MaxxDuty Hose Assemblies feature a new plating material better able to withstand corrosion caused by new de-icing agents increasingly used by municipalities and private snow-removal companies on roadways.
Tony Spence, warranty administrator for Eager Beaver Trailers, said the company challenged its vendors to find solutions to prevent the premature corrosion failures they were experiencing due to calcium and magnesium chloride increasingly being used on roadways instead of salt. Spence said the new de-icing agents led to an alarming increase in the corrosion of heavy-duty vehicle components on their trailers.
"I am so appreciative that Sloan responded to our challenge and came up with this new coating for their hose assemblies," he said. "It says a lot about their company and its commitment to quality. They basically went back to the drawing board to engineer this solution, and now we have a great preventative maintenance item on our trailers."
Chris Terryn, product manager for Sloan Transportation Products, said, "Standard platings no longer offer the same level of protection from these new de-icing agents. Of particular susceptibility to corrosion are the steel-crimped fittings attached to the brass part of the hose assembly."
Sloan tested several options to plate the steel-crimped fittings before settling on the MaxxDuty plating. The material was originally designed for the military in naval applications to protect parts exposed to severe salt spray that often required frequent replacement due to corrosion.
Testing conducted by an independent lab in a CASS (Copper Accelerated Salt Spray) cabinet demonstrated that Sloan's MaxxDuty Hose Assemblies, when compared to a control sample, are better able to resist corrosion that is common with conventional plating processes.
