rlawless

Semper Fi... Is that a aluminum pole kit from Lowes?? If so, I had the same one and same problems.. I used a 10' piece of electrical conduit, it fit perfect and never had to worry again..

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kerry.king

I had an aluminum pole kit in my yard too. didnt even last a year. Junk. I'll be home in 3 weeks and I'm going to get a big ol' honking 24ft joint of 3" tubing and make my own pole. Let you guys know how it comes out.

Lary Ellis (Top)

Rich, that is the same pole I have and I put a 4x6 flag on it as well and it snapped the bottom section off in high wind...now it is a tad shorter and it handles the 3x5 just fine......They simply are not made for that large a flag or multiples.

Tallguy67

Why are y'all spending your time making really good lightning rods???

rlawless

A 10' stick is plenty long enough and I really don't think foam is going to assist in adding any strength or stiffness.. When I added a 10' piece of EMT I never had a problem again.. I did have to re-drill holes for the rope clevis..

Funny story: I sold the house where the flag pole was and took the flag pole with me.. I installed the base in away so as to be undetected when the pole was removed.. I didn't consider it a permanent fixture to the property but more of a movable yard display.. New owners really raised an unbelievable big STINK, so I returned the flag pole to them minus the EMT insert.. Drove by the house 2 weeks later and the pole had a nice 20* curve to it.. Serves them right!! For the big stink they made..

DieselDaze

Yes.


So Im finding.

This may be my best bet.
I will just need to make sure that the new insert fits all the way down into the base gravel (below ground level) as to reduce the stress on the outer aluminum pole at ground level.
Right now, the only saving grace is that amount of "give" under light winds is found in the thin aluminum and the slopy fit in the slip joints.
Together, these two weakenesses allow the entire pole to bend and give.
I fear that strenthening the pole above ground level will simply snap the pole at the base.

SIXSLUG

A bough that bends is less likely to break, stiffening it too much may lead to it having a catastrophic failure.

After researching this I would upgrade the pole to handle the desired size flag(s).

rlawless

You guys are way over analyzing this.. I told you what works.. Mine held up with two flags and 40+ mph winds. 10' Stick of EMT slides right down the inside... You guys must be retired. YES?

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SIXSLUG

^^^Not retired, just think too much about stuff I guess.

tankeryanker

I got my pole & flag fro United states Flaf co. so far it's held up for 2 yrs in some pretty gust winds. I have gone out & pulled the flag off if they were predicting 60mph sustained winds. This company also sells commercial grade poles.

DieselDaze

Well, never had to do anything to strengthen the pole, the drought has caused the ground to dry up and crack apart to the point where the concrete is no longer snug in the ground. Now, when the wind rustles, the pole falls from one side to the other due to the fact that the ground is so dry.
Who'd ever thought Id ever need to water a flag pole?

Gary Hanke

I used exspanding foam and it stiffened right up....

SIXSLUG

Smaller flag....

cougar

Bent poles and tattered flags are nothing new to Alaska. Most people learn after the first go around to take their flags down when the wind kicks up.

KATOOM

I dont know if its already been mentioned but after my flag pole bent from strong winds I pushed it back up straight, took it apart and put a smaller 8 - 10 feet of galvanized pipe in the bottom section. Then also poured sand down the bottom section as well. Its been like this for years and been through some strong storm winds.