A very common question that is asked of the support staff here at the Seconline office is what the significant difference between 316 Marine Grade Stainless Steel and 304 Stainless Steel? Let us start with a description of general Stainless Steel.
Stainless Steel is an alloy steel containing 12% or more chromium and is classified as resistant to rust and chemical attack. Stainless steel is also referred to as “Inox steel” this means it has an alloy with a chromium content of it least 12%.
Examples of applications for Stainless Steel in the house would be for the making of cutlery, kitchen sinks, kitchen appliances as well as industry based applications such as surgical instruments. It is also used for any application that has to have the correct structural integrity and high resistance to oxidisation caused by harsh weather or environmental conditions.
304 Stainless Steel has a wide range of uses. It offers a high level of resistance to corrosion, however it will eventually show signs of rust or tarnish in the correct conditions. For manufacturing purposes it is customisable and relatively easy to fabricate and is possibly the most widely used for stainless steel in the commercial industry at present.
316 Stainless Steel has around 2% of Molybdenum added to its overall alloy content. Molybdenum alloy has the advantage of giving the steel much greater resistance to extreme environmental conditions such as salt brine solution, sea water, and any form of harsh chemical exposure. This will make 316 Marine Grade Stainless Steel a superior option in these or other harsh environmental conditions than 304 Stainless Steel.
It is extremely difficult to tell the difference between 316 Marine Grade Stainless Steel and 304 Stainless Steel. Visually there is little difference and they will both offer the same polished finish. For obvious reasons 316 Marine Grade Stainless Steel is more expensive to manufacture, however it’s additional corrosive protection qualities in most cases make this cost justifiable.
All stainless steel security doors, security window screens and stainless steel mesh fly screens made at the Seconline factory are made using 316 Marine Grade Stainless Steel Mesh. No 304 Stainless steel is used in any of our products.
It is possible to buy 304 Stainless Steel Mesh Security Doors in the current Australian market, however given that most residential dwellings in Australia are coastal and our greatest population growth is also coastal then it would seem a common sense approach to have your Security Doors and Security Screens made with a superior corrosive resistant products such as 316 Marine Grade Stainless Steel.
All 316 Marine Grade Stainless Steel mesh used by Seconline is manufactured and supplied by Darley Aluminium and they have undertaken extensive testing. It has passed Dynamic Impact testing, Lock and Hinge level tests, knife shear and salt water test all carried out by an independent NATA Laboratory.
Great confidence can be had in any of the Security Screen Door and Window Fly Screen products chosen by our customers at Seconline.
