Galvanized Steel in Agriculture

Steel is one of the most commonly used materials in agriculture. It is strong, versatile and economic. Consequently it is used for a variety of different applications from fences and gates to building frames, feeding barriers and appliances. However, steel must be protected or it will rust, and that costs the agriculture industry many millions of pounds every year.

The method you choose to protect your steelwork today could have a major influence on the time and money that must be spent tomorrow. What is needed is an economic, long lasting method of steel protection. It has to be tough, safe to use with animals and crops and needs little maintenance.

Hot dip galvanizing meets all these needs.

The Coating

Agricultural steelwork has been protected by hot dip galvanizing for more than one hundred years. In the past it was mainly small objects such as buckets, watering cans and feeding troughs that were galvanized – and they usually lasted until they were worn out. Today, most steel products can receive the same level of protection, not just building frames and farm gates but all fencing, penstock equipment and appliances.

The hot dip galvanizing process consists of dipping the steelwork, after it has been chemically cleaned, in a bath of molten zinc. The zinc reacts with the steel to form alloys that are metallurgically bonded to it. Upon withdrawal from the galvanizing bath, a layer of pure zinc covers the alloy layers. The coating has unique resistance to damage from, for example, farm vehicles. The outer layer of pure zinc cushions impact, while the zinc-iron layers beneath, which are harder than steel, provide abrasion resistance.

The Cost

Low initial cost and long, maintenance-free life mean hot dip galvanizing offers the best possible return on investments in steel structures and agricultural equipment.

Competitive initial cost: Contrary to popular belief, galvanizing is not an expensive corrosion protection system for steel.

The graph below shows that, for all but the heaviest steel sections, hot dip galvanizing is very competitive with a good paint system. Painting is very labour intensive compared with galvanizing which is a highly mechanised, closely controlled factory process.

Long Life

A standard hot dip galvanized coating on fabricated steelwork, i.e. building frame, gate or appliance, gives a typical life without maintenance of 50+ years in a rural environment. A paint coating could need remedial work three or four times before the galvanizing needs any attention.

This is both time consuming and expensive, especially when it involves the use of outside contractors and scaffolding, or the structure is on outlying land.

In the case of a barn or animal shed it could be very inconvenient to re-site livestock so that maintenance could be carried out.

It has been estimated that with paint, for every pound spent on the initial investment, another pound is spent on repairs and maintenance. Specifying hot dip galvanized steel will reduce maintenance bills and the time involved in maintenance.

All the above benefits are achieved by galvanizing your steel. But, you can get another major plus, completely free - a more sustainable steel structure.

Recent studies have shown that galvanizing is a far more sustainable solution for corrosion protection when compared to other systems.