Get Your Shipping Container Doors Opening Effortlessly

Get Your Container Doors Opening Like New Again

Shipping containers make durable and robust building material to be used in constructing homes or storage units compared to other eco-friendly building materials like straw bales or recycled plastics. As strong as these containers are, parts can get weaker and compromised over time. While general-purpose shipping containers such as the 20-foot and 40-foot, including standard height and high cube containers, are made from a copper chromium alloy and weather resistant material known as cor-ten steel, you still need to take the steps you can to keep it protected as much as you can. Redundancy is better than doing nothing to later learn it’s caused you some huge issues.

Everything Will Rust Eventually

Shipping containers can rust, and while Cor-ten steel displays high resistance to corrosion, it doesn’t eliminate rest entirely and unfortunately, in in the right environment, the protective oxide film on the metal’s surface comes into contact with both oxygen and water an oxidation reaction occurs leading to rusting. A container which is continuously exposed to salty sea air will rust much faster than one in alternating wet and dry climate cycles. When buying a container you want to mostly be looking at any points of contact or points that bear a lot of weight. This would include the roof, corners, and floors!

How to Loosen up Your Doors

There are many routes you can take when your doors start getting sticky. The best thing you can do is try to protect from it in the first place. Consider the following tips to help maximize the life of your shipping container, even get your hard-to-open doors working like new:

• Cargo door hinges will seize from not being used for an extended period and to keep them working smoothly, just be sure you’re actually moving them around frequently.
• You can reduce the possibility of corrosion by hosing down dirt and surface rust issues with a simple cleaning solution or bleach. You should also brush off snow in the winter and any other debris that may land and put unnecessary weight on the roof and substantially weaken it.
• Install air vents in your container to ensure airflow and reduce condensation.
• Avoid opening the doors when it’s raining or very humid and replace worn rubber seals on doors which also applies to weather stripping and caulk if it looks damaged.
• Position the container on railroad ties or concrete blocks to keep it on level ground away from puddles of water and to allows the doors to open and close as they should.

In summation, the best thing you can do is just keep your container protected, use it regularly, and keep it lubricated with WD-40 and oil in any trouble spots. If you need further advice on your container, please contact us! From office containers to containers just used for storage, we work with them all!