Bergey Tilt Tower User manual

BWC EXCEL1
Tilt Tower
Installation Manual
Bergey Windpower Co., Inc.
2200 Industrial Blvd.
Norman, OK 73069 USA
Telephone: [phone]
Fax: [phone]
E-mail: [email protected]
Web: www.bergey.com
60’ Tilt Tower
80’ Tilt Tower
100’ Tilt Tower
Version 5
January
2012

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BWC Tilt-up Tower & BWC EXCEL1
INSTALLATION MANUAL
TableofContents
Safety..............................................................................................................................2
1) Components...............................................................................................................4
2) Anchors & Base Plate................................................................................................6
3) Tower Assembly.......................................................................................................12
4) Initial Tower Raising.................................................................................................19
5) Lowering the Tower..................................................................................................21
6) Installing the EXCEL1 Wind Turbine........................................................................22
7) Final Tower Raising .................................................................................................29
8) Misc. Reference Material .........................................................................................31
9) Tilt Tower Packing Lists...........................................................................................37
TableofFigures
Figure 1: Major Tower Components...............................................................................5
Figure 2: Anchor Layout.................................................................................................7
Figure 3: Base Plate Assembly....................................................................................10
Figure 4: Anchor Installation.........................................................................................11
Figure 5: Guy Wire Attachment....................................................................................15
Figure 6: Gin-pole Safety Wire Assembly.....................................................................16
Figure 7: Tower Tilt-up Sequence................................................................................19
Figure 8: Major Components of the EXCEL 1..............................................................22
Figure 9: EXCEL 1 Wiring Schematics.........................................................................23
Figure 10: Turbine Mounting........................................................................................25
Figure 11: Blade and Spinner Fasteners......................................................................26
Figure 12: Nut Tightening Order...................................................................................27
Figure 13: Tail Fin Attachment.....................................................................................27
Figure 14: Tail Boom Attachment.................................................................................28
Figure 15: Guy Wire Transfer Sequence......................................................................29
Figure 16: Concrete Anchors .......................................................................................33
TableofTables
Table 1: Pull-up Force and Cable Travel......................................................................17
Table 2: Recommended Wire Sizes for the EXCEL1 24V............................................24
Table 3: Soil Classifications .........................................................................................32

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Safety
This manual contains important information concerning the installation of your Bergey
Tilt Tower, EXCEL1 wind turbine, and PowerCenter controller. We strongly recommend
that you read and familiarize yourself with its contents.
At several points in this manual, items of special interest or significant impact are high-
lighted by one of the following symbols:
DANGER: Hazard or unsafe practice that could cause personal injury or death.
WARNING:Hazard or unsafe practice which could cause product damage.
NOTE: Significant point of interest.
DANGER: Installation of this tower and turbine system should only be conducted
by qualified personnel. Installation by unqualified personnel could result in damage to
persons or property and may void the manufacturer’s warranty.
DANGER: Inadequate attention to proper rigging and procedures can lead to
destruction of the equipment and/or serious injury. DO NOT cut corners or get into a
hurry.

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TOWER SAFETY NOTES
1. Never climb the tower.
2. All persons not directly involved in the installation should stay clear of the area when
the tower is being raised or lowered.
3. All persons near the tower should wear OSHA-approved hardhats.
4. Tower work should be done by trained personnel.
5. Tower should not be constructed near utility lines. Injury or death may result.
6. DO NOT use a tractor or other vehicle to erect the tower without exercising extreme
caution.
7. Stay clear of the tower in the presence or possibility of severe weather of any kind.
8. Thoroughly understand the tower erection procedure before beginning the installa-
tion.
TOP 10 REASONS FOR TOWER FAILURE
1. Improper torque on guy line grip clips & no yearly inspection
2. Improper guy line tensioning & no yearly inspection
3. Improper guy line radii
4. Improper anchor installation
5. Improper base installation
6. Construction of base pad above frost depth
7. Improper torque on tower connections
8. Improper height of installed guy lines
9. Stainless steel cotter pins not used
10.Improper installation in corrosive soil

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1) Components
The major components for the tower kits are shown in
Figure 1. The tower sections are 4.5” diameter thin-wall steel tubes that have been
swaged down at one end (except for end tubes) so they fit into each other. Every 20’ in
height (two 10’ tower sections) there is a guy bracket with four 3/16” diameter guy wires
attached. These guy wires go out to four earth anchors and are attached with malleable
clips. The top guy bracket attaches to the top tower tube mid-section.
The tower sections rest on a base plate assembly that often rests directly on the
ground. The base plate provides the pivot point for the tower and gin-pole. The gin-
pole is the lever arm used for raising and lowering the tower. It does not reach all the
way out to the earth anchor in its direction, so a transfer of guy wires is necessary dur-
ing raising and lowering. The lifting eyes on the guy wires are for connecting to the gin-
pole during lifting and before transferring to the permanent anchors. The gin-pole has a
teeter assembly at its end to accommodate the guy wires and the lifting line from the
winch used for raising and lowering.

