Equipment for beach

[oldguy]

Going to need to outfit a gym in the beach house next year. Will be in the garage ( somewhat exposed to elements). Any special considerations I should be thinking of regarding the rack, bar, weights considering the salt air ?

[MarkKO]

Maybe a storage cupboard or box to keep the bar and plates in when not in use? You could look at site boxes, there should be some that would fit a barbell at least diagonally.

[mgil]

Stainless steel barbell

I’d probably skip on anything fancy for the plates other than possibly painting them over with a couple extra coats of rustoleum.

Keep a fan going to keep air moving all the time so that excess moisture doesn’t settle?

[Skander]

Is the stuff not going to be used for long periods? In that case you might want to figure out the storage side the most. The thing I'm finding here (5 miles from the Atlantic) is that the humidity and swings in temp make the stuff sweat and drip a lot, but it's not an issue for the stuff that's handled regularly. But if you aren't touching the stuff for a while, maybe storage with some kind of dessicating things with it? And oil the bar up good first?

Though clearly this is a good reason to spring for stainless steel and coated plates. Mostly just cause both are awesome.

[Hardartery]

Bumpers plates, or powder coated. Cerakote bar, or stainless, depending on how much weight you lift. Stainless is fine for lower weight stuff. oil the bearings/bushings when you get there and when you leave. Plastic collars, the cheap ones from Amazon work fine enough and if they break after a while who cares, they're cheap. Have a fine wire brush on hand and if you see any surface rust start on anything remove it immediately and oil that spot. All that said, you will likely get some rust somewhere no matter what, this is just trying to keep it to a minimum when you aren't there using the stuff. If you're really paranoid, get a box that will hold the bar and pack it in there covered in rice when you leave from vacation.

[oldguy]

Thanks all - very helpful. Think I will build a box to store it all in - cleaner look too for the missus ( or am I supposed to call her dearly beloved?) . Unlike the shit show in my current garage gym, she has requested a "neat" appearance.

Anything special with the rack selection?

[Renascent]

Stainless is fine for lower weight stuff.

What is the reasoning behind this?

[Hardartery]

Stainless is fine for lower weight stuff.

What is the reasoning behind this?

Stainless is a weaker steel. It has a lower ability to not bend permanently under heavy load, which is why none of the high test rating bars are SS. More recently some outfits, like Rogue, have started offering a lot of bars with stainless options, but those bars are intended for average Joe weights. I don't trust them, personally. If I spend that much for lifting kit, I want it to not bend permanently under load, and real SS isn't really designed for that. SS that will behave that way is going to have some strange content and maybe be not so rustproof.

[mgil]

I think for most slow lifts with an average(ish) lifter, stainless is probably okay. It might be worth taking care when doing heavy deadlifts.

[Renascent]

Stainless is fine for lower weight stuff.

What is the reasoning behind this?

Stainless is a weaker steel. It has a lower ability to not bend permanently under heavy load, which is why none of the high test rating bars are SS. More recently some outfits, like Rogue, have started offering a lot of bars with stainless options, but those bars are intended for average Joe weights. I don't trust them, personally. If I spend that much for lifting kit, I want it to not bend permanently under load, and real SS isn't really designed for that. SS that will behave that way is going to have some strange content and maybe be not so rustproof.

Is it something during the stainless-making process that weakens the steel? Or is a bar without a plated finish already weaker than one with a chrome or zinc finish?

[Renascent]

I think for most slow lifts with an average(ish) lifter, stainless is probably okay. It might be worth taking care when doing heavy deadlifts.

How heavy is "heavy" (in the context of these deadlifts)?

[Hardartery]

I think for most slow lifts with an average(ish) lifter, stainless is probably okay. It might be worth taking care when doing heavy deadlifts.

How heavy is "heavy" (in the context of these deadlifts)?

I'd want to look at the test rating for the bar. As a rule, I wouldn't fool with anything that isn't rated for at least 1000 lbs. I'm not saying that because someone is going to be routinely sticking over 1k on there, but the load is significantly higher at certain points in a movement like a Squat. Between me and an NPC guy that was trying to go pro (I think he did, but wouldn't swear to it) we bent every bar in a new gym in NC. They were all "rated" for 1000 lbs. Neither one of us put that much on one (I did workout with the guy a little and saw him around). Most SS bars are not rated for that much weight, so if I can bend the piss out of one that IS with 600 or so pounds, what's going to happen with one that's only rated for 600-800 lbs? I get that they are trying to fill a market desire, but personally I'd just get cerakote before I'd go stainless.
Incidentally, I just bought a cerakote power bar from EliteFTS, it's a gift for my nephew. Hopefully I'll get some sort of review of it. He just bought a house with his girlfriend/signoficant other/life partner/what the hell do we call these people these days?, and he's been remodelling the outbuilding as a gym. A good bar should help.

[Renascent]

I think for most slow lifts with an average(ish) lifter, stainless is probably okay. It might be worth taking care when doing heavy deadlifts.

