Best Material for a Flume

fiberglass

When you’re looking to implement a flume into your flow channel, you’ll find quite a few different materials available. They all have something special to offer, but if you want to get the most out of your flume, you’ll want to opt for the material that works best for your long-term plans. Learn all about the best material for a flume, and discover how it can work for you.

Stainless Steel

One of the most common materials available is stainless steel. This is used in a variety of different applications thanks to its longevity. It’s important to remember, however, that its seemingly indefinite lifespan is only relevant to normal flows. If a flow is corrosive or abusive in some way, stainless steel can become a lot less useful.

With its proportional use, stainless steel is increasingly becoming less popular for new flume installations. Anytime you have to deal with a corrosive or abusive flow, the lifespan of your stainless steel flume will just tick away. Because of this, many are opting for more durable materials that can handle any potential abuse.

Galvanized Steel

Galvanized steel is a bit different from stainless steel, but it can suffer from the same kind of corrosive damage. For the most part, galvanized steel is used within water rights applications, which means that water is the kind of flow it’ll be dealing with in most cases. While water isn’t inherently corrosive or abusive like plenty of other chemicals are, the actual longevity of the material can vary.

Water comes in two primary forms when in the context of how corrosive it is. There’s soft water and hard water. The harder water is, the more minerals it has within. While you may assume that hard water is the more corrosive, it’s actually inverted when working with galvanized steel. This particular kind of steel allows zinc carbonate to deposit itself on the surface. While this deposition isn’t enough to change the dimensions of the flume, it is enough to act as a sort of protective layer. Because of this, soft water is actually more corrosive.

Fiberglass

When it comes to durability, there’s really nothing quite like fiberglass. This incredible material can easily last quite a while, no matter what kind of flow it’s having to deal with. This is because fiberglass flumes are outfitted with a protective gel coat that keeps them safe from corrosion and abusive debris. While it’s not completely invulnerable, and abuse will eventually wear it down, it tends to last for quite a while compared to steel alternatives.

Keep in mind that the durability of fiberglass is somewhat dependent on temperature. As long as you’re working with standard atmospheric temperatures, the polyester resins can typically withstand corrosion from almost any kind of chemical. Fortunately, there are ways to account for weather extremes as well.

Fiberglass Flumes from Tracom

Now that you know the best material for a flume, it’s time to get one of your own. Tracom offers a wide array of fiberglass products to choose from, but you can work with our team to design a custom flume that works specifically for your unique flow conditions. Contact us today to get started!