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What are these black floats?
Expanded polystyrene foam is encapsulated in polyethylene for environmental and longevity concerns. Although there are numerous methods of encapsulation, we only use rotationally molded floats. In this process plastic pellets are put in an iron mold which rotates in an oven causing the liquefied pellets to stick to the inside of the mold on contact. The greatest benefit of this process is the natural layering buildup of product at the edges and corners where you need it most. When our molds are made, we can build slots and holes into a mounting flange to bolt directly to the frame so that we don’t have to puncture a watertight container with a lag screw. Since this is a molding process, we don’t stretch to elongate the plastic causing weak points in corners.
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So these floats have something inside?
The manufacturer of these floats molds a shell, drills a couple holes in the top, injects 80% pre-expanded polystyrene, inserts a steam wand and adds steam until the styrene expands to 100%, pushing product out of the holes drilled in the top. The holes are then plug welded and a threaded vent plug is added.
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Why is there a plug in the float?
Every float has a hole in it to let gas out and permit it to breathe in the sun without exploding. Floats are most susceptible to heat expansion during summertime shipment and storage prior to use on the water. We have seen instances of floats pushing the walls out of alignment on a tractor trailer. Once on the water, the floats tend to exhibit very little expansion due to heating and cooling. We screw in the breather plug once we have them attached to the dock and are ready to close up the deck. Most other float makers never seal the vent holes which could lead to water leakage and eventual failure.
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How do these things float?
It’s simply by displacement; the more volume you push under water with a displacement less than water, the more buoyancy. The foam is injected for structural integrity and for safety should the shell fail (as if it were punctured with an arrow in it - which we have seen by the way!).
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How much flotation is on a dock?
Our standard 24’ x 28’ dock has enough flotation to support the weight of the dock plus 45 people (that’s quite a party).
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Do floats come in different sizes?
They typically come in: 2’, 3’, 4’, 5’, 6’, or 8’ lengths and by 3’ or 4’ widths; most sizes are available in 12”, 16”, 20” and 24” depths.
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