How to Set Up Light Poles: Tips and Advice on Thinking Ahead

Not all the wiring we do for buildings is confined to the INSIDE of the building. Many times, we are tasked with installing site lighting/power to the EXTERIOR of the building and site. But how do we go about installing those light poles? In the latest episode of Electrician U, Dustin goes thru the process of how to prep for the installation and how to install the pole lights themselves.

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The first thing we must do is get the conduit run from the source of power TO the pole (or poles) itself. Pole lights generally are rather tall and will require a pole base to sit on. Someone will need to either drill a round hole several feet deep or dig a hole several feet deep. A round cardboard tube will be placed into the hole and project out of the hole a specific distance out of the ground (depending on site specific specifications). Once the rebar cage is installed, the conduits must be turned up and run up out of the top of the pole so they can be accessed via a handhole located in the pole itself, toward the bottom.
Important to note that generally a separate ground wire and a rod are usually required at the pole itself. This is in ADDITION to the equipment grounding conductor pulled in with the phase conductors. This additional ground is a grounding electrode conductor, NOT the equipment grounding conductor. Always check with your local AHJ and specifications to see what is needed.
Anchor bolts are imbedded in the concrete while it is poured. These bolts are to hold the pole itself down to the base. Somewhere around 1” in diameter (depending on pole height, weight, wind factors, etc.) and are anywhere from 18” to 36” long. 2 sets of nuts/washers will need to be on each bolt, and BOTH must project ABOVE the concrete level. This is important as the bottom set will be used to level the pole base (so the pole stands up straight) while the top set is used to actually fasten the bottom of the pole to the base.
Once all that prep work is done, you can start the pole installation itself. It is MUCH EASIER to install the head (or heads) on the pole and pull the wire from the top out of the hand hole while the pole is on the ground. Working at heights always takes longer, requires separate equipment, and carries additional risks that can be avoided. There are several ways to actually stand the pole up onto the pole base, but a sky track (or site forklift) is the standard equipment used. A crane can be utilized for longer poles if needed. A nylon choker/sling is put around the pole and the forks of the lift put thru one of the eyelets and up it goes. It is helpful to have an electrician or two on the ground to guide the pole onto the bolts, just make sure to KEEP YOUR HANDS OUT OF THE WAY!!
After the pole is set and the nuts tightened down, the pole is wired into the wires coming from the panel (and perhaps to the next pole(s) in line), the base cap put on to hide the anchor bolts, and the handhole cover installed.

[pyroman]

That is some of the worst concrete work I've seen. Lights looked great though! Ha

[dracula]

I've installed some light poles where we used prefab bases.

I always level the bottom nuts and washers before setting the poles. Some poles are tapered so you can't use levels on the sides. Plus it makes it so much easier and faster.

[CrossTimbersSon]

I worked for a company that owned a 60’ bucket truck with a jib crane that could be controlled from the base.
The construction crews did all of the underground work, built the poles, and placed them at each location.
The service department had one guy with an apprentice who set all the poles on every job, they also did all of the aerial service work.
Very efficient and safe for everyone.

[joeldube]

Always level the bottom nuts first, tweak the maybe after, and we put never seize compound on them. Cause they get knocked down all the time...Did that when i worked in traffic light business, and now as a maintenance electrician on a university campus with roadway lighting...Great job Mr..👍👊

[TheDrew]

Justin: Mike Holt has a video or two about why an equipment ground has to be run to each pole, why you can't just depend on a ground rod for grounding. If the pole becomes energized, there has to be a way for the electricity to get back to the source, and the equipment grounding conductor does that. Same explanation you give for why we have an equipment grounding conductor on branch circuits applies to lamp posts as a string of lamp posts is just a single circuit system.

