AT220 in coastal environments

Help & Support
#1

Hi all,

We operate in coastal environments and are considering whether AT220s will stand up to the harsh, salty conditions or whether they will be rusted out within a few years. Our understanding is that they are not made of marine grade stainless steel. We would love to hear experience and feedback from anybody that’s running them in similar conditions!

Thanks,
Cat

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#2

Hey, not sure if this is of much use… but I just recently swapped out some old doc200 right next to the sea. Installed in 2008 and only one was unusable.

#3

Were they stainless or zinc?

#4

Hi,

Thank you. We have been replacing our DOC200s over the past year or so as many of our original ones were zinc alloy and so were in various states, some beyond use. With the advances in technology it would be handy to have AT220s in some of our reserves as long as they don’t rust easily.

#5

Hi Cat,
AT220s are out in a number of projects in exposed coastal areas around NZ. PF Whangarei are using them in the sand dunes to target possums. We also have them on Bluff Hill, Otago Peninsular, Banks Peninsular, Wellington coastline, Coromandel and Chatham Islands. We have had no issues with corrosion in these exposed sites. Kevin from Waikato Rivercare called a few months ago to say they found an AT220 that had been in the river for a couple of weeks after cyclone Hale. They took the battery off, replaced it with a fresh one, pushed the button and it was still functioning. They were impressed with its durability. Hope that helps - Haydn - NZAT

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#6

Hey Haydn,

Thanks for your reply that’s great to know that there’s been no issues reported!

#7

We have a fleet of 150 AT220 traps that have been deployed across Bluff Hill Motupōhue for about a year (on average). As you’d probably expect, Motupōhue is a fairly intense coastal environment. We’re beginning to see some corrosion on the most exposed traps - those that are actually in the salt spray zone. I’ll grab some photos and post them later.

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#8

Hi David,

Thanks for your response. We are in the Catlins so not far from you so as you can imagine, in quite a well exposed coastal environment. Any pics would be super helpful.

#9

Marine Grade SS is not necessary in the coastal environment unless it is in a tidal setting, it is needed for serious marine use. We have never had any issues with DOC 200 ss traps but after cleaning I like to lubricate with paraffin oil - odourless. wec use AT220s also, but no issues on that front.

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