We’ve been handling tubing orders of varying sizes for as long as we have been in business. Our collection includes over 200 different sizes and a multitude of shapes. Having so many tubes available allows us to be more flexible. The team can meet the needs of everyone easily. As a result of our efforts, people consider us the foremost ERW steel tube supplier West Midlands has.
Galvanised steel tubing is something we have a lot of experience with. It is wonderful for cutting costs if you need an alternative to painting or stainless steel tubes. There is a great reason why galvanisation is the most popular protection method. Actually, there are several. In this post, we will be going over what they are.
What is galvanisation?
To put it simply, this is a procedure to increase the durability of steel. It also makes it resistant to corrosion. It gives the tube a generous zinc coat. The coating safeguards the metal from rust, scratching, and similar surface damage.
Normally, you hot-dip the tube in molten zinc. What the submersion does is let it bind tightly to the steel’s exterior. Other galvanisation methods exist as well, such as electroplating, sheet galvanising, spraying, and painting. Saying this, none of them give the complete coverage provided by hot-dipping.
The pros
First up, we have cost. If you compare to other protective methods and coatings, galvanisation is very affordable. Labour-intensive coatings like painting are more expensive. You would need to cover the salaries of the painters here. With hot-dipping and separate machining techniques, the client pays far less for the price of factory processes. Comparably, if you look at the price of standard steel, galvanised is rather cheap.
Coverage
Thanks to the full submersion of the hot-dipping approach, you will protect every inch of the metal. Even the trickiest corners will have a generous protective layer. So, there should not be weak points where corrosion could be an issue.
Durability
Galvanised steel tubing has the capacity to last more than five decades in the majority of conditions. The actual coating is permanently bonded to your metal. This makes installation and transportation stress-free.
Thanks to a phenomenon known as preferential corrosion, the zinc coating will rust and corrode before your steel can. This is true even if smaller areas have damage. What it means is that your metal won’t need touch-ups. It is not the same for many other coatings. Contact us if you would like to work with the best ERW steel tube supplier West Midlands has.
Environmentally friendly
We consider galvanisation to be the most eco friendly protective coating. You can recycle the steel without it losing its positive attributes. Furthermore, it only produces minor levels of waste.
Cons
In addition there are some cons you need to know about. One of them is that galvanisation isn’t as effective in extreme conditions. We said earlier how long it can last. This figure actually halves where you expose the metal to the elements. That is because the zinc coating is going to corrode more rapidly. Usually, even under stressful circumstances, galvanised steel can last for over 25 years. Keep this in mind when planning your projects.
Another con is the physical limitations. It is not possible to hot-dip every item due to sizing. A tube that is too small or large will be hard to get through the procedure.
Finally, there are manufacturer errors. Should they make a mistake, the zinc layer could chip or peel off the tube.
Despite the negatives, numerous industries are able to benefit from galvanisation immensely. The long life and low costs go a long way. Even when the conditions are at their most extreme, the tubing can maintain its durability and high quality.
An ERW steel tube supplier in the West Midlands with plenty to offer
At Union Steel Tubes, we dedicate our efforts to providing the highest possible standards to each customer. Besides the standard tubing offerings we have, there are special options too. This includes pre-galvanised and seamless. Not to mention, we carefully test every tube we produce.
So, if you’d like to work with the finest ERW steel tube supplier West Midlands has, come to us. We can deliver products for a huge array of applications.
