[PSUBS-MAILIST] 302 v 316 stainless for springs

[Rick Patton via Personal_Submersibles]

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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