Fan Technology Protects Metal from Corrosion

This steel distributor used fan technology in their New Jersey warehouse to overcome uneven ambient temperatures that created potentially disastrous condensation for their sweating steel inventory inside a non-air conditioned warehouse.

When Aaron & Son acquired a New Brunswick, NJ, warehouse full of steel from S. Franklin & Sons, warehouse manager John Kulek found himself with a potentially expensive problem: Uneven overnight to daytime temperatures had the potential to be disastrous for temperature regulation and accompanying condensation in the non-air conditioned warehouse. In cooler weather, trucks bringing chilled steel into the warmer space further tipped the balance.

Kulek knew he needed a solution – fast. He turned to two of his steel suppliers in Cleveland, Majestic Steel USA and Freedom Steel Inc. “I started researching what needs to be handled, what we needed to do to store the steel properly,” recalls Kulek. “They helped me a lot by explaining how steel sweats.”

Many warehouse spaces experience condensation issues when cool metal is brought into a warmer space. Due to the heat storage capacity of the metal, it may take hours for the temperature of the delivered product to approach the inside air temperature. While the metal warms up to the temperature of the building, its surface temperature is initially below the dew point temperature of the air. This leads to condensation on the surface of the metal and potential corrosion.

Heat transfer from the air to the metal surface can be increased by approximately 2.5 times by increasing the air speed across the metal. A faster warm-up time coincides with less condensation and less chance for corrosion, pickling costs and mold. S. Franklin & Sons had typically used small fans on wheels to control condensation, but Kulek planned to expand the operations of this warehouse, which meant the small fans wouldn’t cut it. Instead, he turned to the Big Ass Fan Company (Lexington, KY) to provide an air movement solution scaled to fit the size of his operation.

Big Ass Fans is a preeminent designer and manufacturer of large diameter, low speed fans for industrial, commercial and residential use. The company sent an engineer to examine Kulek’s warehouse and after measuring the 44,000 sq ft space and 22 ft ceiling, she recommended two 16 ft diameter Powerfoil X fans as a perfect fit.

Powerfoil X is the Big Ass Fan Company’s signature industrial model. The strongest, most adaptable, industrial ceiling fan is powered by a 1.5 hp motor and uses ten patented airfoils with winglets to smoothly and efficiently move a huge volume of air. Powerfoil X uses a purpose-built Stöber gearbox and patented NitroSeal Drive that is filled with nitrogen to create a perfect internal environment and remain permanently sealed for zero maintenance.

This seamless operation is guaranteed by a non-prorated 10-year warranty. Charged with reducing the speed of the fan motor to its airfoils, the gearbox is also responsible for supporting the weight of the hub and airfoils. The efficient motor and airfoils means a typical unit requires only 70 W to 1240 W to circulate the entire volume of air inside the building each hour.

In the winter months, operating at 10 percent to 30 percent of their maximum speed, these large diameter, low speed fans successfully destratify tall spaces by mixing the warm air at the ceiling level with the cooler air at the occupant level to create a uniform temperature throughout. This factor was crucial in protecting the steel inventory inside the warehouse.

At Aaron & Sons, the immediate effect of the fans was easy to see: Not one bit of rust. “We got the fans installed and the next day we got our first steel order, so that was cutting it very close. We haven’t lost a thing since the day we turned the fans on, and we’ve more than doubled S. Franklin & Son’s sales,” Kulek said. “Everything has worked perfectly. If we didn’t have these fans, we’d have an amazing amount of wet steel, which would be an absolute disaster.”

The fans have only been turned off once since they were installed – and the condensation issue came back with a vengeance. “There was just a little bit of sweat on every top sheet,” says Kulek. “If you rubbed your hand over the steel, you could see it. And within 20 minutes of turning the fans on, the moisture was all gone. It wiped everything away, and those fans have been on ever since. They’ve done an amazing job for us.”

During warmer months, air movement from the fans also provides a comforting, cooling effect for the warehouse employees. “We don’t turn them on very high, but you can feel the air moving, and it feels good,” smiles Kulek, who only monitors the New Brunswick facility intermittently now because of the installation of the two Big Ass Fans. “I don’t have to deal with the warehouse,” he says, “because it is on auto pilot right now . . . and that’s a good thing. It’s silent to me, just like the fan itself.”

Aaron & Company, 10 Industrial Drive, New Brunswick, NJ 08901, 732-247-4500, Fax: 732-247-9682, www.aaronco.com.

Big Ass Fan Company, 2425 Merchant Street, Lexington, KY 40511, 877-244-3267, www.bigassfans.com.