Hello all -
In regards to "re-galvanizing" tower sections... in nearby
Rockford, IL is a factory that does actual (genuine)
galvanizing. I've had work done by them in the past.
I recently asked them about re-galvanizing some tower
sections and was quoted a price of around $60 per 100
pounds. The first thing that they do is immerse the item
in an acid bath, to remove all of the old galvanizing (zinc).
Then they thoroughly clean it and then re-galvanize the
item; the item then being in the shape that it was in when
it originally left the factory.
They told me that they will NOT accept any item that
has paint on it; all paint has to be removed before they
will accept it for re-galvanizing.
Just a little "side-note" here...galvanizing (hot-dipped
galvanizing) is NOT the same process as plating. An
item that gets galvanized is first cleaned and then dipped
in a tank that has molten zinc in it. The item comes out
of the tank with a layer of pure (or nearly so) zinc
applied to it, both inside and out.
Plating is an electrical process where a layer of metal is
applied to the metallic item to be plated with the aid of
D.C. (direct current) flowing between the item and one
or more "anodes" in the plating tank. The purpose of the
anode is to allow for a DC ccurrent to pass to the item
to be plated; the plating solution in the tank allows for
the metal to be carried from the solution to the part that
is being plated. There is also a process called "barrel
plating" where small parts are contained in some type of
a plastic rotating barrel and plated but the plating process
is the same as that in a plating tank.
Many years ago, in the late 1960s, I worked in a plating
factory that did "hard chrome" plating (as opposed to the
"decorative" chrome plating, as was done on car bumpers,
etc.). They plated many types of objects there - large
cast iron cylinder sleeves that went into marine engines
for the U.S. Navy; die-cast aluminum cylinder heads for
lawn mowers & outboard motors; ground and hardened
steel shafts for various industrial uses, including shock
absorber rods; also the "ball part" of shut-off valves, the
sizes of the valve balls ranging anywhere from around 1/2"
diameter to well over 12" in diameter.
By the way, I am not a chemist or metallurgical engineer;
I am an industrial electrician by trade. The job that I
had in that chrome-plating factory gave me first-hand
knowledge of plating processes. Also, being allowed to
view the galvanizing process at the factory in Rockford
taught me a little about this, also.
73 de Brad, N9EN @ Radio Free Roscoe (IL) [USA]
----- Original Message -----
From: "Julio Peralta" <jperalta@tampabay.rr.com>
To: <TOWERTALK@contesting.com>
Sent: Monday, February 23, 2004 5:52 PM
Subject: [TowerTalk] Re-galvanizing tower sections
> The radio club here in Tampa is putting together a modest HF/VHF contest
station. We have acquired 11 sections of Rohn 45.. It has been suggested that we
re-galvanize the sections to increase the longevity of the tower.
>
> A question came up regarding whether the sections would fit together again
after the re-galvanizing.
>
> Has anyone had experience with this?
>
> Julio
>
> _______________________________________________
>
> See: http://www.mscomputer.com for "Self Supporting Towers", "Wireless
Weather Stations", and lot's more. Call Toll Free, 1-800-333-9041 with any
questions and ask for Sherman, W2FLA.
>
> _______________________________________________
> TowerTalk mailing list
> TowerTalk@contesting.com
> http://lists.contesting.com/mailman/listinfo/towertalk
>
>
_______________________________________________
See: http://www.mscomputer.com for "Self Supporting Towers", "Wireless Weather
Stations", and lot's more. Call Toll Free, 1-800-333-9041 with any questions
and ask for Sherman, W2FLA.
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