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Plated steel vs. Stainless steel?

James Hicks · · Fruita, CO · Joined May 2012 · Points: 131
T Roper wrote: why not 9/16? or just slam a piton in a hole?
I don't place pitons because I don't want to have to replace them in the next few years (the area I am working in right now is pretty soft) or worry that someone will take a whip and yank a piton out of the rock. Glue ins are stronger (and about half the price of a piton) and will last as long as the surrounding rock does, generally speaking. I don't use 9/16" because 5/8" is just enough to get the whole bolt(9/16 may work but I haven't tried it and haven't really seen any reason to) in without hammering and is also what the manufacturer recommends you use UNLESS the placement is in an overhang. Not really sure what you're trying to say...
Ken Noyce · · Layton, UT · Joined Aug 2010 · Points: 2,648
Bobby Possumcods wrote:I know this may be hidden somewhere in this thread or on this forum, but I just want to get some clarification. From my understanding, if I use a SS hanger and a SS bolt and connect a non-stainless quicklink to the SS hanger in a humid environment, the non-stainless quick link will corrode at a quicker rate than normal but the SS hanger will not corrode at any quicker of a rate. Is this correct?
In reality, neither the non-stainless quicklink nor the ss hanger will corrode at a quicker rate than normal, the contact area of the quicklink and the hanger just isn't big enough to have any noticeable effect.
Roy Suggett · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Jul 2009 · Points: 8,821

Old guy thinks the above is correct based on observation over the last few years.

Troy Isakson · · Elk, WA · Joined Sep 2010 · Points: 1,813
Micah Klesick wrote:  I spent close to 100 hours last year just in replacing rusty bolts. I get it when it was put up before the knowledge about SS was widespread. But that's not the case anymore, and I'm getting really, really sick of people claiming "someone will go replace them" and using that as an excuse for not using stainless.

Stainless steel bolts will also need replacing someday. How do you know that the bolts you spent 100 hrs on last year would have been fine if they were stainless? There is no controlled study of any kind to refer to is there? I've placed many plated bolts and many stainless bolts in the same area. I guess we will see which ones look better in the future and I can answer my own question....

20 kN · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Feb 2009 · Points: 1,346
Troy Isakson wrote:

Stainless steel bolts will also need replacing someday. How do you know that the bolts you spent 100 hrs on last year would have been fine if they were stainless? There is no controlled study of any kind to refer to is there? I've placed many plated bolts and many stainless bolts in the same area. I guess we will see which ones look better in the future and I can answer my own question....

Stainless steel will outperform zinc plated carbon steel in any wet, humid or otherwise corrosive environment, and to a lesser extent even in dry environments. Yes, this has been studied by countless scientists, engineers, organizations and everyone else going else going back since stainless steel was invented, and the studies have confirmed in-practice findings in nearly every industry that exists worldwide where corrosion resistance matters.

Stainless bolts will also have to be replaced eventually, but with a far smaller frequency. Replacing carbon steel bolts once every 20 years is a lot worse than replacing stainless steel bolts once every 60 years. We might not know exactly how long stainless steel bolts will last in various environments in rock climbing, but that's only because they have done a fairly good job providing longevity. In many cases, even the oldest stainless steel bolts are still serviceable unless they were one of the few known crap designs. By contrast, virtually any carbon steel bolt more than 30 years old just about anywhere is probably in need of replacement at this point. If it was not stainless and it was placed before 1985, there is a solid chance it's not in the best shape at this point.

I know of countless carbon steel bolts that are only 10 years old that need dire replacement. I cant say the same about many stainless steel bolts of the same age.

Guideline #1: Don't be a jerk.

Fixed Hardware: Bolts & Anchors
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