Epoxy vs Chrome shelving – which is best for you?

For both businesses and homes, wire shelving units are a visually appealing and cost-effective choice. Because of their longevity, flexibility, and high load size, chrome and epoxy wire shelving units are the most common. However, determining which solution is better for you can be difficult. When shopping for shelving units, it’s crucial to remember and determine your primary need for the product before deciding which choice is better for you. When selecting racking, keep the following factors in mind:

·         Load capacity – what is going to be stored on the shelf?
·         Environment of your space, cold, dry/wet, outside / inside?
·         Size /shape of the room – e.g. display, coolroom, garage
·         Assembly – can i do it myself?

So what’s the difference?

Chrome Wire Shelving 
Although chrome shelving is normally the more costly choice, it is widely regarded as the most aesthetically appealing. The smooth texture and shiny silver surface are the main reasons for this. The poles that reside inside the shelving add to the streamlined look by making a streamlined appearance. Chrome shelving is suitable for places where it would be on sale, such as showrooms or department shops, because of this. They’re also popular in a variety of commercial settings, including storerooms, kitchens, and offices. Chrome shelving is not only attractive, but it is also very well-made and durable. It’s also worth remembering that chrome shelving is only appropriate for dry conditions with no humidity or dampness.
See the Brayco range of chrome shelving here.

Epoxy Wire Shelving
Epoxy shelving is less expensive and has a sleeker appearance than chrome shelving. It has a temperature range of 0°C to 300°C and can be used in both wet and dry conditions, making it very flexible. Water resistance is provided by the rubberised coating, which also protects against rust and corrosion. Epoxy is ideal for conditions that are rainy, cold, humid, or have frequent temperature fluctuations. Coolrooms, garages, sheds, food storage, and warehouses are only a few of the places where epoxy shelving systems are often used. Epoxy also helps to inhibit the growth of bacteria, making it a germ-free storage alternative. Furthermore, epoxy is chemically resistant, which is essential in the food service industry where a variety of chemicals are used.
See the Brayco range of epoxy shelving here.

What do you need to consider before making a purchase?

LOAD CAPACITY

Both chrome and epoxy shelving have the ability to be durable, but the strength of each brand varies greatly. When purchasing shelving, keep in mind the load capacity of each shelf as well as the thickness of the steel used. It is worthwhile to compare brands; even though they seem to be identical at first glance, a closer inspection will reveal a disparity inconsistency.

(We’d like to point out that Brayco uses a thicker diameter of steel than other rivals, making them very durable and capable of carrying 150kg per shelf.) It is also vital to remember, as with any shelf device, that the weight is spread uniformly around the shelf to prevent undue tension on the shelf and for protection when used with larger loads storage.

ENVIRONMENT

Choose epoxy shelving with a rubberised coating if you have a lot of moisture or a cool room. These are ideal for garages, coolrooms, and even places like a bottle shop or wine cellar.
Since certain floors are uneven, flexible feet are a handy function that will ensure the shelving’s maximum stability.

Are you looking for a portable unit? Castors are a good option. This provides flexibility and portability, but at the expense of total load size, so think about the use and suitability before going mobile. It’s ideal for storing table linen that can be transferred from the dining room to the storage/delivery unit. Alternatively, with pool towels that can be wheeled indoors at the end of the day, use an epoxy device.

LOCATION / SHAPE OF THE ROOM

With the latest S hook accessory, this shelving can be conveniently customised to each customer’s room and needs. For more room and easier access, create straight, L, or U configurations with no corner posts. No end poles are required; simply attach the S hook onto the end of each shelf and hang the next shelf onto it. S hooks come in chrome and epoxy finishes to complement every form of shelving.

To prevent your load from sliding off the end of each bay, add shelf dividers to the end of each bay – a useful accessory to search for when selecting your unit.

ASSEMBLY

The ease of assembly is a distinct attribute of both chrome and epoxy units. A shelf can be placed anywhere along the length of the pole, and any number of shelves can be attached, thanks to the innovative clip shape.

