Best place to source stainless steel anchor chain

jordanbasset

jordanbasset

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Hi, currently my boat has 50m of stainless steel 8mm anchor chain and 30m of galvanised chain, The galvanised chain would need replacing/regalvanising anyway so am thinking of biting the bullet and getting it replaced by stainless.
Looking for recommendations as to where to source it from (am in Lefkas, Greece but can get it delivered if necessary from the UK)
Also the best way to connect the two
Many thanks in advance
 
I think you need to define the quality of stainless you are currently using. It would lack logic if you are using, expensive, and 'strong' duplex stainless, Cromox (ex Germany), and add 30m of much less strong 316 - from say China.

I assume its metric chain and not 5/16th" which would nominally be 8mm.

Jonathan

edit

For Cromox anchor chain - I'd contact the supplier direct and ask for their newest distributor.

https://www.ketten-waelder.com/products/cromox/cromox-nautic/

If its Cromox it should be marked on the chain.

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KellysEye said:
Beware of stainless steel chain. In Trinidad a boat was anchored with it on sand, the rubbing on sand caused crevice corrosion and it broke.
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By definition crevice corrosion will not happen in these circumstances.

Suggest you read up on it before you post such nonsense (again!)
 
Whether Cromox or 316 you will need to be very careful about joining methods. Use of one of the normally recommended C-links would be potentially hazardous as they are galvanised mild or alloy steel. All the stainless ones I tested had only 50% of the strength of grade 30 chain. Maybe ask the makers of Cromox for their advice?
 
Thanks for the answers so far
Nothing marked on the chain so I assume it is not Cromex. The previous owner had it fitted, he was German and spent a lot of money on other things so I assume it is a reasonable quality. It certainly still looks like new but I appreciate you cannot always tell from looking
Would something like this do for connecting the two, assuming both will be 316 stainless
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Stainless-Steel-Chain-Connecting-Link/dp/B004U4WWRG
 
jordanbasset said:
Thanks for the answers so far
Nothing marked on the chain so I assume it is not Cromex. The previous owner had it fitted, he was German and spent a lot of money on other things so I assume it is a reasonable quality. It certainly still looks like new but I appreciate you cannot always tell from looking
Would something like this do for connecting the two, assuming both will be 316 stainless
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Stainless-Steel-Chain-Connecting-Link/dp/B004U4WWRG
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As I said earlier, the strength of that link is about half that of the chain, so MBL around 1.5 - 2 tons for 8 mm. All the results are on the website at http://coxeng.co.uk/anchoring/c-links/
 
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Do not assume every link is marked, you sometimes need to look at every link in one metre to find a mark you can decipher.

If its a Duplex chain then joining it with a 316 'C' link means you have reduced the strength of the rode to that of 316 - and I think 316 is about half the strength of Duplex.

Why do you want to extend the length of your rode (do you often feel the need to deploy more than 50m?).

One option would be to extend the length using nylon (or dyneema - with a nylon snubber). But dyneema floats so you would not want to add much dyneema as in light winds it suddenly becomes a hazard.

Vyv might be able to advise - I think you need to determine what your exisiting chain might be. I suspect you can do this using Vyv's hardness test (it must be on his website). Ball bearing, vice and some standards, 316 and duplex being obvious answers. Strength and hardness are related, so if its as hard as duplex or as soft as 316 you will have a decent indication of what you have. With no disrespect to Vyv its a simple and easy test - and I think its great - Vyv might suggest some cautionary comment - I've never used it myself on stainless.

On joiners - if you don't use the extra length often then the Omega links sold under the Cromox range might be a possibility as you could manually easy them round your gypsy. They will match the chain strength, so at least that worry is removed, and if you mark the chain you would know when you need to interrupt retrieval.

Unknown territory - you could consider joining using dyneema - and watch the join like a hawk.
Jonathan

Stainless, whatever you buy, is not cheap but there is a lot of cheap stainless coming out of China, unmarked and some is good, some rubbish. If you are buying unmarked stainless I'd suggest asking for sight of the test certificate under which it was sold/bought - it would normally be part of documentation and it should define tested strength.

I've only tested stainless chain once, it was unmarked and I don't know where it came from, other than China. it was beautiful - and stretched like spaghetti. Looks don't count!

Jonathan
 
jordanbasset said:
The previous owner had it fitted, he was German and spent a lot of money on other things so I assume it is a reasonable quality.
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None of which makes him smart or discriminating. There are very few applications in which stainless steel is the material of choice except for its resistance to corrosion. It sometimes makes metallurgical sense for anchor chain -- if you happen to own a minesweeper. (It was favoured by the Dutch navy; the RN preferred a copper alloy.)
 
Neeves said:
Do not assume every link is marked, you sometimes need to look at every link in one metre to find a mark you can decipher.

If its a Duplex chain then joining it with a 316 'C' link means you have reduced the strength of the rode to that of 316 - and I think 316 is about half the strength of Duplex.

Why do you want to extend the length of your rode (do you often feel the need to deploy more than 50m?).
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Cheers for the info
As per my OP I am not extending it I want to replace the poor condition galvanised 30m, At the moment I have 60 metres out, 50m of stainless and 10m of Galvanised
I prefer not to have rope as I have see too many times when moored stern to in Greece boats getting caught up in the rope, even breaking it
 
I don't think you would break the dyneema - but it might get caught in someone's prop if you are Med Mooring.

There is not the background of knowledge on stainless chain, nor matching components, because its expensive and there are some apocryphal horror stories, of varying degrees of credibility (that along with the price discourage usage).

It, stainless, is said not to tower under the windlass, because it is slippery, and also said not to collect mud (for similar reasons). Never having used it - I cannot comment. Its other characteristic is that its pretty - which is undeniable. I assume you have a matching stainless anchor (otherwise you lose some of the prettiness!).

Joining a new length is going to be a real issue but you could use the stainless 'C' link that you link to - but reinforce with a length of spliced dyneema (spliced into the old and new length). You will then need to watch the splice regularly. The dyneema will be stronger than the chain and link - it just needs to be watched and replaced when you become doubtful.

Using Omega links, and I note that are called something else on the Cromox website is going to be fiddly - and maybe not something you would want to do every day.

An option might be to have the new chain welded to the old - but I'm simply not qualified to comment (and you would need to rely on the skill of the welder, obviously). Maybe someone can comment?

A new length of stainless is going to be expensive and it may be a more sensible option to replace the whole lot with galvanised chain and use the existing stainless as a second rode - or sell it.

Jonathan

Edit - Clevis shackles, not Omega links. I think Americans sometimes call them 'connectors'

look here https://www.ketten-waelder.com/products/cromox/cromox-lifting/

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My only comment about the hardness test is that 8.8 is probably on the hard side as a comparator for 316. A 4.6 bolt would be better although I don't know how accurately they are produced. Best test might be a magnet, duplex will be attracted, 316 not.
 
Thanks again for all the advice. I was surprised that the 30m of galvanised chain was in relatively poor condition after 5 years of use and the stainless still looked like new (yes I appreciate looks can be deceptive)
For info no it is not a stainless steel anchor, I don't think any Kobra 2's are made out of it:D
 
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