welded wire 0.063 in high temps 1

[tjvsenior]

I asked a stainless question some time ago and got spot on answers. Thanks again. So, now it is time for a new project. I want to make friends a charcoal holder for their bbq grills. It is basically a bucket that holds the charcoal while cooking, and therefore will be subjected to 1200F temperatures. Because of my limitations on equipment and cost, I am considering using 0.063 dia. welded wire, 304SS. This wire looks so thin, but then I read service temps for 304 to 1500 degrees F. I wonder given the variations of temps, ambient to 1200F while cooking, if the wire will quickly suffer from oxidation and become a poor choice in the short run....thanks Tom

 

[tjvsenior]

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v233/tvogds/misc/120_2072.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v233/tvogds/misc/120_2073.jpg

Here are a couple pics. of the bucket. The goal is to replace the rolled rings with wire mesh. Since I'm a weekend hobbyists, I have tools to work 0.063 gauge material but anything thicker, it gets difficult given the 9" - 15" diameter of the rings. I'd hate to spend the time and money making them for friends, only to have 304SS fail within a year. Is 316 or 321 a better choice at this thickness, given the extra cost involved?

On a side note, are bbq grids, the surface holding the food, typically made from 304 material and does it need to be electro polished. Just thinking of other projects after the bucket.

I apologize for asking such basic questions about grilling, but it's still all new and fun to me. Thanks tom

 

[mcguire]

Carburization is a big threat here. The normal solution is to use a high nickel alloy like 309 or 310.

Michael McGuire

http://stainlesssteelforengineers.blogspot.com/

 

[EdStainless]

309 weld wire should be easy enough to come by. It will cost more, but it is fairly common. It will be better in almost every way, resisting oxidation, carburization, higher hot strength.

It would be a better choice than 316.

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[JamesCKelly]

With respect, carburization usually requires a reducing, or low oxygen environment. I was Director of Technology at Rolled Alloys, Michigan, involved with heat resistant alloys for over three decades. Me, I'd use 304 for the charcoal bucket. 310 gets brittle at 1200F.