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Figure 1: Major Tower Components
XL.1 Wind Turbine
Guy Set, 75 ft. Level
Guy Set, 60 ft. Level
Guy Set, 40 ft. Level
Guy Set, 20 ft. Level
Tower Tube
Base Tube
Base Tube
Tower Tube Gin-pole Top Tube
(with teeter brackets)
Earth Ancho
r
Base Plate
Lifting Gu
y
-Wires
(with swaged-on
lifting eyes)
Malleable Clips
Guy Wires
80’ Towe
r

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2) Anchors & Base Plate
Tools Required:
5-6 wood or metal stakes
Hammer
Sledge-hammer
100’ tape measure
6” Diameter x 5’ power auger
Chance/Hubbell #C302-0003 10’ Expanding & Tamping Tool
or 10’ long x 3” diameter heavy wall steel pipe
Shovel
9/16” box-end wrench
9/16” socket and ratchet drive or 12” crescent wrench
Procedure:
Step 1:
Mark the ground location for the tower base plate, guy anchors, and the lifting anchor
for the gin pole. The appropriate dimensions and ground layout are shown in Figure 2.
Make sure that you have sufficient room for the tower and turbine to tilt down. If you
plan to mount solar modules on the tower we recommend that the gin-pole be oriented
towards South in the Northern Hemisphere and North in the Southern Hemisphere. If
the site is not level, try to position the tower so that it will be lowered in the uphill direc-
tion. Check the diagonal distance between anchor points to ensure that they are
spaced in a squared pattern.
DANGER: The tower must not be erected near electric power lines. Most over-
head power lines are not insulated, so they pose a life-threatening
shock hazard.
NOTE: The side guy anchors and the base plate must be on a straight line to en-
sure adequate cable tension during raising or lowering operations. If ex-
act placement of an anchor point is not possible, it should be moved out-
ward from the base rather than inward. Try to keep the side anchors and
the base plate at approximately the same elevation.

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Figure 2: Anchor Layout

8
Step 2:
At the four guy wire anchor stakes and the gin-pole anchor stake, auger 6” diameter
holes at a ~ 45 degree angle oriented so that the anchor eye ends will be closest to the
tower base (center). The holes should be deep enough that the anchor rod projects 4”
– 6” above the surface when placed in the hole (without the bell attached).
Attach the rod to the anchor bell and insert in hole. Make sure it goes all the way to the
bottom of the hole. Expand the bell anchor using the Chance Expanding & Tamping
Bar or a heavy pipe. Turn the Eye at the end of the rod so that it is oriented vertically so
that the guy wires will attach in a straight vertical line. Make sure that the bell is fully
expanded because its “bite” into virgin soil provides the primary strength of the anchor.
Refill the hole about 12” at a time, then carefully compacting the soil using a tamping
tool. The fill must be compacted to develop proper strength and to keep water from
seeping in and compromising the anchor strength.
For weak or problematic soils, it may be necessary to use concrete for the anchors or
use an alternate anchoring method. These topics are covered in Chapter 8, under An-
choring.
Step 3:
For most installations the base plate will sit directly on the ground. This is actually the
preferred configuration. A concrete base is only needed when the soil strength is very
low, such as sand or marsh.
Assemble the four piece base plate with the 3/8” x 1” stainless bolts, washers, and lock-
nuts supplied with the kit as shown in
Figure 3. To prevent galling, apply anti-seize compound to the bolt threads before
screwing on the nuts.
Install the base plate with its up-turned flanges aligned with the tower lay-down direc-
tion. Sink the down-turned edges into the soil. Pound the 8’ copper-clad grounding rod
into the ground through one of the two 7/8” holes in the base plate, using a sledgeham-
mer. Leave about 4” of rod above the Base Plate.
When using a concrete base for the tower we recommend a base that is roughly 26” x
26” x 12” deep, with several pieces of steel reinforcing bar placed horizontally. Assem-
ble the Base Plate. The Tilt Tower Base Plate must be secured to the concrete using
two 5/8” hex head bolts (not supplied) or concrete anchor bolts (not supplied) installed
through the ¾” holes normally used for the ground rods.

