I've got a decent BBQ grill on the back patio that's all stainless sheet.
No issues.

I've got another bigger one (designed for portable use) that has no top
cover / hood. It has side shelves that fold over the top to keep dust out
in transit or storage, but no cooking cover. I'ld like to make a top for it
but I'm not sure what alloy sheet I should look for. Suggestions?

"Bob La Londe" fired this volley in news:hbQzr.27876
:

I'ld like to make a top for it
but I'm not sure what alloy sheet I should look for. Suggestions?

Bob, they all are resistant to average weathering, except 18-8 which
tends to spot-rust, even when not heated. 316 is (IIRC) the most
corrosion-resistant of the commonly available shop alloys.

However, all of them lose corrosion resistance when heated above certain
critical temperatures. Most begin to lose it somewhere around 500F+.
The absolute limit is around 1050-1400F, depending upon the alloy.

I'd get what's cheapest, except 18-8, and just not heat it that hot.

LLoyd

In article ,
"Bob La Londe" wrote:

I've got a decent BBQ grill on the back patio that's all stainless sheet.
No issues.

I've got another bigger one (designed for portable use) that has no top
cover / hood. It has side shelves that fold over the top to keep dust out
in transit or storage, but no cooking cover. I'ld like to make a top for it
but I'm not sure what alloy sheet I should look for. Suggestions?

I would use Type 316L, which is weldable without loss of corrosion
resistance, unlike most stainless steel alloys.

Joe Gwinn

Joseph Gwinn fired this volley in news:joegwinn-
:

I would use Type 316L, which is weldable without loss of corrosion
resistance, unlike most stainless steel alloys.


Joe, in general that's the case with any of the stainless steel alloys.

The "L" types contain less carbon, and don't undergo "chrome depletion"
in the heat-affected zone as much as the non-"L" versions. IIRC, it has
to do with the carbon reacting with the chrome, which then 'sequesters'
it from forming the oxides necessary to resist corrosion.

In any case, 316L is not "weldable without loss of corrosion resistance";
it's just _better_ in that respect than most of the other alloys, because
it contains less carbon.

Use 316L if you must, but the best way to prevent corrosion is to use
mechanical means to assemble the BBQ.

LLoyd

In article ,
"Lloyd E. Sponenburgh" lloydspinsidemindspring.com wrote:

Joseph Gwinn fired this volley in news:joegwinn-
:

I would use Type 316L, which is weldable without loss of corrosion
resistance, unlike most stainless steel alloys.


Joe, in general that's the case with any of the stainless steel alloys.

The "L" types contain less carbon, and don't undergo "chrome depletion"
in the heat-affected zone as much as the non-"L" versions. IIRC, it has
to do with the carbon reacting with the chrome, which then 'sequesters'
it from forming the oxides necessary to resist corrosion.

In any case, 316L is not "weldable without loss of corrosion resistance";
it's just _better_ in that respect than most of the other alloys, because
it contains less carbon.

Yes, but while I'm sure that there is some loss detectable in the lab,
for a grill we can be cavalier and say no effect.


Use 316L if you must, but the best way to prevent corrosion is to use
mechanical means to assemble the BBQ.

I don't think that the OP intended to do any welding, but I was using
weldability as a proxy for heat resistance. Not all stainless steel
alloys can be welded without severe loss of corrosion resistance, so
there is a difference between alloys.

My Weber gas grill can easily exceed 550 F, but I don't know by how
much, except to say that the die-cast aluminum-alloy body has not melted
over the 12 or so years I have owned it, regularly cooking at ~500 F.

Joe Gwinn

Joseph Gwinn fired this volley in news:joegwinn-
:

Yes, but while I'm sure that there is some loss detectable in the lab,
for a grill we can be cavalier and say no effect.

It wouldn't be the grill temperature, but the welding HAZ that would cause
the corrosion -- even on 316L, just at a lesser degree than with other
alloys.

LLoyd