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Unistrut Outdoors - How do you guys ~weatherproof~ your setups

Unistrut Outdoors - How do you guys ~weatherproof~ your setups


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Old 04-21-17, 09:06 AM
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Unistrut Outdoors - How do you guys ~weatherproof~ your setups

For channel nuts in unistrut for exterior applications that see snow, rain and sun......do you guys use regular EG channel nuts with galvanized screws OR use SS channel nuts in regular steel strut WITH SS Screws ?

I've never been a huge fan of SS screws/nuts as I've seen galling way too much.

Not sure which poison to pick. Rusting or Galling....
 
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Old 04-21-17, 10:54 AM
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I haven't used Unistrut recently but have never used any stainless steel hardware on it.
Usually when the Unistrut is used it's in a permanent setup and is not routinely dismantled.

We just let it rust... except for when it's painted.
 
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Old 04-21-17, 11:41 AM
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I'm utilizing as much hot dipped as I can....just short of the channel nut's which are just primarily EG or SS....

Everything rusts, it's just a matter of how long. Even with the new steel, figured I could mitigate it now then trying to paint it when it's all rusty with equipment mounted. I'm planning to DTM prime it and then put 2 coats of enamel ontop.
 
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Old 04-21-17, 02:19 PM
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I'm in a lot of substations, and galvanized is the most popular for HW over about 1/2". But, SS is not an issue, if you lube the treads first. I have a lot of small SS hardware outside, but threads are treated.
 
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Old 04-24-17, 06:27 AM
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I pretty much only use galv unless the plans specifically call out stainless. It's up to the property owner if they want to paint it for additional protection, but plain old galv unistrut should last at least the life of the equipment it's holding without any additional treatment.
 
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Old 04-27-17, 11:15 AM
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It's only as good as the effort you put into it. Like most all things paint, prep is key.
It was a nightmare laying on the water based DTM primer for the intial coat. I had a couple of 20 footers - sitting on milk crates I was planning to brush on primer before I enamled it.

Ended up HVLP the primer on - water based paint, tons of channel slots where paint blobs catch, the works ;-/
 
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Old 04-27-17, 05:31 PM
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Galvanized or hot dipped galvanized is the way to go. If you want some protection to the cut ends use cold galvanization compound spray.
 
 

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