304 vs 316 Stainless Steel: Compare Inland vs Coastal Stainless Steel

What’s the difference between Inland (304) vs Coastal (316) Stainless Steel Grades?

What IS Stainless Steel?

Before Jumping into the difference between the types and Stainless Steel grades and which one you should choose for your braai, it’s important to know WHAT Stainless Steel is.

Also known as corrosion resistant steel, and also referred to as Inox steel or Inox (from French word “inoxydable”), Stainless Steel is defined as a steel alloy with a minimum of 11% chromium content.

Why use Stainless Steel for A Braai Stand?

Stainless steel is typically a lot more expensive than other options available to us, so then why use it? Most importantly, stainless steel does not corrode or rust as easily as other steel alloys. Stainless Steel also performs a lot better than ordinary steel in high temperatures and cryogenic applications. Stainless steel is typically used where both the strength of steel and resistance to corrosion are required.

In short: Stainless differs from other steel mixes by the amount of chromium present.

When there is sufficient chromium in your steel, a passive film of chromium oxide prevents surface corrosion and blocks corrosion from spreading into the metal’s internal structure.

Stainless Steel Grades & Types?

Stainless steel itself also comes in a variety of types/families as well as many grades within those types of Stainless steel.

The four main types of stainless steel are Austenitic, Ferritic, Martensitic and Duplex.

Austenitic:
The most familiar stainless steel used to build your braai is probably Type 304 and Type 316. These grades are are alloys containing chromium and nickel (sometimes manganese and nitrogen). They have excellent corrosion and high temperature oxidation resistance. Austenitic steels cannot be hardened through heat treatment, and the strength and hardness needs to be increased by cold work. P.S. 304 & 316 stainless are both non magnetic and readily available in various forms right off the shelf.

Some other types you may of heard of are Ferritic (These steels contain iron and chromium, which would make them stronger, more magnetic and cheaper than Austenitic… but less corrosion resistance), Martensitic (low carbon steels, that may be tempered and hardened), Duplex (Halfway between the ferritic and austenitic stainless steel… Duplex stainless steels are inherently stronger, and are commonly used in tanks where both strength and corrosion resistance is required).

Stainless Steel Grades Choice - Map South Africa

304 vs 316: How do I choose?

For a full comparison of all the types and grades check out https://steelprogroup.com/stainless-steel/grades, but for most people and almost certainly when choosing a grade for your braai, we’ll consider 304 & 316.

For general use, 304, with its high strength and high corrosion resistance, is ideal for building inland braais. For harsher coastal environments, choose 316, which has better chemical and salt resistance.

Grade 316 should definitely be your first choice when choosing a grade close to the ocean as their resistance to chlorides such as salt, is high due to the chromium content as well as the molybdenum content. Grade 304 would be a close second, but would need to be cleaned more regularly to stop pitting corrosion as 304 does not contain molybdenum. One must note both would need to be cleaned – but 316 could be done less times per year.

Where to buy your Stainless Steel Braai?

Ready to shop? Come get your next Stainless Steel Braai right here on BraaiBoy’s online braai shop. We have numerous off-the-shelf / standard stainless braais available from a number of different manufacturers.

Looking for a CUSTOM Stainless Steel Braai?

BraaiBoy works closely with 2 different engineering shops to provide you with customised, personal and once-off stainless steel braais, smokers and tools. From Built-in and Free-Standing Braais, to Spitbraais and Smokers, to braai accessories and tools. Anything braai-related that you can dream of can become your reality. Contact BraaiBoy for your next custom stainless braai-related job.

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