4” tall inner opening and a maximum 5 5/8” wide X 7 5/8″ tall outer lip.

It takes about 5 minutes to install a locking hand hole cover.

Light Pole Base Cover FAQ

To remove the Cone Base Cover, simply cut the silicone bead around the top of the base with a razor knife and slide the base up the pole.

To seal the Cone Base Cover, Light Pole Systems recommends a bead of paintable Silicone around the top of the base at the pole and at the vertical seam of the base cover.

The same method applies to the cone base cover and the decorative base cover.