Stainless valves

fishybizzness · Jan 29, 2018

Does anyone use stainless steel Ball valves in their plumbing in place of PVC?

lbacha · Jan 29, 2018

I wouldn't trust stainless steel for saltwater applications. If it has enough nickel in it not to rust it may be too soft and if it doesn't have a lot of nickel then it will rust.

fishybizzness · Jan 29, 2018

Thanks for the advice.

Engloid · Jan 29, 2018

Nickel won't make it softer. That said, a 316 stainless will be fine. 304 will rust in saltwater. 316 often costs quite a bit more, depending on what type of valve it is.

George Lopez · Jan 30, 2018

I'd go true union pvc, stainless is not worth it unless your doing something large like 3 inch and above where the pvc can get hard to turn over time. The pvc is just less hassle and easier to replace if something were to go wrong.

NineAndAhalf · Feb 3, 2018

Engloid said:
Nickel won't make it softer. That said, a 316 stainless will be fine. 304 will rust in saltwater. 316 often costs quite a bit more, depending on what type of valve it is.

To piggy-back this, would using 316 sheet stainless for a float switch bracket or something of that sort be ok in SW? Maybe perforated for a fuge devider, etc.

I am a metal fabricator that works solely with 316 stainless (sometimes 304 but it's rare) and I'd love to make parts like these out of stainless. I'm out of my element when it comes to acrylic. I have no problem learning but if 316 in SW will not rust, corrode or leach, I would much rather go that route.

Keith_0011 · Feb 3, 2018

IMO it is not worth the risk. I've even seen 316 stain over time. If there are other products that are 100% safe 100% of the time I believe that to be a better option for the health and wellbeing of my fish and corals.

DLuce510 · Feb 3, 2018

As a welder of a lot of exotic alloys, trust me, if you can fabricate you'll have no problem with acrylic and probably enjoy the workabilty of it!;)

NineAndAhalf · Feb 4, 2018

Keith_0011 said:
IMO it is not worth the risk. I've even seen 316 stain over time. If there are other products that are 100% safe 100% of the time I believe that to be a better option for the health and wellbeing of my fish and corals.

That was my thoughts. Really any metal will corrode over time, just depends on how long. Thanks for your reply.

DLuce510 said:
As a welder of a lot of exotic alloys, trust me, if you can fabricate you'll have no problem with acrylic and probably enjoy the workabilty of it!;)

Yeah, I fab and weld stainless kitchen equipment from exhaust hoods to hand sinks and anything in between. I'm sure i'll have no problem with acrylic. Hell it's just another thing I can add to my resume ;)