What are the main reasons why marine steel such as 1.4404 (316L) grade is not solely used in cooking and kitchen applications? Other than cost possibly? Why other grades such as 1.4301 (304) are so popular in applications dealing with cooking? If the steel comes into contact with strong electrolytes, even with chelates such as citric acid, under hot temperatures, I would assume that marine steel would be superior. But is it just overkill with unreasonable costs.
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1Cost? Availability? Profit margin? – Solar Mike Jan 11 '24 at 16:08
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1The main reason is cost, and the cost is because the material is more expensive and more difficult to work with. Just on material cost alone, 316 is 300% the price of 304 in small pieces and 130% - 140% in larger pieces. – DKNguyen Jan 11 '24 at 20:28
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I'd guess cookware is optimized for cold forming manufacture process, in particular deep drawing (??). And of course cost. 304 is used when forming and welding are more important and "okay" corrision resistance is acceptable – Pete W Jan 14 '24 at 21:53
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316 is work hardening as hell. Makes it a nightmare to machine. – vidarlo Feb 10 '24 at 22:21
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There are certain types of intergranular corrosion that non-food grade stainless is susceptible to. for use in food handling equipment, extra alloying agents are required to stabilize the grain boundaries. This is why "ordinary" stainless cannot be used to fabricate milk tanks.
niels nielsen
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