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You can either cast hex bolts into the concrete or pour the concrete pad and install an-
chor bolts after the pad has cured. Drilling the pad for anchor bolts will generally require
the use of a hammer drill. For cast in bolts, we recommend two 6” long galvanized 5/8”
diameter bolts with about 2 ½” of the threaded end sticking up above the concrete. The
bolts should be centered on the pad and spaced 17.7” apart. Note the tower tilt align-
ment direction required in
Figure 3.
For non-concrete installations the channel plate that faces towards the gin-pole anchor
should be assembled in the extended position, as shown in
Figure 3. When being bolted to a concrete pad the channel plate should be assembled
in the retracted position. Securely bolt the Base Plate to the concrete pad. Install the
ground rods adjacent to the concrete pad.

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Figure 3: Base Plate Assembly
Galvanized
bolts (6 places)
Top View
Side View
7/8“ holes for ground
rods or concrete
anchors
Move this
channel
in when
mounting
on concrete
Bolt hole fo
r
tower tube Bolt hole fo
r
gin-pole tube
Tower tilt-
down
direction
Ginpole
direction

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Figure 4: Anchor Installation

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3) Tower Assembly
Tools Required:
1 1/4” box-end wrench or 18” crescent wrench
¾” box-end wrench
7/16” box-end wrench
18” crescent wrench
12” crescent wrench
7/16” nut driver or socket w/ratchet
Tape measure or rope
Electrical tape
Procedure:
Step 1:
Bolt the base tower section to the base plate using a 3/4” diameter x 6 1/2” long bolt and
nut through the hole drilled in the end of the base section. Use the lower hole in the cen-
ter of the long base plate, as shown in
Figure 3. Secure the ¾” nut with a ¾” pal-nut.
Note: If the power leads are to be carried inside the tower, as is recommended,
they should be installed as the tower is being assembled. See Table 2 in
Section 6 for wire size recommendations.
Step 2:
Add one 10’ standard section to the base section for a total of 20’. Slide on the first guy
ring (Labeled “20 ft. Level”) over the top of the swedged (reduced) section of the tube,
with the spooled guy wire sets attached. Do not unspool the guy wires at this stage.
Slide the guy ring all the way down the swedged part of the tube to the “lip” where the
tubes join. The ring will rest against the lip of the tube and the next tower tube will press
against it. Make sure that the guy ring “ears” are facing towards the base plate.
Make sure that the guy wire spool with the free swedged thimble (lifting eye) is on the
top. This thimble will attach to the gin-pole, so it needs to be oriented towards where
the gin-pole will be assembled.
Step 3:
Add two more 10’ sections and slide on the 40’ level guys. Make sure that the guy ring
“ears” are facing towards the base plate. Slide the guy ring down the swedged end of

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the tube to the lip where the tubes join. The ring will rest against the lip of the tube and
the next tower tube will press against it. Do not unspool the guy wires at this stage.
Make sure that the guy wire spool with the free swedged thimble (lifting eye) is on the
top.
Step 4:
On a 60’ tower, add one more 10’ section. Then loosely add the top section, which has
eight threaded holes at its mid-section and six turbine mounting holes at its top. The
turbine mounting holes must be at the top of the tower.
Add the Top Guy Bracket Collar, ensuring that the bracket ears face towards the base.
Make sure that the guy wire spool with the free swedged thimble is on the top. Do not
unspool the guy wires.
Attach the Collar to the top tube using six (6) ¼” x 1” stainless hex head bolts, after first
applying Loctite to each bolt. A small tube of Loctite is supplied in the tower kit. DO
NOT apply anti-seize. Torque these bolts to 45 ft-lbs.
Adjust the angular alignment of the top tube so that the guy bracket ear of the spool with
the free swedged thimble (lifting eye) is in line with the lower two brackets. Now the top
tower tube can be fully pressed on.
Step 4-A (80’ towers only):
On the 80’ tower add two more standard sections and a guy level, and then the top two
section as described in the previous paragraphs.
Step 4-B (100’ towers only):
On the 100’ tower, add four more 10’ sections, sliding on the 60’ and 80’ level guy rings
and wires. Make sure that the guy ring “ears” are facing towards the base plate. Slide
the guy rings all the way down the swedged part of the tube to the “lip” where the tubes
join at the 60’ and 80’ levels. Do not unspool the guy wires at this stage.
Make sure that the guy wire spool with the free swedged thimble (lifting eye) is on the
top.
Add one more standard section and then the top section as described in the previous
paragraphs.
Step 5:
Roll out the side guy wires to the side anchors. Use a screwdriver or small diameter rod
through the center of the wire spool to act as a hub. Let the wire unwind as you walk
out to the anchor point.