How heavy is "heavy" (in the context of these deadlifts)?

I'd want to look at the test rating for the bar. As a rule, I wouldn't fool with anything that isn't rated for at least 1000 lbs. I'm not saying that because someone is going to be routinely sticking over 1k on there, but the load is significantly higher at certain points in a movement like a Squat.

I've been reading a lot of barbell reviews lately, and decided that I would much prefer something without a plated finish, if possible. The local climate, however, complicates the decision a little. Had my mind made up on the TPB, but the reply I got back this weekend from Capps simply read: "We do not make stainless steel bars at the moment." I also suspect I might be too lazy for the upkeep required of a bare steel bar.

 I'm asking all these questions because a lot of people seem to swear by stainless as the endgame solution for rust and moisture; supposedly, the prices also reflect this benefit. But nobody seems to mention anything about a reduced hardness, load capacity, etc. (I know those traits aren't exactly interchangeable) with stainless steel bars, so I'm wondering how significant those specifics might be. Speaking for myself, I doubt I'll ever be pulling in the upper 5's or low 600s for work sets...

[Oldandfat]

All my bars are bare steel. It gets humid here in the summer.

I give my bars a quick brush with a nylon brush after every workout. No rust, no issues.

Once a year (did for the first time after 3 years) I will remover the sleeves, clean/lubricate.

Only reason once a year is because I get to use snap ring pliers that I never get to use.

[Hardartery]

I think for most slow lifts with an average(ish) lifter, stainless is probably okay. It might be worth taking care when doing heavy deadlifts.

How heavy is "heavy" (in the context of these deadlifts)?

I'd want to look at the test rating for the bar. As a rule, I wouldn't fool with anything that isn't rated for at least 1000 lbs. I'm not saying that because someone is going to be routinely sticking over 1k on there, but the load is significantly higher at certain points in a movement like a Squat.

I've been reading a lot of barbell reviews lately, and decided that I would much prefer something without a plated finish, if possible. The local climate, however, complicates the decision a little. Had my mind made up on the TPB, but the reply I got back this weekend from Capps simply read: "We do not make stainless steel bars at the moment." I also suspect I might be too lazy for the upkeep required of a bare steel bar.

 I'm asking all these questions because a lot of people seem to swear by stainless as the endgame solution for rust and moisture; supposedly, the prices also reflect this benefit. But nobody seems to mention anything about a reduced hardness, load capacity, etc. (I know those traits aren't exactly interchangeable) with stainless steel bars, so I'm wondering how significant those specifics might be. Speaking for myself, I doubt I'll ever be pulling in the upper 5's or low 600s for work sets...

I've never had or used a stainless bar, but that's in part because the only options up until recently were 3020 chromoly or cheap junk. The reason you couldn't get stainless was the load restrictions, the point at which they deform instead of flex made them an expensive but poor choice. Maybe they hve new blends of metal to get around that, but I am in no rush to lay out large cash for an experiment. The ElitFTS bar is on sale, so it cost me $324.53 with tax. 10% off and free shipping. That's more than a boneyard bar from Rogue, I think (I don't know what shipping would be on that), but I get a firt quality, brand new, black cerakote bar. The whole thing is cerakote in the picture. I know it's going to hold up, and I didn't want to gamble on the finish for a gift. And the boneyard probably isn't actually much less when it's all said and done than the first quality one I bought. I'm not totally about pretty. For me painting stuff and worrying about coatings is all about elimination of maintenance. I want to buy it and use it, not jack around with it all the time or have permanent stains on my clothes when I use it. Stainless is pretty, but I'd be pissed if I bent it or it didn't stay pretty because of what was added to make it strong enough.

[PuddingFace]

I think for most slow lifts with an average(ish) lifter, stainless is probably okay. It might be worth taking care when doing heavy deadlifts.

How heavy is "heavy" (in the context of these deadlifts)?

I'd want to look at the test rating for the bar. As a rule, I wouldn't fool with anything that isn't rated for at least 1000 lbs. I'm not saying that because someone is going to be routinely sticking over 1k on there, but the load is significantly higher at certain points in a movement like a Squat.

I've been reading a lot of barbell reviews lately, and decided that I would much prefer something without a plated finish, if possible. The local climate, however, complicates the decision a little. Had my mind made up on the TPB, but the reply I got back this weekend from Capps simply read: "We do not make stainless steel bars at the moment." I also suspect I might be too lazy for the upkeep required of a bare steel bar.

 I'm asking all these questions because a lot of people seem to swear by stainless as the endgame solution for rust and moisture; supposedly, the prices also reflect this benefit. But nobody seems to mention anything about a reduced hardness, load capacity, etc. (I know those traits aren't exactly interchangeable) with stainless steel bars, so I'm wondering how significant those specifics might be. Speaking for myself, I doubt I'll ever be pulling in the upper 5's or low 600s for work sets...