These best-selling wire shelving packages provide anything you’ll need to easily expand your storage room (4 shelves included). Shelving units can be put together in a matter of minutes. You should get as many shelves as you like!

No tools are required; simply snap the black clips into place on the uprights, then drop the shelf over the clips and push them into place. The most difficult challenge would be ensuring that the four clips are at the same height such that the shelf is level; this is a simple workaround that can be accomplished by counting the strategically spaced grooves in the poles and ensuring that each clip is set at the same height.

Brayco offers a wide variety of sizes in both epoxy and chrome, ranging from 457 to 1524mm wide and 1800mm tall, with optional features such as castors, additional racks, s hooks, and shelf dividers.

For the full range of Brayco wire shelving including all sizes and pricing, click the link

Stainless Steel Cleaning Methods & Recommendations

While stainless steel is a highly-durable material, there are a few simple tips to keeping it clean and in tip-top condition. Well maintained stainless steel benches will last for decades.

At Brayco Stainless Steel we also offer Stainless Steel Sink Benches, at everyday low prices.

General Cleaning Methods

1. Polish or brush with the grain of the stainless steel.
This will help to diminish marks or scratches.

2. Day to Day Cleaning  – mild detergent and cloth or soft brush (no bleach).
Make sure you rinse with clean water and wipe the surface dry. Harsh bleaches can permanently ruin any stainless steel benches surface. Detergent is fine. Specialist stainless steel cleaners are fine, but largely unnecessary.

3. Deep Clean – for a really intense clean, us methylated spirits or turpentine and then rinse with clean water and dry. Follow up with light rub of olive oil and polish with soft cloth.

4. Tea and Coffee Stains – Soak the affected area with boiling water and baking powder. Then rinse with fresh water and dry.

5. Rust Marks – We recommend using a proprietary stainless steel cleaner (such as a phosphoric acid).  Please handle with care and ensure you rinse with clean water and dry carefully.

6. Limescale – Make a paste by mixing water and baking soda. Use toothbrush or a soft cloth to apply the paste onto the infected area, following the grain of stainless steel. Then finish with a wipe of olive or baby oil and polish with a clean cloth.

7.  Paint – Paint stripper or turpentine, with nylon brush. Rinse well with fresh water and dry.

General Tips:

DON’T use concentrated bleach, hydrochloric acid or any cleaning chemical that has Chlorine. Chlorine is a corrosive chemical for all types of stainless steel.

DON’T scrub against the grain of the steel.

DO not use steel wool brushes or scourers which have been used on ordinary steel as these will damage the stainless surface and allow rust to form.

DO use a soft cloth and follow these guidelines for years of great stainless steel!

Surface Rust? Please check the cleaning agent you are using. Stainless steel cleaner will remove surface rust, however we highly recommend to regularly clean with stainless steel cleaner to ensure rust does not return.

Any questions give our team a call on 09 271 5000

Cleaning & Disinfection of Stainless Steel For Covid19

Covid19 have bought many extra restrictions for the hospitality industry. As we return to some level of
normalcy within our industry here are a few key points to remember when you are cleaning your stainless steel benches.

It’s important to clean before disinfecting because organic matter and dirt can reduce the ability of disinfectants to kill germs. A combination of both will be most effective in preventing spread of the COVID-19 virus.
Cleaning and disinfecting are two different processes:
Cleaning means physically removing germs, dirt and organic matter from surfaces.
Disinfecting means using chemicals to kill germs on surfaces.

1. General Cleaning Methods

Mild detergent and hot water are the most effective day to day cleaning method for stainless steel benches.
Remember to polish or wipe with the grain of your bench top to help diminish marks or scratches.

2. Disinfecting

Only alcohol disinfectants can be used on stainless steel. Alcohol-based disinfecting solutions should be at least 70% alcohol and can be used to clean a variety of surfaces such as things like table surfaces,
light switches, and mobile phones.
When disinfecting, special attention should be given to frequently touched surfaces and objects such as handles and bench edges.