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Note: The guy wires with the lifting eyes must be on the upper side of the hori-
zontal tower sections. This eye is clipped to the top of the gin pole. These
guy wires will serve as the lifting wires until the tower is fully erected.
Note: Guy wires must be rolled out to the anchors, not let out from a coil held in
the hand or from the side of the spool. These latter two methods will allow
the wire to become severely twisted and stressed, making it very difficult
to handle.
Step 6:
When the guy wires are rolled out to all the anchors, check to ensure that the tower is at
a 90 degree angle to the line joining the side anchors and the base plate. If the anchors
were accurately placed the tower should lay close to the “uphill” anchor point (see Fig-
ure 2). If not, use a tape measure or a rope to check that the diagonal distances from
the tower top to each side anchor are approximately the same. Check also that the front
and rear anchors and the lifting anchor are in line with the tower.
WARNING: Extra care must be taken while raising the tower if the anchor place-
ment is not perpendicular (90 degrees) to the tower, or if the side an-
chors are not at the same elevation, or if the side anchors and base
plate are not in a straight line. Any of these conditions will affect the
guy wire tension as the tower is raised. Tension must be adjusted pe-
riodically as the tower is raised.
Step 7:
Assemble the 3/16” HD thimbles on the anchor rod eyes by twisting them open, press-
ing them on, and twisting them closed. Two crescent wrenches work well for this task.
There will be 3 thimbles per anchor on the 60’ tower, 4 thimbles per anchor on the 80’
tower, and 5 thimbles per anchor on the 100’ tower.
Slide three wire rope malleable clips (supplied in the guy set box) onto each guy wire
end. Place the wire rope clips on the wire so that the forged, grooved part cradles the
wire coming from the tower (the “tension side”) and the “U-bolt” part clamps down on
the end-most section of the wire. Thread the guy wire end through the anchor rod eye
and around a thimble, double back and slide through the first wire rope malleable clip.
The guy wires are wrapped around the anchor eye thimbles as shown on the anchor
detail in Figure 5. Leave a little slack in the guy wire. Snug up the wire rope malleable
clips using a 7/16” nut driver. Tighten two of the clips. Let the other clip remain loose
until the tower has been erected and leveled.

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Figure 5: Guy Wire Attachment
Step 8:
Referring to
Figure 3, the gin-pole will attach to the base plate with a 3/4” diameter x 6 1/2” long bolt.
The gin-pole is assembled in the same direction as the tower itself, with the gin-pole
resting on top of the tower sections. Secure the ¾” nut with a ¾” pal-nut.
The following procedure integrates the assembly of the gin-pole safety wire (see Figure
6), which will keep the gin-pole from coming apart when the load direction changes dur-
ing tower raising:
1. Assemble gin-pole – align holes at each end
2. Slide safety wire inside gin pole.
3. Assemble gin-pole on top of tower.
4. When bolting gin-pole to base plate, pass bolt through loop in safety wire.
5. When assembling gin-pole brackets at the outer end of the gin pole, pass bolt
through loop in safety wire.
The 60’ tower uses a 20’ gin pole, made up of two 10’ sections. The 80’ and 100’ tow-
ers use a 30’ gin pole, made up of three 10’ sections.
The safety wire has three thimbles attached, one at each end and one 9’ from the end.
Use the two thimbles at the ends for the 80’ and 100’ towers. Use one end thimble and
the intermediate thimble for the 60’ tower.