Stainless steel is a wide variety of different, similar materials that are based on iron, chromium and other elements. The most corrosion resistant stainless steels contain nickel, which limits how much strength can be achieved by the material. However, it's important to consider the environments required for the most resistant materials - food processing, and highly corrosive chemicals at elevated temperatures. Stainless steels that don't contain nickel can be treated to become much stronger (as strong as any medium-carbon, low alloy steel used in the making of barbells), and still have "moderate" corrosion resistance - which is of course being compared to other stainless steels, not carbon steel. If your bar would be subjected to normal environmental conditions, any stainless steel will be corrosion-resistant enough.

As far as strength goes, weight ratings are virtually meaningless across manufacturers as there is no standard method of application. Same goes for tensile strength ratings, since the yield strength (important for permanent bending) is what matters in this case. Rogue & elitefts list tensile strengths around 190ksi as a starting point, so it's possible that they are using a hardened 1045 steel, which at 190ksi tensile strength will result in 122ksi yield strength. That would allow static loading in excess of 900 lbs before any amount of plastic deformation occurs (which would be imperceptible to the lifter). permanent bending comes into play on suddenly applied loads (dropping, etc)

End result is that any stainless barbell from a reputable manufacturer will hold up adequately so long as the bar is used properly. But the same conditions that damage a stainless steel barbell would also damage a carbon steel one.

[damufunman]

@Hardartery what were you doing when you bent the bars? Did you notice it deforming while/immediately after you put it down?

[Hardartery]

@Hardartery what were you doing when you bent the bars? Did you notice it deforming while/immediately after you put it down?

Squats. I didn't Deadlift at that gym, and they got real squirrely if I did Power Cleans. Imagine the zit faced staff kid earnestly begging you to get spotters when you do Power Cleans and adamant that you are squatting too low. LOL. I didn't know during the set that it bent, but you knew the next time you picked it out of the hooks because it would swing around to put the bow pointing up, which is a real sketchy surprise when you unrack - having the whole thing try and drag you forward or back and change the bar position while swinging. It was worse if you tried to bench with one and didn't know, I did not enjoy the bar rotating out of position out of nowhere. They just gradually got worse until the gym replaced them. They sent them all back as a warranty defect, we promptly bent them all again, and then suddenly there were Texas Power Bars in the gym instead.

[Renascent]

All my bars are bare steel. It gets humid here in the summer.

I give my bars a quick brush with a nylon brush after every workout. No rust, no issues.

I might've been a little late with the brushing, and I don't use chalk, so it didn't appear to help me much, from what I could tell.

The 3-in-1 oil seemed more useful, though -- again -- I wasn't very proactive about oiling the bar until I noticed the rust on other things. And it also smells like furniture polish, which is nice, I guess. It's a chemical lemon-y smell; it's nice.

I'd probably need to use the wire wheel trick at this point for any meaningful restoration, though the oxidation doesn't look as bad as it could after a year and a half.

@puddingface, thanks for the detailed info. I've seen nickel composites mentioned in a small number of reviews, but nobody ever mentioned the pros and cons beyond whether or not they find it pretty and such (I think Kabuki offers some kind of nickel coating, though I couldn't glean the purpose behind it beyond supposed hardening properties?)...

...

Are site boxes designed specifically to keep moisture out?

[Renascent]

I think for most slow lifts with an average(ish) lifter, stainless is probably okay. It might be worth taking care when doing heavy deadlifts.

How heavy is "heavy" (in the context of these deadlifts)?

I'd want to look at the test rating for the bar. As a rule, I wouldn't fool with anything that isn't rated for at least 1000 lbs. I'm not saying that because someone is going to be routinely sticking over 1k on there, but the load is significantly higher at certain points in a movement like a Squat.

I've been reading a lot of barbell reviews lately, and decided that I would much prefer something without a plated finish, if possible. The local climate, however, complicates the decision a little. Had my mind made up on the TPB, but the reply I got back this weekend from Capps simply read: "We do not make stainless steel bars at the moment." I also suspect I might be too lazy for the upkeep required of a bare steel bar.

 I'm asking all these questions because a lot of people seem to swear by stainless as the endgame solution for rust and moisture; supposedly, the prices also reflect this benefit. But nobody seems to mention anything about a reduced hardness, load capacity, etc. (I know those traits aren't exactly interchangeable) with stainless steel bars, so I'm wondering how significant those specifics might be. Speaking for myself, I doubt I'll ever be pulling in the upper 5's or low 600s for work sets...

...I'm not totally about pretty. For me painting stuff and worrying about coatings is all about elimination of maintenance. I want to buy it and use it, not jack around with it all the time or have permanent stains on my clothes when I use it. Stainless is pretty, but I'd be pissed if I bent it or it didn't stay pretty because of what was added to make it strong enough.

I may have to paint plates at some point, but the idea of doing so screws with my OCD leanings.