Shipping Containers Blog

Posts Tagged ‘moisture trap’

When thinking about Shipping Container Sales (or even hire) there are quite a few things you should consider.   Here are 10 that you might want to keep in mind.

1. The cheapest  to buy are 20ft Shipping Containers or 40ft Shipping Containers.  This is because these are the most common sizes used by the Shipping Lines/Transport Companies etc and therefore the most readily available.   Sizes such as 10ft etc are often cut down from larger containers and, due to the labour involved, are often more expensive.
2. Your shipping Container should be made out of corten steel.   This is a highly rust resistant and strong material that is weather resistant.   If you are considering buying  second hand shipping container then it will probaby be painted in the colours of a Shipping Line Company.   There will probably be places where the paint has been scraped and a brown surface layer will have formed.   This is not rust!   Corten steel forms this patina to stop rust getting to the underneath layer.   Your steel container should last another 10-15 years.
3. You should check that your container comes with a wind and watertight guarantee.   When you take delivery of your shipping container walk inside it and look for any holes in the sides and don’t forget to look up and check the roof!   This should be easy in the daylight as the sunlight will show through any holes there might be.
4. The floor of a standard shipping container is made out of 27mm timber.   Check that there are no soft spots in the floor that might give way when the container is loaded.
5. Make sure that your shipping container is sited on level ground.   This means that the doors will open smoothly.   When the container is empty this potential problem is often not obvious as the doors will probably open easily.   However, once the container is loaded if the container is not sited on the level then things are about to get a whole lot worse!
6. If you are going to use your container for shipping then make sure it has a CSC certificate or plate.   This will ensure that your container is cargo worthy and that you have no problems when delivering it to the port for shipping.  Remember that a lot of people choose to buy their container rather than hire is so they can use it as a shipping container conversion once they get to their new country.
7. If you have any concerns about the security of your container have a lock cowl or lockbox put on at the depot before delivery.   This is a metal box that is welded on to the container doors to protect the padlock from illegal access and tampering from bolt croppers or angle grinders etc.
8. Some insurance companies offer a premium discount if you use an insurance approved heavy duty container padlock such as CISA.   It is worth asking the insurance company you use to insure your container’s contents whether they do.
9. If you are worried about condensation then it may be worth considering lining the container.   This can be carried out at the depot and can be done in a variety of ways.   The most common is done using ply either without or without the addition of rockwool behind.  You could also consider using a “thermal blanket” - the method used by a large number of the shipping lines themselves.  A cheaper alternative to the problem of condensation is a moisture trap.  These last for 4 months and suck up 2.5 litres of water.   They are extremely effective but you do have to keep replacing them.
10. Finally, make sure that when you arrange delivery of your container you take into account the access to your site.   If there are overhanging trees, low cables or the lorry has to cross a field then the lorry might not be able to deliver your container and you will be charged for wasted transport.   It is always worth checking at the time of purchasing your container and, if there are concerns, sending photographs of the site or arranging a site visit to make sure that your container can be delivered.

After yesterday’s post, a few of you contacted us concerned about condensation in shipping containers. In an earlier post relating to shipping container housing, we discussed the fact that all shipping containers have vents with pvc baffles inside to help promote air flow and keep water - be it rain or sea water - out of the container itself.

Why, therefore, is there a risk of condensation within a shipping container anyway? Well, when talking about containers used for store, if the doors of the containers are opened regularly there really should not be much of a problem. Where the risk comes in is when you take into consideration the moisture contained within the items being stored in the shipping container itself. All items, from sports equipment to clothes, from mattresses to shoes contain moisture and it is because of this that problems can occur during the autumn and winter months.

It is as a result of the difference in temperature between the night and the day - particularly when the day is sunny. These conditions cause the moisture to come out from the stored items as vapour, and, if no contingency is in place, settle on the ceiling ready to drip down when the temperature cools.

There is, however, a really good and affordable solution in the form of moisture traps which really do help keep the contents of the shipping container dry. These take the extra moisture into the specially PE/PP plastics and salt and lock it away within the moisture trap. One moisture trap will keep a 20ft container dry for 120 days. At under £30 it could very well be the affordable answer to any worries you might have.

Storage shipping containers are extremely versatile and are being used by individuals and businesses alike. Shipping containers being used for storage has only really taken off during the last 30 years or so, but now it is extremely common to see them in use as storage containers everywhere from building sites, backgardens or even off shore.

Shipping containers are of a much stronger construction that portacabins or wooden sheds, so it is little surprise that they are being used so much as a means of secure storage. Storage shipping containers differ only from a standard shipping container in so far as it may not be of standard length - often being adapted to be anything from 8ft to 40ft as opposed to the traditional 20ft and 40ft containers that are standard on ships.

Storage shipping containers are often converted to make the organisation of the items stored within easier. Racking - or shelving - is often fitted and can be all metal, all wood or a combination of the two. Cupboards are also often put into the containers. These additions can be done at the depot but there is nothing to stop standard flat pack shelves or cupboards from local DIY store being fitted by the end user. As long as the holes drilled into the container are sealed properly with silicone afterwards so that the container remains wind and watertight home fitted shelving and cupboards are often considerably cheaper.

Another alteration that sets storage shipping containers apart from standard shipping containers are the additions of a lockbox and a heavy duty container padlock. The lockbox is fitted to the double container doors and acts as a shroud for the padlock stopping illegal access from bolt croppers or angle grinders. The padlocks themselves often have hardened steel shackles and are extremely robust.  Together, the construction, lockbox and padlock make it extremely difficult for all but the most determined to break into a shipping container.

