Need to build or buy a Hot-Dip Galvanizing Kettle

A. In response to your questions on building your kettle. I have built 6 kettles so I am sure I can help. Thanks.

----
Ed. note: Folks, this is a public forum for camaraderie & technical info exchange, and is made possible for us all by our supporting advertisers. Please feel free to help by publicly sharing whatever technical information you are willing to. But we don't put readers into private contact for a bunch of reasons; and we can't ask our supporting advertisers to pay the advertising costs of their competitors who choose not to advertise here. Apologies.

A. In the United States it called Flange and Firebox quality steel. It basically is a very low carbon, very low silicon steel plate. Rods for welding it should also be low in C and Si.

A. Sir,
Cast iron is NOT a suitable material to make a galvanizing kettle. In the "old days" the common material was fire box steel. Some years ago "Max Ten" was specified which means the alloying agents in the steel would add up to no more than 0.10%. Today modern kettle makers know what can and cannot be used to make a galvanizing kettle. Certainly silicon, aluminum, and phosphorus contents in the steel must be VERY LOW. Also one MUST use the correct welding rod or else the welds will be "eaten up" by the zinc. In addition only the side walls can be heated (NEVER THE BOTTOM). Also a horizontal stripe 6 inches high at the top of the walls and a horizontal stripe 12 inches at the bottom of the kettle are insulated and (NEVER HEATED). The maximum heat throughput through the walls is 10,000 BTU/sq.ft. on the heat zone of the side walls. My article about a year ago in Metal Finishing (the magazine) would help you. A proper kettle with a proper furnace can have a lifetime of 10 years or more even with high production. A kettle depth to width ratio (e.g. d/w) should be 2 or greater.
Regards,

A. Use a special alloy or a ceramic bath.

A. Dear Sir:
About 35 years ago kettle makers used "max ten" which means that the kettle "steel" was nearly pure iron with the combined alloying agents adding up to less than 0.10%. Armco made "steel" (iron) of this type. Today I do not think this type steel is available. Another term that I have heard is "boiler plate steel."
Today there are two kettle makers that likely make most of the galvanizing kettles. One is in the USA and the other is in Germany. These kettles now usually have 2 inch thick walls (years ago they were 1 inch thick). The weld rod and welding methods are quite specialized. I recommend that you purchase rather than make a kettle. With a proper kettle and proper furnace, the kettle can last 10 or more years. A poor kettle and poor furnace can give a kettle life of only a few months.
In the journal Metal Finishing you can get my article on kettle furnace design though interlibrary loan (xerox copy) from most large libraries. This article details the most efficient system which is end-firing with high velocity burners. Galvanizing kettles and galvanizing kettle furnaces are NOT do-it-yourself projects.
Regards,

A. The most critical element in the steel for kettles is Silicon.
This needs to be at or close to zero.
Silicon is used extensively in steelmaking to de-oxidize the steel while molten and in casting processes. (The slabs cast in continuous casting plants are later rolled to plate.)

Alternative de-oxidants are available for this special grade of plate.
S and P are also important.

A. SAE/AISI 1006.

Welding consumable must put down weld metal which has either (a) less than 0.05% silicon, or (b) between 0.11 and 0.25% silicon. It must not be between 0.05 and 0.11

We sadly relate the news that Bill passed away on Jan. 29, 2010.

A. Sir:
35 years ago there was a steel (iron product) that was called "max ten." This meant that with the exclusion of iron the other ingredients all added together totaled 0.10%. Thus the carbon, silicon, phosphorus, manganese, etc. all added together could not exceed 0.10%. Another terminology was "fire-box steel." Still another terminology was Armco Iron (or steel). The usual thickness of steel (iron) kettles is 2 inches in North America and welded with very specific welding rod. The welds are normally x-rayed to be sure that they are good. Making a galvanizing kettle is NOT a "do it yourself" job.
Columbiana Boiler in the USA and Pilling in Germany are major suppliers of hot dip galvanizing kettles. Through the heating zone on the sidewalls (excluding the top 6 inches and the bottom 9 to 12 inches which are insulated) it is allowed to transmit 10,000 Btu's/sq ft/hour with an expected kettle life of 10 years. High-velocity end-firing is the most efficient system with proper shielding near the burners. Looking from above the hot gases circle the kettle. The burners are on diagonal corners with initial firing along the long sides. The depth(numerator) to width(denominator) ratio should be about 1.5 to 2. E.G. considerably deeper than wide. I have published several articles in the journal METAL FINISHING which details these informations.
I strongly recommend that you purchase a commercially made kettle and contract a qualified kettle furnace installer.
Regards,

A. Sir:
A galvanizer told me recently that the proper welding rod is "FLEET 7." He also said that MIG equipment is better. The rod, or wire only has traces of silicon and phosphorus (also I think that low aluminum is important).
Regards,

A. The steel used for galvanising pots should conform to BS 2858 [link by ed. to spec at TechStreet]. Also the higher the temperature of the zinc the more the dissolving effects.
There are new zinc alloys available and new methods of maintaining the alloying elements in solution. These factors together can greatly reduce zinc consumption.

