Knowledge

Ground Sockets and Spikes: Installing a Rotary Airer

Every rotary airer in this range ships with a plastic ground socket. Whether that socket is the right fixing depends on the ground, the airer size and how much work the customer is prepared to do.

The plastic socket set in concrete

The standard method, and the one illustrated on the LYQ225 catalogue sheet: dig a hole, put gravel in the base for drainage, set the plastic socket in concrete with the rim flush to the lawn. It is the strongest fixing and the only sensible one for a 60 m airer on an exposed site. It also means the customer waits a day.

Driven steel spikes

CDG101 is a zinc-plated steel spike, 385 mm long, in six diameters from 32 mm to 50 mm. It is driven into the lawn with a mallet and the airer is usable immediately. Match the spike diameter to the centre pole: D32 for a 32 mm pole, D40 for a 40 mm pole.

Multi-spikes for the aftermarket

CDG102 pairs a 40 mm steel spike with a 32 mm plastic reducer. CDG103 is a heavy-duty 54 mm body covering D32, D35, D38, D40 and D50 mm. These exist because a replacement spike is bought years after the airer, when nobody remembers the pole size.

Screw-in anchors

CDG104 is an ABS and PP screw thread with a D12 x 285 cm steel handle bar. It turns in by hand, comes out the same way, and holds well in loose or sandy soil. For the largest airers on exposed sites, a steel spike or a concreted socket is still the safer choice.

Drainage is what kills a socket

Water sitting in the bottom of a socket freezes, and freeze-thaw splits the concrete collar. Gravel under the socket is not optional in a cold market.