steel vs. wood

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synapse989

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MFK Member
Sep 25, 2006
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Midland, Michigan
ok kids... what are you thoughts of steel vs. wood for tank stands?

I'm sure some of you are going to say that steel is more expensive than wood, but I'm here to tell you it's not. It's superior in strength, and it's not as expensive..

I'm also sure that some of you are going to say that steel rusts.. but only if you don't treat it with something.

then there's the obvious one that not everyone knows how to weld or owns a welder.. ...but you can always bolt stuff together like y'all do with wood..

anyway.. thoughts.
 
I love my steel stand for my 125. I need to put some trim on it to make it more attractive, but it's much easier to make a multiple tank stand with steel IMO.

I also have a stainless stand for my 110 which I LOVE.
Now that I think about it, I think I might like steel better.
 
Next stand I build will involve my Miller 175 :D Just put a wood skin of some sort for looks.
 
steel woot woot
 
Wood, I have a marine tank and the salt creep will destroy anything made of metal.
 
Jovial;763151; said:
Wood, I have a marine tank and the salt creep will destroy anything made of metal.
Click to expand...

only if you're dumb enough not to treat it with something first! I sold a stand to a guy, unpainted, untreated.. he said he wasn't worried about it.. ..then he called me 5 months later wondering what to do with the "reddish dust that's forming on it"

that's when I asked him what he used to treat the metal... "?"

for the record, if you have a metal stand powdercoated you could dunk it in the gulf of mexico and it won't rust.
 
synapse989;771502; said:
for the record, if you have a metal stand powdercoated you could dunk it in the gulf of mexico and it won't rust.
Click to expand...

Even many stainless steels will corrode when exposed to salt water.
Powder coating will delay the corrosion of steel, but will not stop it.
There are different pretreatment methods involved before powder coating, each providing less or greater corrosion protection.

See this link for an example of different pretreatments and powder coating methods: http://www.pfonline.com/articles/clinics/1202cl_pwd5.html

I am a supplier to the metal finishing industry and there are many ways to try to slow the corrosion of steel, including various plated finishes (Cu/Ni/Cr, Zn or Zn/Fe alloy or Zn/Ni alloy + various chromates + various topcoats, etc....), powder coatings, galvanizing, etc. The way we evaluate these coatings is by Neutral Salt Spray testing.

Eventually though, all steel substrates will exhibit corrosion, it's just a matter of when.

I like steel stands because you can stack the tanks two high and maximize floor space (more tanks!).:headbang2

Burt:)
 
synapse989;771502; said:
only if you're dumb enough not to treat it with something first! I sold a stand to a guy, unpainted, untreated.. he said he wasn't worried about it.. ..then he called me 5 months later wondering what to do with the "reddish dust that's forming on it"

that's when I asked him what he used to treat the metal... "?"

for the record, if you have a metal stand powdercoated you could dunk it in the gulf of mexico and it won't rust.
Click to expand...

All metals including gold will corrode if subjected to salt water long enough. You could wipe this thing down everyday and it will still corrode. Different metals corrode in unique ways, some tarnish, some pit, some crack, some flake, some turn into white power but they all corrode. It is a charateristic of metal and cannot be controled only managed. All it takes is one micron of sodium to get past the coating and corrosion will start. The only way to manage it is to periodically sand and recoat or electrically energize the part to break the anode to cathode path, but still this is only a treatment not a cure. After spending my life in the USN combating this problem I can easily tell you that all metals will corrode if exposed to saltwater long enough. I have seen it.

Modern aircraft use a wide variety of metals and composite materials.
So much so that there are specific Corrosion Control programs and workcenters dedicated and implemented in Naval Aviation squadrons to combat corrosion. Coatings whether they be plated, epoxy based or baked i.e powdercoating (some landing gear components) will deteriorate under UV light (most salt water aquarium lighting) and saltwater. The metals used in our jets and ships range from Stainless steel, Aluminum, Magnesium, Iron and Titanium, Gold, Silver, Platnum and Mercury, they will all react in adverse ways if exposed to salt water long enough. Intergranular, exfoliation, filiform, microbiological, stress fatigue or direct suface oxidation all metals corrode.

Heres why:

http://www.efunda.com/materials/corrosion/corrosion_basics.cfm
 
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