STOCKBOSS – STANDING UP TO CORROSIVE SOILS

For those in the know, difficult soils is a term used for acidic, saline and alkaline elements that can corrode steel at a great rate.

Steel posts that last for decades are often rapidly reduced to rust below the ground and at ground level due to difficult soils mostly where you can’t see the problem”, says Matthew Stinson, national sales manager Whites Group.

It’s a hidden problem that’s only evident when the fence fails. Dig a little way into the soil and you’ll find that a steel post that looks great above the ground, is considerably eroded.

A soil classification map of Australia quickly shows significant tracts of prime grazing and farming land across Australia are Vertosols and Sodosols which are acidic and alkaline, respectively. These are particularly prevalent in western Queensland, NSW, Victoria and parts of South Australia. When you consider dryland salinity hazard zones, the effect is even more widely spread across the country.

Answering the call for a better fence post in these areas is the Stockboss fence post with its unique corrosion-resistant wrap that has been independently tested to perform up to three times longer than traditional coatings.

Featuring Barrier-shield™ technology, the corrosion-resistant polymer wrap combines with the bituminous coating to form a dual barrier against difficult soils. The wrap material is bonded to treated steel for an exceptional seal.

“It then extends 100mm above the ground for additional protection against differential corrosion (DC) in the critical zone above and just below the soil line” adds Brian Gray, research and development manager Whites Group. (DC is known to create weak points at ground level through a combination of oxygen concentration and corrosive elements).

Stockboss has been tested in the lab and the field. Lab-testing in a controlled salt-spray environment to 1500 hours, and field testing in various soils around Australia has resulted in a post with superior corrosion protection.

Stockboss, with the corrosion-resistant wrap and black bituminous coating is available in 165cm and 180cm lengths and slings of 200 (bundles of 10).