The difference between 304 and 316 stainless steel pipe

With the increasing maturity of domestic steelmaking technology, the total amount of stainless steel used has increased exponentially, and the thermos flask used in our daily life is made of stainless steel. But do you know what material you use? There are currently two types of food-grade stainless steel on the market: 304 stainless steel and 316 stainless steel. 304 stainless steel or 316 stainless steel, which is better? Please see the detailed description of the editor.

From the nickel content data, the nickel content of 304 is less than 316. Theoretically, the higher the nickel content, the better the corrosion resistance of the material itself. But at present, the price of nickel alloy is relatively expensive, so the price of nickel is basically the main factor affecting the price of stainless steel, which is the law of the entire market, so each model will have specific product standards.

In the industry, the content of alloying elements in the material is usually used to judge whether a product is qualified. For example, 304 stainless steel, as long as the nickel content is greater than 8% and the chromium content is greater than 18%, it is generally considered qualified. Therefore, 304 stainless steel is also known as "18/8 stainless steel".

Compared with 304 stainless steel, molybdenum is obviously added to 316 stainless steel, which can effectively improve the corrosion resistance and high temperature resistance of 316 stainless steel. It can be said that 316 can do what 304 can do, and 316 can do what 304 cannot. To put it bluntly, 316 stainless steel is actually a reinforced version of 304 stainless steel.

So put these two steels together, 304 stainless steel is slightly lower than 316 stainless steel in other aspects except for the price advantage. From the consumer's point of view, 316 stainless steel is definitely the choice of food machinery, kitchenware, and medical equipment, but the premise is that we can accept the relatively high price of 316; From the manufacturer's point of view, 304 stainless steel is a choice for cost considerations, and for related stainless steel products, it must also meet the national production standards, killing two birds with one stone.

Generally speaking, even if the current circulation of 304 on the market is relatively large, it is impossible to affect the real and correct answer, then the result does not need to be made up more, and naturally 316 stainless steel wins.