I had been told that there is a balance between the metals that are alloyed that created certain characteristics. The characteristics seemed pretty much aligned with what Carlos was told. I'm not saying this is so, because I'm no metalurgist. But it made sense to me that chrome and nickel were what made stainless more resistant to oxidizing but that too much will make it brittle. If that's true, I'd have to say the sink salesman was pretty "right on" for a salesman. No offense to any salesmen out there!
Chuck Hoefer
Pacific Coast Cycles
Oceanside, Ca.
> Carlos,
>
> Sales-zoid horse pucky!
>
> Stainless steel commercial and residential plumbing components are made of
> 300 series stainless which is called 18/8 outside the US. That means 18%
> chrome and 8% nickel with a low carbon content (0.15% down to 0.1%).
>
> The corrosion resistance comes mostly from the chrome content with nickel
> adding some additional benefits.
>
> The percentages of alloy vary depending on the specific grade of 300 SS
> from 16%-21% Cr and 6%-10% Ni nominal. Plumbing fixtures are usually made
> of plain vanilla 302 or 303 SS because they are easy to form and offer
> adequate corrosion resistance to all but the strongest chemicals.
>
> These kinds of stainless steels can only be hardened through cold
> working - rolling, drawing, forming etc.
>
> There are other "families" of stainless steel that can have higher carbon
> content but they are not used in the plumbing industry.
>
> Chas. Colerich
> Oakland, CA USA
>
> Carlos Ovalle wrote:
>> When I was on the market for stainless-steel kitchen accessories for a
>> commercial project, a sales representative explained that the higher the
>> carbon content, the stronger but less rust-resistant stainless steel
>> becomes. He also said something about the content of nickel in the mix,
>> where nickel will make the stainless steel more stainless but more
>> expensive.
>>
>> Carlos Ovalle
>> Long Beach, California, USA