In our daily life, stainless steel is a very common product material, and stainless steel pots, bowls, and pans are commonly used in daily life. Stainless steel has a wide range of applications, from small items to building materials, but it is only a general term for one type of material. Generally speaking, the most common types of stainless steel are stainless steel 304 and stainless steel 306, but what is the difference between the two? Is there any way to distinguish between the two?

The first thing to mention is the issue of food grade. In daily life, we often encounter people buying stainless steel items. Is 304 food grade. According to the material, stainless steel 304 has indeed reached food grade. There are three common types in the market that reach food grade, namely 304, 316, and 430 stainless steel. 304 is usually used for household small appliances or water bottles, 316 is used for medical devices, and 430 is used as stainless steel material for cutting tools. However, it is worth noting that the so-called food grade not only refers to the material reaching food grade, but also includes the standards of its production process.

The next issue to be addressed is the issue of corrosion resistance. For different stainless steel materials, there must be some differences in corrosion resistance, otherwise 304 can only be used for daily household appliances, while 314 can be used in medical devices. So, is it better to use stainless steel made of 306 or 314 material for corrosion resistance? In general, there is not a significant difference between them, but if the chloride ion content in the medium is very high, 316 stainless steel will be slightly better and more suitable than 304 stainless steel. That's why 316 stainless steel is chosen to be added to medical devices.

So how can we distinguish the type of stainless steel? One is that it can be distinguished by its color. Stainless steel that has been acid cleaned has a silver white surface color and is very smooth, while stainless steel that has not been acid cleaned has a slightly darker color, and the color displayed for different materials of stainless steel is not the same.

Secondly, magnetite can be used to identify stainless steel. Because stainless steel contains chromium, it can be attracted by magnets in any state; But stainless steel with high manganese content is non-magnetic; The situation of chromium nickel nitrogen stainless steel is slightly more complex, some can be attracted by magnetite, while others cannot, so it is still very easy to distinguish between different types of stainless steel.

The above is a brief introduction by the editor to stainless steel 304 and stainless steel 316. From this, we can know that the components contained in different types of stainless steel are somewhat different and not exactly the same. Moreover, the applications of different types of stainless steel are not the same, and their functions are also greatly different.

Choosing the appropriate stainless steel for this is something we need to pay attention to in daily life. It's not just about choosing it casually, but also about determining whether it meets the food grade and whether it can be used reasonably in daily life. What is your opinion on different types of stainless steel? Welcome to leave a message below for communication and discussion with the editor.