Do Not Use Bleach on Stainless Steel

Harsh bleaches can permanently ruin any stainless steel surface.
Bleach is often a go-to for disinfecting stainless steel appliances. However, this can stain or corrode the material, as well as quaternary ammonium compounds and oxygen bleach. Please check the list of ingredients, to ensure that bleach is not listed as one of the ingredients.

For the best stainless sink bench options and cleaning tips, contact our friendly Brayco team today.

Some General Points to Note

The virus is highly contagious and it is important to make sure that frequently touched objects are cleaned properly to prevent the spread. Frequently touched objects can vary by location, for example, light switches, doorknobs, handrails, kitchen appliances, tables, drawer pulls, sinks, handles, elevator buttons, keys, and remote controls. Your staff should follow existing procedures for using gloves or other personal protective equipment (PPE). Post cleaning, the gloves should be discarded.

Useful further reading:
https://www.insider.com/how-to-kill-germs

https://www.health.govt.nz/our-work/diseases-and-conditions/covid-19-novel-coronavirus/covid-19-information-specific-audiences/covid-19-general-cleaning-and-disinfection-advice

Benefits Of Stainless Steel For Commercial Kitchens & Catering

As Australia’s leading stainless steel benches and cabinet manufacturers, we find ourselves providing bespoke solutions for a lot of commercial kitchens.

Stainless steel is the most hygienic choice for kitchens because it is an affordable and reliable material.

Other than using a highly expensive metal such titanium, stainless steel provides a surface that is easy to keep sanitary in a commercial kitchen environment.

Cleaning Stainless Steel Surfaces

You may have heard that stainless steel is crucial for hygiene in commercial kitchens and catering environments.

In hospitality or commercial kitchens, sanitation is important to prevent food related illnesses. In particular when it comes to stainless steel sink benches, where dishes are washed, it is paramount to prevent food from being cross-contaminated by other substances.

Stainless steel’s hygiene properties can be summarised through it’s easy maintenance. Daily cleaning of all kitchen benches and cabinets is commonplace. This means that stainless steel needs to be highly resistant to rust and scratches.

Stainless steel surfaces don’t have pores, making it impossible for dirt, bacteria, fungi or viruses to gain a “foothold” – if you don’t own a stainless steel bench yet you will love how easy it is to clean.

The cleanability of stainless steel is similar to that of glass. It is far superior to materials such as plastic or aluminium. When all of this is considered, you have a surface that provides aesthetics, economy, durability and protection against bacteria. No wonder it’s such a popular choice in restaurants and hospitality businesses around Australia!

Stainless steel benches is ideal for food applications so that it’s no surprise that it’s an established material of choice for food businesses.

Stainless Steel Corrosion Resistance

Its resistance to corrosion makes it last a long time. This can be attributed in part to its non-porous nature.

While stainless steel is a durable and sturdy surface, it is also soft enough that it can be easily formed into whatever piece of equipment is necessary, which makes it an ideal material for use on kitchen benches and sinks.

Stainless Steel Types – 304, 316 and 430

Now you may be wondering what type of stainless steel is best for your commercial sinks kitchen.

The stainless steel types range from 304, 316 to 430 as the most commonly used steel surfaces for manufacturing.

To find more about stainless steel types in our article:

Stainless Steel Types For Restaurant Kitchens & Hospitality

Commercial Kitchen – Cabinets, Benches & Shelving Layout

The key to your success as a food business is in the kitchen design.

A strong design will make your kitchen run smoothly and efficiently, so everything must be planned long before you open your restaurant. Everyone knows you need great staff, solid equipment and a chef who knows what they’re doing – but a vital part of your operation is the design of your commercial kitchen.

