VUETRADE supplies Timber Connector products manufactured in Stainless Steel Type 304 and Type 316 depending on the needs of different applications and requirements. The question is often asked, which type should I use?
[table “158” not found /]Often in many cases builders and tradies are supplied with connector products that are professed to be Type 316 and are in fact are not genuinely Marine Grade Stainless Steel 316 as some imported materials fail to have the 2-3% Molybdenum content. This can be a major issue in buildings around marine/coastal environments as pitting corrosion can well occur. VUETRADE supplies genuine Marine Grade Stainless Steel 316 products, whereby the raw material is sourced from Australian certified stainless steel mills which guarantees genuine raw meterial requirement.
VUETRADE recommends that all tradies/builders who intend or are required to use products manufactrured in Marine Grade Stainless Steel 316 to contact us so that we can provide you with a product backed with established characteristic load capacities and made from genuine raw material that you can trust.
Refer to our disussion piece here to learn in detail about Stainless Steel 304 and 316 and how pitting corrosion can occur in SS304.
Read detailed discussion in below or download the PDF document below:
CASE STUDY: Stainless Steel 304 and Stainless Steel 316; what is the difference? PDF
VUETRADE proudly supplies post supports that are manufactured in both Stainless Steel 304 and Stainless Steel 316 Marine Grade. Often in many cases Stainless Steel 316 are much preferred especially in marine environment where these post support are subjected to salt spray and brine. This is due to the excellent corrosion resistance of Marine Grade Stainless Steel 316 compared to Stainless Steel 304 with an addition of an important ingredient.
Stainless Steel 304
Stainless steel grade 304 is the most commonly used stainless steel in many applications due to the superior corrosion resistance. Generally SS304 has composition of 18% chromium and 8% nickel which provides good resistance to oxidation and corrosion, and is often used in kitchen equipment, storage tanks and timber connector hardware.
However, a downside to this stainless steel grade is that SS304 is still susceptible to corrosion attack in high salinity environemnt, usually from chloride solutions such as seawater and brine. Chloride ions from sea water often creates a localised area of corrosion in the stainless steel, which is known as ‘pitting’ and is able spread further under the protective layer of chromium causing further corrosion and compromising the internal structure. This renders stainless steel 304 as a less ideal material for products used close to or at marine environment.
Marine Grade Stainless Steel 316
Marine Grade Stainless Steel 316 is similar to Stainless Steel 304 in the composition of chromium and nickel, however it contains about 2 to 3 % of molybdenum in addition which greatly increases corrosion resistance of the steel. The addition of molybdenum in stainless steel 316 provides better corrosion resistance compared to SS304 in highly corrosive environments subjetcted to sea spray and brine solutions, while retaining its properties in durability and give similar clean finish. As many communities in Australia are located on or near the coast, many buildings are subjected to this marine environment, making stainless steel 316 an essential material on many building materials such as post supports.
The exceptional corrosion resistance of stainless steel 316 however does costs a little more compared with SS304 due to the difference in material compostion, however this investment saves much more in the long run in than the maintainence or replacement of a lesser grade stainless steel.
VUETRADE Marine Grade Stainless Steel 316 Connector Products
Our overseas facilities are not able to supply genuine Marine Grade Stainless Steel 316 with the correct properties as specified above, although it is called Marine Grade or 316, it does not have the correct properties as specified above to provide the correct corrosion resistance needed for coastal requirements. Therefore we manufacture locally in Australia to produce products using specific raw materials that have the correct properties. This process usually takes around 2 weeks to produce and guarantees genuine SS316 products with characteristic load capacities and raw materials.
VUETRADE recommends that all tradies/builders who intend or are required to use products manufactured in Marine Grade Stainless Steel 316 to contact us so that we can provide you with a genuine SS316 product backed with established characteristic load capacities and genuine SS316 raw material.