Anchor and chain re-galvanizing.

Another question I often get asked is about re-galvanizing anchors and chains. As long as the steel has not deteriorated and weakened, you can get an almost “brand new” piece of equipment if the galvanizing company does their job. I use Commonwealth Galvanizing in Ashland, Virginia and highly recommend them. I have no affiliation with them just a satisfied customer. Whatever company you choose, if doing chain, make sure the company is comfortable re-galvanizing chain.

I had the opportunity to watch some anchors and chain being prepped and galvanized from “start to finish.” The anchors and chain go through a series of acid baths and water rinsing before going into the vat of extremely hot liquid zinc. From there the product is removed and “shaken” until it cools and hardens. For chain, they spend more time on the shaking and once on the concrete floor, workers continually move the chain a lot to allow it to cool without hardening the links together.

All galvanizing companies we have used or interviewed have a “poundage minimum.” Meaning you are going to pay a minimum charge. That minimum is usually far greater than the weight of one anchor and a length of chain. This is why we take our anchors to galvanizing when we have at least 1,000 lbs of product. The more weight, the less cost per pound. If individuals want their one anchor and some chain re-galvanized, I recommend you look for a local business that needs products routinely galvanized (such as fencing or boat lift companies or anchor producing companies). See if you can add to their regular galvanizing jobs. It will save you a lot of money and typically will lower the price per pound for the other business. Can be a win/win. I recommend anyone wanting to re-galvanize to work with a local company. Shipping charges, especially for chain, can be expensive.

We often add anchors and chains to our anchor galvanizing orders from our customers who want to re-galvanize. Most of my customers who take us up on an offer to add to our galvanizing order deliver and pick up their own anchors/chains and save a lot of money.

Steve

Thanks Steve,
Most of my anchors I cut on so often I can’t justify re-gal.
From you excellent advice and info to help any here thinking about re-gal.
Any other coatings you’d recommend other than “cold galvanizing”?

I'd expect POR15 to work reasonably well on an anchor. It's pretty durable stuff compared to most other coatings.

Nomad Willy said:

Thanks Steve,
Most of my anchors I cut on so often I can’t justify re-gal.
From you excellent advice and info to help any here thinking about re-gal.
Any other coatings you’d recommend other than “cold galvanizing”?

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I believe it is called hot galvanizing. I was told the temperature of the zinc is in excess of 975 degrees, although i never stuck my finger in it to test the temp.

I forgot to mention that one question to ask a galvanizing company is how many “mils” thick will the end product be? Most will do 3-4 mils. The company I use far exceeds that but it important to get at least that amount.

975 degrees,
Yes that’s a problem for one of my anchors should I ever want to galvanize it. One of my mods involved considerable amounts of JB-weld.

I was thinking of powder coating an anchor. PC insn’t very hard though. PC is done at 400f. Still too hot for my JB-weld job. That’s OK .. I’ll just keep squirting it w cold gal.

Is the hassle of regalvanizing chain worth it? I wonder. On Defender, 250 feet of Acco 3/8 G4 chain costs $1,112, plus shipping.

catalinajack said:

Is the hassle of regalvanizing chain worth it? I wonder. On Defender, 250 feet of Acco 3/8 G4 chain costs $1,112, plus shipping.

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All depends on how much chain, how big, etc. The more expensive the chain is to replace, the more likely re-galvanizing will work out favorably. Also depends on what you can find price-wise to get it re-galvanized.



For my 90 feet of 5/16 G43, I can replace it for under $300. No way would re-galvanizing that make sense unless it were going into a big batch with really low prices. But for someone with 400 ft of 3/8, you're looking at $1400 + shipping (at Defender 1st pricing), so regalvanizing likely makes sense. Especially depending on where you are at the time, where shipping may be pricey or the cheaper retailers may not be an option.

catalinajack said:

Is the hassle of regalvanizing chain worth it? I wonder. On Defender, 250 feet of Acco 3/8 G4 chain costs $1,112, plus shipping.

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Always a question. I just re-galvanized 280 feet of 5/16” HT chain for a fraction of that $1112. I also did 100 feet of 3/8” BBB also for a fraction of what it costs new.

Steve

rslifkin said:

All depends on how much chain, how big, etc. The more expensive the chain is to replace, the more likely re-galvanizing will work out favorably. Also depends on what you can find price-wise to get it re-galvanized.



For my 90 feet of 5/16 G43, I can replace it for under $300. No way would re-galvanizing that make sense unless it were going into a big batch with really low prices. But for someone with 400 ft of 3/8, you're looking at $1400 + shipping (at Defender 1st pricing), so regalvanizing likely makes sense. Especially depending on where you are at the time, where shipping may be pricey or the cheaper retailers may not be an option.

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Totally agree. 90 feet of 5/16 G43 would have been $90 to re-galvanize on the large anchor galvanizing order I just completed. Shipping is extra.

Thanks. Good information for the future.

Steve Bedford said:

Always a question. I just re-galvanized 280 feet of 5/16” HT chain for a fraction of that $1112. I also did 100 feet of 3/8” BBB also for a fraction of what it costs new.

Steve

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If you are considering regalvanizing, check with people who have recently had it done as the exact shop you are considering.

I’m sure some can do it well, but everyone I know who has had chain regalvanized has regretted it and wished they had just bought new chain.

Common complaints are binding up in the gypsi, links binding against each other so chain doesn’t flake, and shedding of zinc all over the deck, windless, and chain locker.

twistedtree said:

If you are considering regalvanizing, check with people who have recently had it done as the exact shop you are considering.

I’m sure some can do it well, but everyone I know who has had chain regalvanized has regretted it and wished they had just bought new chain.

Common complaints are binding up in the gypsi, links binding against each other so chain doesn’t flake, and shedding of zinc all over the deck, windless, and chain locker.

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Agree with your comments. If that happens (except for the initial shedding of flakes) then the galvanizing shop did not do a good job. I just “Rangled” one section of 5/16 (280 feet) and one section of 3/8 (100 feet) and there was not one link froze on another. Depends on the quality/skill of the galvanizing company for sure.

Steve

catalinajack said:

Is the hassle of regalvanizing chain worth it? I wonder. On Defender, 250 feet of Acco 3/8 G4 chain costs $1,112, plus shipping.

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Re-galvanizing is definitely worth it. I have 250 feet of 3/8" G4, which would cost $1,112 plus shipping. The shipping is not cheap. I had our chain re-galvanized for $220 by Madden Galvanizing in Houston, Texas. One thing that is important to look for is a galvanizer that is set up to handle chain. The galvanizers that do a lot of chain have a spinner that spins the chain to remove the excess zinc and keeps the links from sticking together. Our re-galvanized chain works perfectly with our Lofrans Tigres windlass.