In our opinion there are five aspects to the optimum kitchen design. These are:

1. Storage: Ingredients must be kept fresh and free from contamination and at the right temperature depending on the product. Utensils must be easily accessible.
   Storage can be split up into dry storage and cold storage.
   DRY STORE: A dry storage room or allocated area is a must in a kitchen environment and houses all of the ambient goods that are used – whether it’s tinned or canned goods, spices or fresh produce. Similar to the freezer room, when you are designing a smaller environment and space is limited, then kitchen wall shelves and over bench shelving are valuable options.
   COLD STORE: Of course the preferred choice would be a walk-in freezer store but when designing smaller environments this is normally one of the luxuries to be sacrificed. Walk-in freezer stores differ from cold stores in the fact that they need an insulated floor to maintain its optimum temperature.
   This is achieved by having either a raised floor creating a step into the room or by creating a recess in the slab so that the finished surface of the freezer room can be flush with the surrounding floor heights, thus creating the ability to roll in trolleys directly. In a lot of cases, freezer storage capacity is created using upright stand alone shelving, especially where space is at a premium.
2. Food Preparation: Whether you’re chopping onions or poultry, it’s vital to segregate different types of food during prep. Sinks with extra bench room and sink covers allow for extra prep space in a small work area. Another option is to add a central work table with over bench shelving for convenience and to double up storage space.
3. Cooking Station: The cookline is the heart of the kitchen and the engine. The location of the cooking equipment is vital to a smooth operation and can be seamlessly integrated with your stainless steel benches. A combination of benches and cabinets for easy transition from prep to cook area offers valuable workspace and storage, keeping items within easy reach.
4. Food Service: Efficient kitchen design means front-of-house staff have rapid and safe access to the pass without disrupting the kitchen flow. Stainless cabinets in this area can house plates and service ware and are neatly tucked away when not required.
5. Cleaning and Washing: Plates, glasses, cutlery constantly need to be washed ready for re-use in a busy kitchen. A stainless steel sink bench is the perfect way to wash dishes efficiently. A well designed wash-up that allows adequate space for sorting and handling in conjunction with the correct dishwasher is vital. Combine dishwash benches and sinks with an open lip to slide the wash trays into the washing machine and out. Add a tap with shower head to help rinse before putting in the washing machine.

Kitchen design is a laborious task and can take many hours of head scratching to figure out your best layout.
Come and see us in the branch and we can show more options to help you finalise your kitchen layout.

 

Also checkout:

• Epoxy wire shelving for cool rooms

Is Stainless Steel The Perfect Material For Commercial Kitchens?

Why Use Stainless Steel in Your Kitchen?

Stainless steel is one of the most common materials found in kitchens today. It’s used in everything from appliances to cookware, dishware, flatware and utensils because it is durable, easy to sanitize and corrosion resistant to various acids found in meats, milk, fruits and vegetables.

At Brayco, we understand that commercial kitchens are the busiest places in the hospitality industry. The rush goes on from morning to night without any respite. This calls for increased efficiency and an utmost hygienic atmosphere with extremely durable equipment.

Stainless steels’ impermeable surface prevents the absorption of moisture and the resulting decay. Most importantly though, stainless steel is a safe option when it comes to use with food and beverage, as there are no chemicals that can migrate into your food from these products.

The major stainless-steel components of a commercial kitchen are food-grade work benches, sinks, shelving, cabinets as well as cool and dry storage.

Brayco Stainless Steel Products

• Stainless Steel Benches
• Stainless Steel Cabinets
• Stainless Steel Sinks, 1,2 & 3 bowl
• Stainless Steel Wall Mounted Sinks
• Stainless Steel Taps
• Stainless Knee Operated Sinks
• Stainless Steel Wall Shelves
• Stainless Steel Dishwasher Compatible Sinks and Benches
• Stainless Steel Trolleys
• Stainless Steel 4 Tier Shelf Units

Stainless Steel: Composition and Types

Stainless-steel is the name given to the category of several iron-based alloys that have at least 10.5% of chromium. It is an amalgamation of iron and different metals in different ratios.

304 Stainless Steel

This is the most popular stainless steel type used in industrial applications. It contains 65% iron, and its major components are 18% chromium and 8% nickel.

It is high in demand for its non-magnetic quality. This alloy features a lower conductivity of heat and electricity as compared to carbon steel and regular steel. It can withstand the corrosive impacts of chlorides and other minerals found in water. These attributes make the 304 stainless steel stress corrosion-resistant and thereby crack proof.

