[RE-wrenches] Salt & Aluminum vs Galvy

[Ray Walters]

Galvanized does not do very well in Hawaii near the water. I haven't 
seen much powder coated Al, but anodized AL with SS hardware seems to 
work about as good as anything I've seen. We see SS J boxes, fiberglass 
boxes seem to break down in the UV after several years, but painting 
with the right paint helps a lot. The last job I worked on there, we had 
2 guys paint all exposed J-boxes and PVC conduit with a heavy duty oil 
based (messy cleanup) paint. I'll let you know in 5 years how it all looks.
Also, be sure and get all your conduit clamps and unistrut in stainless. 
More expensive, harder to find, and harder to cut, but you'll see the 
difference in a couple of years for sure. Just a single washer that's 
not SS will stand out like a sore thumb later.

Ray Walters

On 9/27/2011 11:40 AM, Jeff Clearwater wrote:
> Hi Esteemed Wrenchies,
>
> So for the project I'm working on in the Bahamas for ground mount 
> racking - have folks found Aluminum or Galvy to stand up against salt 
> spray better?
>
> And if Al - powder coated or anodized?
>
> And  with mixing them - (like a typical Steel Pipe rack with Al Rails) 
> - are the junctions going to be a problem with lots of salt?
>
> Any solution to AL framed modules not turning black and ugly?  Do 
> black anodized module frames help?
>
> Thanks!
>
> Jeff
>
>
> -- 
> Jeff Clearwater
> Village Power Design
>
> Renewable Energy Consultant
> 32 Years in all Aspects of Renewables
> www.villagepower.com
> skype: jclearwater
> 413-559-9763
> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
>
>
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