"RainLover" wrote in message
...
Okay... here's the setup:

I Bought a 6' diameter stainless steel tank from a local scrap yard.
I got it for an incredible price because there was a foot thick, VERY
dense foam lining it that I needed to use a chainsaw to cut before I
could break it out....

This tank had been drop tested and had dents on the top with '1st
drop, 2nd drop... etc and the height dropped from on it...

When I got out all the foam, written on the inside were the words
"Nuclear Packaging". The scrap yard had checked it with they geiger
counter and it read ZERO... so that's okay.

Were there batteries in the geiger counter? :-)



MY QUESTION:
What sort of Stainless Steel would you guess this to be? I'm creating
a couple of sculptures from the material and would like to use the
proper welding rod... I'll go with 309 barring a good guess of
something else.

My guess in 316 stainless. For many years I have been on a committee to
produce ductile iron nuclear storage or transportation casks, as has been
done in Europe for 25+ years. They are relatively inexpensive (compared to
S.S.) and a proven method. We are always told we are competing against 316
stainless. International Nickel Co. used to be a proponent of the stainless
steel due to the Nickel content.

Here is a web page showing some of the casks:

http://www.trex-center.org/casks.asp

No ductile iron ones though. Always gets shot down by Congress, etc.
Ductile iron casks have met all the criteria that have been put forth for
drop tests, puncture, fire, water, impact, etc. There is even an ASTM
standard to produce them. The problem is the _perception_ that ductile iron
is brittle, because as soon as you mention the work "iron" an "casting"
together that's what a lot of people perceive.

Problem is the cost of Nickel will remain high for many years because
there's not enough capability to produce the amount of Nickel needed if we
made all the needed casks.


Mark