These steels also exhibit excellent resistance to a wide range of atmospheric, chemical and food industry exposures. Typical uses include architectural mouldings and trim, surgical equipment, kitchen equipment and food processing.

Most of our Brayco Products are made with ultra durable, rust resistant and easy to clean 304 Stainless steel.
Use of 1.2mm thick 304 steel on benches ensures strength and durabilty.

430 Stainless Steel

This alloy has a greater quantity of iron and negligable nickel. It is made of 80% iron, 16-18% chromium and 3% constitutes the other non-iron metals. Due to its high iron content, it falls under the ferritic category of steels – magnetic. It is resistant to corrosion, does not react to nitric acid. These crucial properties make the 430 steel more suited to automotive trim and molding, furnace combustion chambers, dishwashers, range hoods, gas burners on heating units, gutters and downspouts.
430 Contains a negligible amount of nickel and therefore has a reduced corrosion resistance (is more likely to rust than 304 but still high quality). It does not provide the resistance to pitting by dilute reducing acids that is provided by the 304 grade steel.

NB: Nickel enhances the corrosion resistance of stainless steel. Therefore, the higher the nickel content, the more resistant the stainless steel is to corrosion.

Frequently Asked Stainless Steel Questions

Are all stainless steel food grade?

The most common of all stainless steel grades. 304 is used in kitchens throughout the world.
Other grades are more suitable for marine applications, cutlery and food storage containers.
There are many different kinds of food grade stainless steel options available for your kitchen. Whether you need food grade containers or food grade pots and pans, please make sure you check the quality of the steel before you buy.

Difference between 304 and 430

The “grade” of stainless steel refers to its quality, durability and temperature resistance. The main difference is the composition of the stainless steel and the amount of chromium and nickel in the product

304 grade stainless steel contains a considerable amount of nickel unlike the 430 grade which makes 304 more corrosion resistant and particularly suitable for harsh environments.

304 is non-magnetic stainless steel whereas 430 have high magnetic properties. Though generally very weldable, some ferritic steel grades can be prone to sensitization of the weld heat-affected zone and weld metal hot cracking.

The presence of nickel makes 304 more corrosion resistant; it also makes it much easier to press and draw. The absence of nickel in 430 grade means the stainless steel will most likely crack or fail completely compared to pressing 304.

Crevice Corrosion. Periodic disassembly and cleaning out of all areas where crevice corrosion may occur is recommended on 430 grade steel. When narrow crevices and other “nooks and crannies” on stainless steel kitchen equipment get filled with solutions that cannot easily exit, protective films can break down and corrosion set in. As evaporation and refilling alternately recur, the trapped solution gets stronger and stronger, speeding up the corrosion process. Gaskets, washers, sharp corners, overlaps, and flanges are frequent “targets” of crevice corrosion.
304 is more expensive, while 430 is considerably cheaper.

Is stainless steel rust-free?

No stainless steel product is completely rust-free if exposed to non-suitable conditions. However, the 304 stainless used in Brayco products is almost-completely resistant to rust if maintained correctly. Visit the best stainless steel benches for more info.

Why use stainless steel

In addition to resistance to weathering and therefore the inability to rust, the material also features extremely important technical characteristics which make it particularly suitable for use in the professional kitchens of great Chefs. Indeed, it proves to be:

• Long-lasting
• Biologically pure
• 100% recyclable
• Easy to clean

Stainless steel is the ideal material for hygiene in domestic and commercial kitchen settings, because it is easy to clean and biologically neutral, in addition to being an eco-friendly product that is 100% recyclable. An eternal material, one that is charming and functional that ages slowly without losing any of its characteristics.

Why choose Brayco Stainless Steel?

Brayco has made the most of the know-how of skilled stainless steel craftsmen and our 15 years industry experience to offer a comprehensive range of professional-grade, fully modular kitchen benches, sinks such as wall mounted mop sink, cabinets and shelving.

Our clients have been loving our stainless steel products for over 15 years. Why not visit us in one of our 7 locations across Australia and get a hand from our friendly staff?