Steel with strength
Steel is an alloy of iron. We use steel for some of our playground equipment material, and we use both stainless steel and ordinary steel.
Steel tends to rust and may develop an undesirable appearance without a finishing. We use ball blowing or galvanizing to get the desired quality and appearance. Stainless steel can be ball-blown, which we only do for the sake of appearance and to remove any surface rust.
Galvanizing is a finishing process for ordinary steel, which is done to prevent the steel from rusting.
Each steel type has a different use and benefit, but depends primarily on how you want the playground equipment to look.
Finally, both stainless steel and plain steel can be finished with a powder coating. This is a layer of powder that is electrostatically charged. The playground equipment will attract the powder, and will have a robust, even and full-cover surface, to which it is possible to add a colour.
A high quality of steel is essential when the playground has to withstand many years of use.Our stainless steel is AISI 304 and our non-alloy steel is S235. When we use non-alloy, the hot dip galvanizing and zinc layer thickness meet quality requirements from DS / EN ISO 1461.
Stainless steel can corrode over time regardless of the quality of the alloy and the production process.
Factors influencing corrosion include:
- Exposure to atmospheric conditions: such as salt content in the air from the sea or sulfur content from exhaust emissions.
- Winter salting: in the area due to frost.
- Lack of regular flushing: of the surface, for example, from natural precipitation and/or maintenance procedures.
- Surface roughness/cleanliness: Ideally as smooth as possible so that water and moisture can easily run off.
- Slope of the surface: Ideally as steep as possible and without obstacles so that water/moisture can run off.
- Trapping of water/moisture/condensation: For example, holes, gaps, indentations.
At Elverdal, we use Stainless AISI 304 (EN1.4301/A2) as the standard, which is generally a common and suitable alloy for the purpose under normal circumstances.
In case of corrosion-related complaints, it must be clarified which of the above factors may be influencing the situation and, for example, explain the corrosion formation.
Surface rust that occurs over time after installation, which has no functional or safety-related structural significance and can be post-treated on-site, is generally not considered a valid basis for complaint.
A "stainless corrosion kit" for local corrosion treatment and maintenance can be obtained from Elverdal upon request.
