Comparison of 304 or 316 and 304L or 316L type composition

Haihao Group is one of the leading stainless steel piping manufacturer in China.We are specialized in stainless steel flange,fittings and pipe. Here we introduce the most common stainless steel material grade: 304,316;304L,316L.

Introduction – composition ranges

As American AISI basic grades,the only practical difference between 304 or 316 and 304L or 316L is carbon content.

The carbon ranges are 0.08% maximum for 304 and 316 and 0.030% maximum for the 304L and 316L types.

All other element ranges are essentially the same between 304 and 304L (nickel range for 304 is 8.00-10.50% and for 304L 8.00-12.00%).

There are two European steels of the ‘304L’ type, 1.4306 and 1.4307.The 1.4307 is the variant most commonly offered,outside Germany.The 1.4301 (304) and 1.4307 (304L) have carbon ranges of 0.07% maximum and 0.030% maximum,respectively.The chromium and nickel ranges are similar,nickel for both grades having an 8% minimum.1.4306 is essentially a German grade and has 10% minimum Ni.This reduces the ferrite content of the steel and has found to be necessary for some chemical processes.

The European grades for the 316 and 316L types, 1.4401 and 1.4404,match on all elements with carbon ranges of 0.07% maximum for 1.4401 and 0.030% maximum for 1.4404.There are also high Mo versions (2.5% minimum Ni) of 316 and 316L in the EN system, 1.4436 and 1.4432 respectively.To further complicate matters, there is also grade 1.4435 which is both high in Mo (2.5% minimum) and in Ni (12.5% minimum).

Appendix:

Some pictures from our orders:

304 Flange

316 Weld Neck Flanges

304 Concentric Reducers

304L Reducing Tee

316L Pipe Bends

1.4307 Weld Neck Flange

1.4404 Weld Neck Flange

1.4404 90 Degree Elbow

1.4301 90 Degree Elbow

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