Stainless

[Charred fingers]

A question for the experienced stainless welders
Is it important to match the grade of wire with
the grade of steel ? and are there any known
issues with welding dis-similar grades ie. 304
to 316.
Cheers Richard.

 

[Hitch]

Not always, but if polishing it, you need to match them or you will see a colour difference.
For 304, a 308rod is normally used. 316, use 316 rods.
Quite commonto just use 316 most of the time.

 

[Welderpaul]

Anyway to identify which grade of ss has been used for a job? We have some boxes to weld (316) onto some existing polished posts.

 

[Paul.]

Anyway to identify which grade of ss has been used for a job? We have some boxes to weld (316) onto some existing polished posts.

You could use a spot test kit like this, But I'd probably just use a 316 filler and tig it, chances are the posts are 304 or 316,
Edit: heres a Uk link

 

[Welderpaul]

Ha, well you learn something new! - thanks Paul.

 

[Charred fingers]

Thanks all