Sammiejo: Hello NL,

A client of mine has asked me which is better in terms of durablity and maintenance.

I think Stainless steel is better. Builders in the house, what do you think?

When it come to appliances, I will not buy stainless steel in the future
Hand print on the appliances- Dishwasher, Range, Microwave and Refrigerator
If I had to do it over, I will get all black appliances again

I wanna hear your views on this thread
https://www.nairaland.com/1551807/view-corruption-nigeria-reply-obj#20158679

Thanks mods for taking this to the FP.

Thanks people for responding. I have sent this link to the client so he can chose, though I personally prefer stainless steel.

both are equally good interms of durability and maintenance (when done properly). It depends on what you want of your railings. I will personally choose iron though. I believe it is more versatile

Rexphobia: how do i know?


Steel -- this material basically IS iron, but with some other stuff mixed in to make it stronger, more rust-resistant, etc.



IRON is the basic element of steel. Many kinds of steel exist and the names may change as the molecular composition is altered. Adding chromium to iron will yield stainless steel. The study of these metallic compounds is called Metalurgy.
Source(s):
Licensed CA smog inspector.


Depends on your measure of strength (tensile, compressive etc) and the types of iron or steel you are comparing, but generally steel is stronger.
Did you mean pig iron, wrought iron or cast iron, did you mean mild steel, tool steel, Jethete or bearing steel

The only really difference between the two is that steel has a controlled quantity of carbon (and other alloying elements) in it, so that its properties are predictable.




In very general terms, steel is "stronger" than Iron.

"Strength" has several meanings when considering metals. For example, there is the amount of force needed to bend a metal sample of a particular thickness. Another measure of strength involves the amount of force needed to pull a metal sample apart.

Iron is mostly composed of an element by the same name. An element is a substance whose atoms are all identical. "Pig iron" and "wrought iron" are two kinds of iron alloys which are mostly pure iron. They are relatively soft and easy to bend, hence pig iron is "wrought" and used architecturally. The best example is in New Orleans whose ornate balconies have wrought iron railings. The disadvantage of wrought iron is that it rusts very easily and has to be coated with paint or galvanized with a Zinc coating.

Steel is an Iron alloy low in carbon and with other metals added like Nickel, Chromium, vanadium and even Phosphorus. All these extra elements give the steel particular characteristics suited to its intended use. "Stainless" steel has Chromium added which inhibits rust. Nickel can make steel more ductile and able to be rolled and pressed.

However, there is a trade off between strength and ductility. As the hardness of steel increases, so does its brittleness. European sword makers learned this by trial and error. The hardest steel had an extremely sharp edge but was likely to shatter if it hit a hard object such as rock. Meanwhile the Japaneese learned how to make swords using two types of steel. The core was soft, high carbon steel. The forger then wrapped the steel ingot with a shell of hard, low carbon steel. This went on to the sword-smith, who then slowly fashioned a steel blade, and finally to the polisher who honed the blade to be razor sharp. These were the swords of the Samarui and could cut very efficiently because of their sharp blades, but resist shattering because the core was soft enough to absorb impacts without shattering.



source sauce: http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20090115105343AAWI8P3

vacancy awaits you in 4 top nigerian universities...just apply, no need for interview.

nanizle: They are both excellent for railings.

The question is more about personal taste.

Iron (or more correctly "steel" can be painted to your desired colour and wrought iron can be worked to fancy designs while stainless steel is used because of its unique silvery appearance.

I believe its best to combine both. Stainless steel for the hand rail while iron for the rest of the structure.

Simple yet aesthetically pleasing railings that require very little maintenance can be easily achieved with 100% stainless steel. Wrought iron can be used to achieve much more intricate and visually appealing designs It requires slightly more maintenance (painting).

They are both durable.

You are on point!

trisurface: both have merits.
Iron(steel) is cheaper to acquire, work on, maintain.
u have more varieties-rods/hollow pipe/flat bar- etc
U can paint and decorate to ur hearts content.

stainless steel has a reflective look, matching modern spartan architecture.
expensive to acquire, work on and needs high skill level to use.
performs poorly in areas with salt spray or chemical action.

Also on point!

