304L vs 316L

[rboos]

I guess 316L (surgical grade SS) must have better conductivity (there is a comparative table under electrode types thread) and resists oxidation.

[Mrx99]

I worked in the pipe fitting industry for quite a few years and 304 stainless has iron in it. 316 stainless does not have iron in it so a magnet should be able to pick out the 304 stainless. when you get into the 400's with stainless you are getting into the purer state of stainless. I am not positive but I think the 400 grades are for medical use. Some prosthesis's are made from 408 or a number similar to it. I worked at a nuclear plant and some of the stainless was in the high 400's. When you are using stainless around fuel rods it has to be free of impurities. We could not use any iron tools to work on the stainless because of contamination.
So, I think the iron in 304 stainless will come out as brown water the first time and perhaps the first year of using 304 stainless steel plates. Because of the ferrous metals in the 304 the process of electrolysis would not work as well as 316 stainless.
Thanks, Mrx

[Mrx99]

308 is the number of the filler rod used to weld 304 and 309 is used to weld 316 stainless steel. You can weld stainless to carbon steel with 304 rods but you can not use them on 316 stainless. I hope I got that right, it has been many years...
Regards, Mrx99

[lhazleton]

[QUOTE=NightOfDarkness;28596]I believe you could tell the difference after you run your cell if its 316L your water will stay clean/clear anything less will turn your water brown. Youll know after you run your cell for few hours

Not to be argumentative, but I've been using nothing but 304 with a 28%KOH e/lyte for quite a while now. My solution stays clear & I haven't noticed any deterioration of my plates. I run a minimum of 6 bi-polar plates per stack, so I imagine this helps.