Evidence-first editorial standard
This guide separates observed facts, engineering assumptions and data that still require confirmation. It does not promise a universal service life or replace the exact product data and project specification.
Selling tiles and solving a wear problem are different services
Alumina tiles are offered by manufacturers, distributors and online marketplaces, often with similar headline properties. What differs is whether the supplier reviews the duty, proposes a grade, thickness and fixing per zone, supplies documented material and supports the installation. The questions below test that, whoever the supplier is — including us. The background on the materials is in industrial ceramic linings.
Questions 1 and 2: do they ask about the duty, and do they zone
A serious supplier asks for the material, flow, temperature, the wear map and the failure history before proposing anything, as listed in what to send for a wear lining quote. A proposal that applies one grade and one thickness to the whole surface, without asking where it wears, is a catalogue price, not a solution. Ask how they would split the surface and why.
Questions 3 and 4: what exactly is supplied, and is it documented
Ask for the grade designation, the property data sheet with test methods, the dimensional tolerances of tiles and shapes, and how batches are traced to the delivery. Ask what is included: fixing materials, cut pieces, numbered kits, installation drawings. An offer that cannot state these is hard to compare and harder to claim against. The structure of a comparable offer is in what a ceramic lining costs.
Questions 5 and 6: can they fix it, and can they make the awkward shapes
Ask which fixing systems they supply — adhesive, weld-on, bolted, rubber-backed — and on what basis they choose between them, as covered in bonded versus weldable fixing. Ask whether they can supply shaped parts for cyclones, pipe inserts and transitions from drawings, since standard tiles rarely cover the hardest zones efficiently.
Questions 7 and 8: who installs, and what happens after
Ask whether the supplier installs, supervises or trains the installer, what the surface-preparation and cure requirements are, and what inspection record is handed over at the end. Ask how they handle a premature failure: inspection, root-cause analysis and corrective action, as described in ceramic lining failure analysis. A supplier who will not discuss failure modes has not seen many.
How Induscoat answers these questions
Induscoat reviews the duty and the wear map, proposes IC TILE, IC CUSTOM and the fixing in IC BOND zone by zone, states grade, thickness and exclusions in the offer, and supports installation as described on our page on ceramic lining installation and fixing. For a formal tender, the tender specification turns these eight questions into requirements every bidder must meet.