A. Sir:

Obtain and read the two books: "Hot Dip Galvanizing" [linked by editor to product info at Amazon] by Heinz Bablik and "Handbook of Hot-Dip Galvanization" [link is to info about book at Amazon].

Visit galvanizing plants including San Diego Galvanizing and LA Galvanizing.

California is an environmentally tough state to have a galvanizing plant. Check the California Proposition 65 list to better understand the regulations, especially with regard to lead, nickel, and hex chrome.

Regards,

A. Hi Asit. Welcome! We appended your inquiry to a thread which answers some of your questions, but it's a tall order to ask for complete instructions for safely designing and fabricating a galvanizing tank. I don't think it's going to happen for free in a public forum.

Good luck, but if you don't have all the info you need quickly enough, please see the ads for galvanizing consultants at the top of the page.

Regards,

A. You should not attempt to make a galvanizing tank yourself if you cannot answer these questions.

Your depth of 0.5 m seems far too small. What could you use such a tank for?

At length 5.5 m, more typical dimensions would be 1.2 m wide and 2-4 m deep. Material will be very low Si steel, a special steel not readily available, and made especially for this purpose of galvanizing tanks. Typically its 50 mm thick. Special welding electrodes are required, and special techniques for welding.
There are 3-4 suppliers worldwide who supply long lasting kettles, but the furnace is equally important for long life.
You might expect 10 years or more from a well made kettle of the right material.
You might expect a few months from a homemade one.

A. Hi, Asit.

Its better to define first size of your materials which are going to be galvanize and required production per day or per shift.

Based on same you have to select the size of your Galvanizing kettle.

Ilesh G Vyas
Gunatit Builders

Manjalpur, Vadodara, Gujarat

A. Dear Friend
The Welding Electrode must be of same material as Plates. I recommend 45 S, D&H electrodes for DSQ steel.

A. Dear Ruphert Connok.

It's better to hire a consultant and supplier who can guide you how to start Galvanizing plant. It will be more advisable then doing it yourself.

Thanks.

Ilesh G Vyas
Gunatit Builders

Manjalpur, Vadodara, Gujarat

A. Not a good idea to build your own kettle for galvanizing if you have to ask how to do it.

If you want it to last any time, then buy one from a reputable supplier. There are several, even one not so far from you.

Homemade might last 6 months. Bought one 10-14 years.

Hi cousin Rama. That question was already answered in quite deep detail. Please try to request clarification rather than starting over. Thanks!

Regards,

A. Dear MR. Rama Rao Ch.

for Galvanizing Bath , in India, people use DSQ Plate (dead soft Quality) manufactured by SAIL.

Ilesh G Vyas
Gunatit Builders

Manjalpur, Vadodara, Gujarat

? Hi Teslime. We appended your inquiry to one of several threads here on galvanizing tank construction. I'm reading between the lines that you are talking about a tiny kettle for a short-term experiment, but if you can give us a feel for its size it might be helpful.

Regards,

A. Several steel manufacturers make a special steel for this application. It's a low carbon mild steel, but with ultra low Si - almost zero. I'm not sure if there's a grade name.
To make a kettle out of plain grades of steel would be to ensure a very short life for the kettle.

A. Dear Sir.

It's better to purchase Kettle from Reputed manufacturer as they have experience in manufacturing kettles.

Steel generally used to manufacture Kettle should be low carbon, low silicon, with same property for welding electrodes.

Ilesh G Vyas
Gunatit Builders

Manjalpur, Vadodara, Gujarat

A. Dear Juan De Lira

As per specification of A 36 grade steel, Silicon content is much more higher then allowable to fabricate Galvanizing Kettle.

Galvanizers prefer to have silicon content Trace or maximum 0.03 % for better life of kettle.

A. Dear Aleksandro Bardhi,

Selection of Metallic or Ceramic bath mostly based on what kind of materials you would like to Galvanize.

Generally for Fasteners, threaded items peoples are going with Ceramic bath with higher temperature otherwise for structure and bigger job, better to go with Metallic bath.

A. Dear Sai.

Basic reason of deterioration in Galvanizing pot are

1 ) uneven heating
2 ) furnace design.
3 ) Deposition of Hard zinc (Dross) inside zinc kettle.
4 ) Quality of Pot materials.

A. My company is a manufacturer & exporter of zinc kettle.

The best material for kettles is "CLASS A DSQ (Dead Soft Quality)" and "GP2"

Warm Regards,

Hi Bob. We've learned from 20+ years of this forum that posting sourcing questions is always a big mistake :-)

... but because we didn't edit sufficiently 9 years ago and those suppliers were already mentioned on this page, we'll compromise and let people name additional possible suppliers, with no testimonials or adjectives like 'credible' and see how it goes, although we usually end up having to delete the page because it becomes a spam magnet and a race to the bottom :-)

We hope you'll start by contacting Western Technologies [a finishing.com supporting advertiser] and Gunatit Builders [a finishing.com supporting advertiser] , who are making this discussion forum possible.

Regards,

We are also manufacturing Zinc Kettle. Can contact us.

----
Ed. note July 6: Bronx international, Thane India, and Anyang Yongle Trading Co., Ltd. of China have started spamming us with offers for their galvanizing lines and kettles -- so add them to your list :-)