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BOLT
Figure 6: Gin-pole Safety Wire Assembly
Make sure that the bracket bolt in the end section of the gin-pole is aligned as shown in
Figure 6. Bolt the gin-pole brackets to the end section with the ¾” bolt, making sure to
pass the bolt through the safety wire thimble. Secure the bolt with a ¾” nut and Pal-Nut.
Attach the snap link to the gin-pole bracket with a ½” bolt. A snap link is a heavy galva-
nized steel or stainless steel loop with a spring-loaded gate or opening side bar. Be
sure that the snap link opens down and away from the base plate. This will allow the
lifting guy wires to be clipped and unclipped in the correct order.
Step 9:
Roll out each level of the lifting guy wires and attach each of the swaged-on lifting eyes
to the snap links shackled to the bracket at the end of the gin pole. The top guy wire
attaches to the forward snap link. The lower guy(s) are clipped to the second snap link,
the lowest guy wire first. Make sure that the guy wires are not twisted. The free ends of
the remaining guy wires will be attached to the forward anchor after the tower is erect-
ed. Keep the wires well organized so this will be easy to do.
Step 10:
Attach the two yellow polypropylene ropes to the top of the gin pole. Run one of the
ropes to each of the side anchors. The ropes prevent the gin-pole from falling sideways
when vertical, and center it as the tower is being raised.
Step 11:
Attach the cable from the lifting device to the gin-pole tie top bracket with a shackle from
the hardware kit. Electric or hand winches may be used. The pull-up forces (including
the EXCEL1 turbine) and the pull-up cable lengths are given in Table 1:

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Table 1: Pull-up Force and Cable Travel
Height
(ft)
Pull-up
Force
(lbs)
Pull-up
Cable
Travel (ft)
59 750 30
78 1,150 43
97 1,550 43
These loads are static loads. Bouncing or shock loading can cause higher momentary
loads. We recommend using at least 3/16” steel wire rope for the lifting. We also rec-
ommend a 2:1 pulley block arrangement to reduce the line tension for the 25 and 32
meter towers. A 2:1 pulley block will cut the pull-up force in half. The pulley block is at-
tached to the gin-pole shackle or snap-link. Please remember that using a 2:1 pulley
will double the pull-up cable travel to 86 ft on the taller towers.
WARNING: If a winch is used, we strongly recommend that a worm-gear type be
used and that a spur-gear type be avoided. A worm-gear winch is in-
herently self-locking and cannot free-spool like a spur-gear type
winch.
WARNING: If using a tractor or truck, extreme care must be exercised. Use a
pulley block at the lifting anchor. Never attach a cable from a truck or
tractor directly to the gin-pole end. Proceed slowly and smoothly.
Step 12:
Walk the gin-pole toward the vertical position while taking in the slack with the lifting de-
vice. When the gin-pole is nearly vertical, all the lifting wires should be tight. If using a
drum winch, try to guide the cable onto the drum so that it is distributed evenly across
the surface of the drum.
Step 13:
Use some tape to secure the tower electrical wiring at the top end of the tower so that it
will not slide down the tower when the tower is raised.
Step 14:
Lift the tower 4’ to 8’ above the ground to check the operation of the lifting device and
the security of the lifting and guy cables. The side guy wires must be tended to prevent
the tower from bowing or falling off to one side or the other. In addition to checking the
security and adjustment of the guy wires, check the lifting anchor for movement. If the
gin-pole anchor will not hold, the soil is too poor for this type of anchor or the depth of
the anchor was insufficient. The maximum lifting force is experienced when the tower is
first lifted from the ground.

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WARNING: Do not work under or near the tower while it is being lifted. Do not
work under or near the tower when it is off the ground, unless it is
resting on blocks or is fully guyed.
Step 15:
Lower the tower and make any necessary adjustments to the guy wires or anchors.
Roll out the guy wires that will be attached to the back anchor located under the tower
pole. Attach the set of back guy wires to the back anchor. The back wires should be
walked over to the side anchors to get an approximate length prior to attachment.

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4) Initial Tower Raising
At this stage, an initial tower raising without the wind turbine in place is recommended.
It will ensure that all the cables and anchors are secure, that the lifting procedure is sat-
isfactory, and will allow the back guy wires to be attached and adjusted. The sequence
is shown in Figure 7.
Tools Required:
7/16” nut driver
Procedure:
Step 1:
Start lifting the tower 10oto 20oat a time. Monitor the side guy wires and the yellow gin-
pole ropes carefully. They may become either loose or tight if the site and the anchor
points are not perfectly level. Although there must be some tension in the wires at all
times to provide side support for the tower, there must always be visible slack in the guy
wires. If no slack is visible, the tension is too great.
WARNING: Over-tension may cause failure of the wires, the anchors, or the tow-
er. For further information, refer to the section on SLACK at the end
of the instructions.
Failure to install the Ginpole
Safety Wire can lead to ginpole
separation !
Figure 7: Tower Tilt-up Sequence