Trailer Ball Selection - Nickle Chrome, Zink, Stainless, and No Finish/Raw

[bcp]

Millions of chrome bumpers over the years--thousands and thousands of them bent, twisted, and dented in accidents and use. How many had brittle breaks?

Hydrogen embrittlement is real, but under what conditions of steel alloy and thickness? I've mostly heard of it related to thin metal under stress.

Bruce

 

[LarJea]

I doubt if hitch balls are heat treated. They are probably made from low to medium carbon steel and whatever hardness they have would be from the forming process. I know you can buy specially heat treated hitch balls if you need more load capacity. I used to heat treat steel but that was years ago, so what do I know.

 

[zzvyb6]

I prefer mine to be clear glass or plastic with a light bulb inside and a motion sensor detecting when my shins are near it. My chrome jobs usually peal off after a few runs and then look terrible. I don't need a sway damper because I don't lubricate them.

 

[peterc38]

Millions of chrome bumpers over the years--thousands and thousands of them bent, twisted, and dented in accidents and use. How many had brittle breaks?

Hydrogen embrittlement is real, but under what conditions of steel alloy and thickness? I've mostly heard of it related to thin metal under stress.

Bruce

Bumpers ain't high strength steel.

I don't know what the hardness or tensile strength is but the point of my previous post was if it is over roughly 40 R/C it definitely could cause a failure if not properly baked after chrome plating.

I've got over 30 yrs in the Aerospace business (much of that dealing with metal finishing) and hydrogen embrittlement is real and people have died from it as a root cause of failure.

It's of major concern with fasteners and bearings.

https://airresearch.com/Toolbox/HydrogenEmbrittlement.doc

http://www.wpi.edu/Images/CMS/MTE/Hydrogen.pdf

 

[busy dad]

I have seen many things fail due to Hydrogen Enbrittlement .... The chromed part needs to be slowly heated and cooled after plating .. This releases the Hydrogen gas.. I have had poorly plated bolts break turning them into holes... Most high weight balls are supplied Bare I think to allow an easier visual inspection... Chrome or paint makes this harder.... Stainless balls are not rated as high as the bare ones.... I know that a few years ago , several balls were made in the same foundry.. I hauled out of there , they made Reese , Drawtite, and a couple others ... They were bare ones ... I have seen a few balls that have a Teflon like top coating .. I wonder if that is a good idea or not ..

 

[ultrarunner]

Bumpers ain't high strength steel.

I don't know what the hardness or tensile strength is but the point of my previous post was if it is over roughly 40 R/C it definitely could cause a failure if not properly baked after chrome plating.

I've got over 30 yrs in the Aerospace business (much of that dealing with metal finishing) and hydrogen embrittlement is real and people have died from it as a root cause of failure.

It's of major concern with fasteners and bearings.

https://airresearch.com/Toolbox/HydrogenEmbrittlement.doc

http://www.wpi.edu/Images/CMS/MTE/Hydrogen.pdf

I miss the days when cars like Model A Fords had spring steel bumpers that were very tough indeed.

I like my stainless steel balls... 2" and 2 5/16"...

Also have a couple of unpainted forged balls which are the highest rated...

 

[Fallon]

Balls end up dirty no matter what, so I just go with it. Grease prevents wear & keeps things working properly, so I grease my balls. Use ball covers to keep the grease & other gunk from getting all over. Don't particularly care if my ball is chromed or raw. I figure any coating will end up wearing off anyway.

The Teflon topped no lube balls I have seen had less rated capacity than raw or chrome so don't interest me at all. Not to mention they cost more.