[NotMuchHere]

HaHa this is great. My dad the power engineer (deceased) grabbed a bunch of light poles. Got a metal lathe. These lights had a folding base and were 10-20 feet tall. He made joins got another 10-20 feet and used them for a Ham dipole .. (3 band so 3x dipole) I had one for my TV antenna, moved it to a new property. When I dehammed his house I grabbed 4 of his 5 and got one up with a starlink on top!. Miss ya dad! I never could get those quite right and I always buried a nut!

[fastlap]

Be sure to exclude rubbing and finishing the pole bases. Did they vibrate the 3000psi it looks terrible?

[TNFTAW]

I dig seeing different methods, in North Dakota we never let cement guys touch anything. We finish the bases, inset the bolts, and never need a skim coat to finish. Also, we are not allowed to use straight conductors in the pole as they will rub against the inside as the pole sways in the wind and eventually wear through and arc out.

[alphasaiyan]

Great video ! Did about 300 light poles on a job out by college station a few years ago. People always want light poles, underground type work, done in the boiling heat so yeah. But totally off topic, do a video on using portable generators to run a whole house. How to make them legal and safe and what not. Thanks for all your hard work 👍

[joes]

The gal vs PVC is based on how often the PVC snaps off when the ground and pole base settle differently. However, the gal needs to extend at least 10ft away from the base if your going to prevent breaking the transition from gal to PVC. This is not usually a code requirement but good practice.

[jakebayne]

Done these a few times at different jobs, loved it! I caught on pretty quick on how to assemble and wire them, the foreman did not, so I had to go behind him and fix half of them. It was good times. I'm not in the electrical field anymore, and I miss it everyday! Love the videos!!

[TheOriginalJoneser]

I always use 2 templates. One lower on the threads, and one at the top. It keeps them all lined up correctly and NO HAMMERING THREADS, which weakens the the concrete and the bolt. Save all the extra nuts and washers for next time.

[Squat]

A tip for templates.

We have a metal shop plasma cut bolt templates out of steel so we can reuse them. Poles are pretty standard for us. 2 per set of bolts high and low can keep them plumb.

Other times we use a bottom plate we weld on site with a top template if we know the GC is using hacks for concrete work so it's even harder for them to screw up

[stevencole]

The Ridgid conduit makes no sense as in 20 to 30 years it will be rotted out . Pvc in the ground and in concrete will last for thousands of years and replacing conductors will be a breeze . Now you can wrap the Ridgid in tape to protect it from the concrete as it can be corrosive and get a longer lifespan out of that Ridgid . conduit .

[ericfransen]

Our HOA has direct burial tapered round fiberglass light poles set in concrete and the electrician has had replace two of them and neither is plum all that way round like the original install. A video on setting those buggers would great! Keep up the legit good work!

[mcroccaro]

I set some poles just like those. I set the bolts (I never trut the concrete guys) and we used a skidsteer with a pole grabber attachment to set them. It works really well. I wish I had photos. The one problem we had was when we put the dirt in the ground settled really bad and we had to dig it back up and fill it with 1 1/2" gravel and pack it all back down with a wacky packer.

[igfoobar]

I always wondered why poles weren't set flush to the concrete. Now I know. The nuts are for leveling. Thanks for pointing that out.

[briansiebert]

We use putty to cover the bottoms of the lower nuts, in order to keep them from being embedded in the concrete.

[ianbelletti]

The NEC only requires an equipment ground. As he pointed out some regions do require a ground to earth. The purpose of the earth connection is to try to dissipate as much of the energy from lightning to the earth as possible before it reaches the building. It's added protection above and beyond the NEC requirements.

As a rule of thumb it's normally good to do what preassembly you can while the equipment is on the ground and easy to work on but it's not always good to do a full preassembly. Ceiling fans are an example of this. With ceiling fans you typically want to leave the fan blades off and any components that will cover your blade assembly screws so that the blades don't get in your way as well as any glass components and the lamps for their protection. Preassembly where it's easy saves time and effort in most circumstances.

[fredbedard]

Wish you showed the polembeing raised with the forklift curious how the pole was balanced.
Thx