I think HIGH CARBON STEEL is d best. Stainless Steel? d type used in making plates? doesnt seem strong to me

erico2k2:
Im enjoying this,plz name one tool u bend steel with

There is a special bending machine they use for bending stainless steel railing. If you perform heating , it may cause de-coloration. Get to a railing company to learn about that. I can't start telling you about that online.

Thanks

railings? as in buildings? me no know which one is better o. will depend on SPECIFICATIONS though.

Such a nice thread. Very educating and and informative. Nice responses

In terms of durability, iron is better and in terms of maintainance stainless is better.

Lilimax: Such a nice thread. Very educating and and informative. Nice responses

Good

ignis: In terms of durability, iron is better and in terms of maintainance stainless is better.

Before you go further what are the properties of iron and steel ?
Regards

nke001:

vacancy awaits you in 4 top nigerian universities...just apply, no need for interview.

Bross U forget to see the part where it was quoted from yahoo answers eh? lol

mutaalim:
Before you go further what are the properties of iron and steel ?
Regards

lol leave that guy, he aint got a clue

Webbyguy:


There is a special bending machine they use for bending stainless steel railing. If you perform heating , it may cause de-coloration. Get to a railing company to learn about that. I can't start telling you about that online.

Thanks

Ofcos I know there are machines for bending Steel, lol Im a Mechanical Engineer from ESUTH yr 2000 so I aint no novice to what you are talking about, I know you can bend it in the cold or blowtouch, You will need a 200 tone press to do this and in one direction only
Let me make it clear to you in a layman's language, You know the flat springs in our normal lorreys if given one to bend where would you take it to?
Anyway, when you do come close to o ne of them steel gates or railings, you will notice the designs are all equal, of same hight and distance from one another and it would be perfect know why? cos it was forged,even here in the UK iron fences are made of steel that where forged or moulded they are just bolted in sections.Now as regards ur railings, now tell me how i can twist a piece of steel into a flower design the size of 2inch square?,it has to be a forge

Nice response so far, as a company that deals solely on stainless steel fabrication we will like to drop our one cent.
@OP if you are refering to wrought or galvanize iron they are also good but stainless steel is invoke in Nigeria now and it comes out very neat when install by professionals who gives details to finishing also due to its appearance it can blend with whichever surface colour you use in your house. But the challenge has always bn how to get a good grade which is 304 OR 316 as the inferior grades of 204ss and below still looks the same interms of the surface.
The simple answer is 304 contains 18% chromium and 8% nickel while 316 contains 16% chromium, 10% nickel and 2% molybdenum. The molybdenum is added to help resist corrosion to chlorides (like sea water and de-icing salts).

But to know a good grade which can stand the Nigerian climate you need to test the materiel itself with a chemical because you can’t tell just by looking at it. There’s no visible difference between two identical pieces of sheet metal, a polished or grained the exact same way. That’s why you need a material test report (MTR) of the actual material to validate it as being 204, 304 or 316ss grade.

Although stainless steel is more expensive a good grade of 304ss can stand the test of time but the owner must also cultivate a maintenance habit of cleaning with any soluble substance like morning fresh with clean towel.

StainlessH: Nice response so far, as a company that deals solely on stainless steel fabrication we will like to drop our one cent.
@OP if you are refering to wrought or galvanize iron they are also good but stainless steel is invoke in Nigeria now and it comes out very neat when install by professionals who gives details to finishing also due to its appearance it can blend with whichever surface colour you use in your house. But the challenge has always bn how to get a good grade which is 304 OR 316 as the inferior grades of 204ss and below still looks the same interms of the surface.
The simple answer is 304 contains 18% chromium and 8% nickel while 316 contains 16% chromium, 10% nickel and 2% molybdenum. The molybdenum is added to help resist corrosion to chlorides (like sea water and de-icing salts).

But to know a good grade which can stand the Nigerian climate you need to test the materiel itself with a chemical because you can’t tell just by looking at it. There’s no visible difference between two identical pieces of sheet metal, a polished or grained the exact same way. That’s why you need a material test report (MTR) of the actual material to validate it as being 204, 304 or 316ss grade.

Although stainless steel is more expensive a good grade of 304ss can stand the test of time but the owner must also cultivate a maintenance habit of cleaning with any soluble substance like morning fresh with clean towel.

Cool, I seen one railings o n ur profile pic on here, Im very inqusitive, you said so mething bout maintainance ie cleaning etc, so basicaly Op need a cleansing solvent to make it last? aint the general purpose of making it stainles not for it to tanish? ie like surgical equipment?

erico2k2:
Cool, I seen one railings o n ur profile pic on here, Im very inqusitive, you said so mething bout maintainance ie cleaning etc, so basicaly Op need a cleansing solvent to make it last? aint the general purpose of making it stainles not for it to tanish? ie like surgical equipment?

Yes sir we are into stainless steel for a while now and God has used us to be a solution in this field, ok back to ur question, when i advice clients to maintain their stainless steel rails its not against rusting but dust and dirty which will not affect the material directly but cleaning helps to keep the surface glossy, for example a long stay in a location like Enugu might give the surface what we call a Tea colour because of the red soil, which might need polishing kits to recover the surface to glitter which will now attract a cost and professionalism. apart from that a 304ss grade can stand the climate in Nigeria for as long as time.

StainlessH:

Yes sir we are into stainless steel for a while now and God has used us to be a solution in this field, ok back to ur question, when i advice clients to maintain their stainless steel rails its not against rusting but dust and dirty which will not affect the material directly but cleaning helps to keep the surface glossy, for example a long stay in a location like Enugu might give the surface what we call a Tea colour because of the red soil, which might need polishing kits to recover the surface to glitter which will now attract a cost and professionalism. apart from that a 304ss grade can stand the climate in Nigeria for as long as time.

Ok I see the pics and thanks for taking ur time to xplain, I was getting you all mixed up, now from the two pics on ur signature,the one bellow, would it be correct for me to say it was moulded and assembled o n site? or was it cut to shape by you, welded in place and assembled on site?Im just trying to trade brains with you I do to some certian degree know how these work as I have worked with T410 before.And B4 I forget aint 304 used for sugical equipments?

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For your Quality Hand Reels and Stainless steel works call me on +2348067967579. I also have the Equipment/Machines for bending reels of different sizes.

Galvanised steel I believe. Unless it is indoors and needs to be decorative and shinny, then I'd go stainless steel.
You should contact a good metallurgy company that can produce the right alloy for you .

myBoss: For your Quality Hand Reels and Stainless steel works call me on +2348067967579. I also have the Equipment/Machines for bending reels of different sizes.

What is the name ofwthe equipment u claim to have in bending stainless steel?

StainlessH: Nice response so far, as a company that deals solely on stainless steel fabrication we will like to drop our one cent.
@OP if you are refering to wrought or galvanize iron they are also good but stainless steel is invoke in Nigeria now and it comes out very neat when install by professionals who gives details to finishing also due to its appearance it can blend with whichever surface colour you use in your house. But the challenge has always bn how to get a good grade which is 304 OR 316 as the inferior grades of 204ss and below still looks the same interms of the surface.
The simple answer is 304 contains 18% chromium and 8% nickel while 316 contains 16% chromium, 10% nickel and 2% molybdenum. The molybdenum is added to help resist corrosion to chlorides (like sea water and de-icing salts).

But to know a good grade which can stand the Nigerian climate you need to test the materiel itself with a chemical because you can’t tell just by looking at it. There’s no visible difference between two identical pieces of sheet metal, a polished or grained the exact same way. That’s why you need a material test report (MTR) of the actual material to validate it as being 204, 304 or 316ss grade.

Although stainless steel is more expensive a good grade of 304ss can stand the test of time but the owner must also cultivate a maintenance habit of cleaning with any soluble substance like morning fresh with clean towel.

Product will be used around Lekki axis. Where can one get 316? Are the products usually labelled? I need to get this right as the client is willing to do further repeat business with me.

In my knowledge as well stainless steel is the best option for railing. There are many factors for each of them, but some are having advantage on others and here stainless steel is better.

erico2k2:
Im enjoying this,plz name one tool u bend steel with

steel piping that are even rolled i.e "plastically deformed" on carousels for transportation and subsequent installation subsea

Stainless steel is lighter than iron.
it does not corrode.
Because of it Biocompactibilities,it is used for Hip Replacement.

snthesis:


steel piping that are even rolled i.e "plastically deformed" on carousels for transportation and subsequent installation subsea

Seriously Boss You are telling me as a pro you cant name one machine used in bending steel that you claim you have??