Stainless Steel as Drain Pans

[kchristian]

The company I work for is looking to switch from stainless 304 to something more cost effective for use in condensate drain pans for geothermal units. So far we have considered stainless 301 and 201. It seems to me that 201 is going to have roughly the same resistance to corrosion as the 304 in this environment and will be cheaper than the 304. Does anyone know for sure that this is true, or know of any other alternatives that I can consider?

 

[Goahead]

Selection is influenced by fabrication procedures. Is welding required? Depending on nature of condensate, on service conditions and on planned service life, would straight chromium steel like type 410 be adequate?

http://www.welding-advisers.com/

 

[EdStainless]

Why are you using SS at all?
Galvanized steel won't work?
Or why even metal, there are some great plastics out there.

Don't get me wrong, I am a SS guy.
But If 410 is still good enough there may be more room for cost reduction.

The real question is what is the cost of a failure?
If the repair cost is more than the original part then don't change.

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Plymouth Tube

 

[kchristian]

I'm sorry, should have specified more. The drain pans are actually cut from the same sheets as the side panels in order to reduce scrap. We want to stay with the brushed stainless steel look on the panels, so it has to be ss. The drain pans are punched from the sheet and welded on the ends.

 

[TVP]

201 or 301 are reasonable alternatives to consider.

 

[EdStainless]

Look to see what the price of 439 is. It is a stabilized (weldable) ferritic that has 18%Cr. Depending on the market balance it can be a fair amount less than 304.

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Plymouth Tube

 

[arunmrao]

201,202 or 400 series can be considered as alternatives.

_____________________________________
"It's better to die standing than live your whole life on the knees" by Peter Mayle in his book A Good Year

 

[mcguire]

439 or 201; both are very close to 304 in corrosion resistance, but sourcing may be a problem. 439 is generally over-priced for the alloy content, but it works. Even 409 may be enough. You need to test a little.

Michael McGuire

http://stainlesssteelforengineers.blogspot.com/