[PSUBS-MAILIST] 302 v 316 stainless for springs

[James Frankland via Personal_Submersibles]

Hi both.
Thanks for the advice.  I am still awaiting final quotes, but I suspect i
may well go for 302.   316 is very expensive.

I will probably cover the springs in laquear.   Someone gave me my K350
springs.  It was a guy in USA.  So they could well be 302 and ive never had
any issues with them.  They are laquered.

Regards
James

On Tue, 30 Sept 2025 at 19:59, Rick Patton via Personal_Submersibles <
personal_submersibles at psubs.org> wrote:

> Hey James, I think you'll be fine with that grade as long as you wash it
> well after every dive. It will haze like some other grades above it but the
> haze is only on the surface unless it was never washed but for the cost of
> the 316-L, I would think that 302 is OK. If the haze gets really bad, you
> could pickle them but would have to take them off of course for that.
>
> Rick
>
> On Tue, Sep 30, 2025 at 3:13 AM Cliff Redus via Personal_Submersibles <
> personal_submersibles at psubs.org> wrote:
>
>> James, your dive environment is different from most psubbers, being
>> exclusively salt water.  I don't have any experience with using 302
>> stainless steel for hatch springs, but for both the R300 and R400, I use spring-tempered
>> steel wire, ASTM A229, that I have power-coated.  This has not been an
>> issue for the 10 years I have been operating the R300.  Yes, 316 stainless
>> would be the ideal case but given that we don't put these in the water that
>> often and always rinse them off after dives, I would not have a problem
>> with using 302 SS.  While 302 stainless steel is prone to pitting in
>> saltwater, the consequences of failure are low.  If pitting occurs to the
>> point that the spring breaks, you lose some support against the weight of
>> the hatch.  This is not a big deal. It is not worth spending excessively on
>> the 316SS for this application.
>>
>> Best
>>
>> Cliff
>>
>> On Tuesday, September 30, 2025 at 07:39:00 AM CDT, James Frankland via
>> Personal_Submersibles <personal_submersibles at psubs.org> wrote:
>>
>>
>> Hi All
>>
>> Im struggling to get hatch springs made at a decent price.
>>
>> Has anyone used 302 stainless in a salt water environment.  I know its
>> not the right material, and not supposed to be used in salt water, but they
>> are so much cheaper and readily available.
>>
>> I could possibly coat them in some sort of lacquer or even just replace
>> them every dive. They really are that much cheaper.
>>
>> Im still trying to get 316.
>>
>> Anyone used 302 springs in the sea?  Did they disintegrate?
>>
>>
>>
>> Regards
>> James
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