General

Edcon Steel stock and sells a variety of round 304 Grade stainless steel pipe (schedule pipe) to all sorts of customers.  Pipe or Circular Hollow Sections (CHS) is available in a variety of grades, finishes and materials.  All Pipes are in standard sizes or a schedule of sizes.   Pipe may be referred to as schedule pipe or line pipe and these are based on American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) sizes.  Our preferred grade of Stainless Steel is 316 Grade and we stock a comprehensive range of 316. 304 Grade is brought in to customer requirements, and therefore, can only be cut to full stock lengths, as we will not return 304 offcuts to our stock.

Characteristics

304 Grade Stainless steel pipes, Circular Hollow Sections (CHS), or Schedule Pipe is stocked in a continuously longitudinal welded.  This welding produces a weld seam along the length of the pipe.  After welding the pipe will pass under an abrasive belt to remove the outside weld bead on the outside diameter.  Critically the inside diameter weld bead remains in place and this can cause issues in several applications.  Where this is the case seamless pipes should be investigated. 

Common Applications

304 Grade Stainless steel pipes are used for various of applications. Typical pipe applications are:

1. Mechanical - pipe and gas transfer
2. Marine Engineering
3. Seaside or Saltwater applications
4. Food, Water and chemical Pipes
5. Gas and Liquid transfer

Edcon Steel Tips

1. These pipe sizes are not to be confused with Tube sizes.  There are a huge verity of tube also available also at 304 Grade Stainless Steel Tubes.  The easiest way to describe tube would be a thin wall pipe, but the standard sizes will differ from our pipe schedule sizes.  Our steel stores are well stocked in Pipe and tubes in 316 Stainless Steel, 6060 Grade Aluminium and brass.   All of our stocked Pipes (CHS) can be cut to your requirements, and you can take part lengths or cut pieces while only paying for what you need (cutting charges apply).  Our Stores will stock Circular Hollow Sections in the manufactured lengths.  The stocked length, as well as the sizes (schedule sizes), will vary according to the material grade.  The changes in length may be small, however, we recommend customers do their research on the lengths that their selected product comes in.  A small change in the design lengths, can lead to greater product yield and less waste - saving you money.

Telescoping

Most Mild Circular Hollow Sections will be Electro-Resistance Welded (ERW).  This welding process will result in a weld seam.  The external weld seam will be scarfed off resulting in a smooth finish on the external face, but the internal weld seam will remain protruding on the internal face of the tube.  This is important to any customer who is looking to \"Telescope\" their Round tube or pipe Section.  Telescoping of Circular Hollow tube is common to allow parts to sleeve together or to be extendable with one typically smaller CHS sliding inside a larger CHS.  There is a telescoping chart available on our website.

Surface Protections and Coatings

Unlike mild steel the chemistry of stainless steels means the processes and methods for protecting and finishing 304 Grade Stainless Steel are vastly different to mild steels.  Most surface finishes for stainless steel will be mechanically (Polishing) or chemically (Passivating) applied.    The correct surface finish will have substantial impacts on the performance and appearance of your stainless steel.   

One of the most important considerations for the performance and appearance Stainless Steels is cleanliness.  Surfaces need to be kept free from particles of other metals especially alloy or carbon steels.  Timber also has contaminants that will leech and stain stainless steels.

Due to the variety of finishes available in stainless steels, