Two quotations for the same basin can differ by a factor of two and still both be honest. The difference is in the four variables below - and the cheapest quotation is usually the one that quietly changed the material.
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Our published service life is 3–4 years for polypropylene and 8–10 years for ethylene-propylene copolymer grades. More than double the life for the same geometry means the copolymer module is priced higher per cubic metre - and is frequently the cheaper option per year of service. A quotation that does not name the material cannot be compared with one that does.
Stainless steel and FRP are quoted against the project: plate grade, thickness and service life are confirmed per order rather than taken from a table, because they depend on the water.
The published range runs from Φ25 to Φ90 mm, carrying a specific surface of 62–236 m²/m³ and 93–97 % porosity. The small cells sit at the top of the surface range and the large cells at the bottom, so the same mass of material delivers very different amounts of settling area. A supplier quoting "Φ50" against a specification that called for Φ35 is offering less surface at a price that looks competitive.
Plate thickness matters the same way and is published per cell size: 0.4, 0.5 and 0.8 mm across the range. Thicker sheet is more material and more stiffness.
Settling media is bought by installed volume, and it is delivered as modules of 1000 × 500 × 1000 mm. How the supplier converts a basin volume into a module count - and how much cutting allowance is added - changes the quantity on the invoice. Ask for the module count, not the cubic metres, and check it against your own basin arithmetic.
The same applies to the stacking height: published 4–5 m at 60°. A quotation based on 4 m of stack against a design that assumed 4.5 m is 11 % less media in the same basin.
Media is bulky and light, so freight is a visible share of the landed cost. Modules nest and stack efficiently when they are packed for it, and badly when they are not. A quotation that excludes packing or assumes an unrealistic container load is not cheaper - it has simply moved the cost to the freight forwarder.
Technical data: tube settler media · technical details · this guide · sizing: settling media calculator.
Because price per cubic metre without the material and the cell size is not a price. Polypropylene and ethylene-propylene copolymer modules of the same nominal size have published service lives of 3-4 and 8-10 years - they are different products, and quoting one number for both would mislead every buyer who compares on it.
On first cost, polypropylene. On cost per year of service, the copolymer is usually ahead, because its published life is more than double. Which one to buy depends on how long the basin will run before the next refurbishment, which is a decision for the plant rather than the supplier.
Not in service. A smaller cell gives more surface area, but in water with coarse or high solids it blinds faster and then removes less than a correctly sized larger cell. Size the cell for the worst hour the basin will see, not for the average.
Material, cell size and plate thickness, module count against the basin volume, the stack height assumed, the packing plan and the incoterm. We quote all six, and the enquiry form on the contact page asks for the basin data needed to produce them.
You will receive a quotation naming material, cell size, module count, stack height, packing plan and incoterm - the six lines you need to compare suppliers.
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