People often are concerned about condensation in their storage shipping containers. This can be tackled through the addition of grafo paint to the container ceiling which absorbs moisture or by the simpler method of using moisture traps.  These moisture traps  are used on marine voyages and which absorb up to two-and-a-half litres of moisture keeping the stored goods dry.  They are extremely effective - after all no-one wants to have spent a lot of money to ship cargo half way round the world only for it to arrive ruined!

Storage shipping containers look as though they are here to stay. The fact that they are strong and secure, easily transportable, come in varying sizes and are easily fitted out to hold a variety of goods mean that they are an economic and practical for all sorts of storage needs.

Shipping Containers are an ideal solution for additional storage. Whether you are moving or renovating your house, want to clear your garage or spare room of all the clutter so you can use them again for their original purpose, the extra space that a shipping container provides could be the answer. Businesses too can save on expensive commercial premises by putting stock or archiving files in a shipping container.

A 20ft container is about the size of a single garage and is the most common size used for a storage container. Businesses often use a 40ft container as they need the additional space. The containers can be fitted out with racking so that they are well organised and keep their contents easy to find. Moisture traps are used to stop condensation and are particularly effective when storing paper or electrical goods that are sensitive to the damp.

Shipping containers are classed as temporary structures so normally do not require any planning permission. They can be sited easily on any level ground near to the house or office and painted to blend in with their surroundings. With the addition of a lockbox and a heavy duty container padlock they are very secure.

If you have a need for additional storage a shipping container could well provide the answer.

Shipping Containers are, as we have discussed in previous posts, ideal for use in emergency situations.  They are frequently used in Australia and New Zealand for emergency housing and the Red Cross in America used them extensively in the aftermath of Hurricane Gustav.

Flooding

The floods in North Lancashire and Cumbria mean that many people are going to be looking for emergency container storage for household items.  Most firms will guarantee their containers to be wind and watertight, and as shipping containers are designed to withstand marine conditions they are ideal for storage after the storms and flooding that happened at the weekend.  Offices and site accommodation in the form of conversions made out of shipping containers are also likely to help out local businesses.

20ft container

10ft container

Obviously, the storage containers will not be needed for long periods of time so container hire is an option that should be considered.  Often insurance companies will organise this for their clients.  If you are looking to hire a container yourself, you should remember that the initial invoice will normally be for the first period of hire (normally a month) together with the delivery and collection haulage.   Therefore if the haulage was £150 the first invoice would be for £150 x 2 = £300.

Condensation solutions are also available in the form of moisture traps and additional security  can be provided through lock boxes and insurance approved CISA padlocks.

Many of you seem to think that no matter how nice a shipping container home can look - and it can look very nice indeed - there is no getting around the fact that a shipping container is a metal box and therefore will be like an oven in the summer, and in contrast, damp and freezing cold in the winter.

Not so. The reality for shipping container insulation is that space age technology has come to its aid. There is now such a thing as Ceramic spray insulation. This is a relatively new development, and in fairness, not in general use in the UK, yet it is NASA approved, and particularly effective when applied to the metal container surface. By this I mean the Corten steel that shipping containers are made out of. Super Therm is probably the most well known brand.

Ceramic spray insulation is applied like paint, and it stops cold and heat transference. When it is dry you can paint it any colour you like. Best of all it doesn’t narrow the container like traditional insulation used to, so you can actually make use of the 8ft width of the container, rather than struggle with the 7′6″ you used to be left with after traditional insulation.

Testing in the US shows that if you use a shipping container for accommodation using the Ceramic Insulation spray, the structure will probably be more energy efficient than a traditional home. As an added bonus when you coat the shipping container’s corten steel surfaces with it the shipping container becomes virtually rust proof.

This leaves us with the issue of ventilation - something that always worries people using shipping containers to store personal items etc. The truth is that for housing, when windows and doors are cut into the container they give the structure a similar amount of ventilation to that of a traditional house. The windows themselves can be double, or even tripled glazed. Electrical supply allows for air conditioning to be fitted should that prove necessary for the location, so ventilation is more than taken care of.

And, just to set the record straight, shipping containers used on marine voyages are fitted with vents which have pvc baffles which allow air in and keep sea water out. Sometimes additional moisture traps are placed inside when the cargo is particularly vulnerable to damp conditions. After all, no-one wants to go to the expense of shipping merchandise from one side of the world to the other on a four month journey and find that everything is ruined inside. So you don’t even have to worry about condensation in a traditional shipping container either.

Science has come to the aid of the shipping container and is allowing us all to see them not just as metal boxes but as practical spaces for modern day living with the ability to deliver the standards of energy conservancy that we need. How amazing is that?

CS Shipping Containers provide steel shipping and storage  containers for sale and hire to individuals and companies in all parts of the UK. Our clients have a broad spectrum of storage needs which we are only too happy to help and advise on. Our containers can be delivered to you at your convenience or, if preferred, can be collected from our nearest  depot.

We offer a wide range of ex-factory and second user storage containers for sale, ideal for the storage of everything from industrial products to on-site sports equipment etc. To keep your container theft proof, we also offer security accessories, such as padlocks and lockboxes. Other products include moisture traps and ‘Grafo’ anti-condensation coating.

Our units can be converted to meet most customer requirements, for example they can be modified into office accommodation, workshops and garages, chemical stores, smoking shelters and even observatories and recording studios.

Our customers’ needs are varied. We supply individuals, small business, education, agricultural, construction and corporate clients.