03-20-2013, 06:14 AM
HELCO has tightened up on mixed power/telco; Telcom requires 14' (and two ground rods), and last I heard HELCO requires a minimum 18" clearance between theirs and Telcom, and they will probably tell you "no can" (even though they can).
HELCO will deliver to a 4" galvanized pole, but requires 6" if you want both power/telco. They also seem to believe that you should dig a big hole, then use lots of concrete to set the pole, even though a hole bored into existing pahoehoe (especially blue rock) is almost always superior.
Note that 14' + 18" is nearly 16' and the pipe comes in 20' sections, so you may or may not be able to get enough pipe into the ground; two 4" poles might be easier, especially if you ever get Oceanic in the mix -- separate high-voltage/low-voltage poles makes it really easy for everyone (except you).
Both HELCO and Telcom will hang the first 100' from the line, so your house (or pole) needs to be that close to the road.
There's "a guy" (probably more than one) with a bore that will drill through the rock and lift the pole into place. Have your gate posts and ground rods drilled at the same time. Backfill the ground rod holes with dirt, not cinder (water retention makes for better conductivity).
HELCO will deliver to a 4" galvanized pole, but requires 6" if you want both power/telco. They also seem to believe that you should dig a big hole, then use lots of concrete to set the pole, even though a hole bored into existing pahoehoe (especially blue rock) is almost always superior.
Note that 14' + 18" is nearly 16' and the pipe comes in 20' sections, so you may or may not be able to get enough pipe into the ground; two 4" poles might be easier, especially if you ever get Oceanic in the mix -- separate high-voltage/low-voltage poles makes it really easy for everyone (except you).
Both HELCO and Telcom will hang the first 100' from the line, so your house (or pole) needs to be that close to the road.
There's "a guy" (probably more than one) with a bore that will drill through the rock and lift the pole into place. Have your gate posts and ground rods drilled at the same time. Backfill the ground rod holes with dirt, not cinder (water retention makes for better conductivity).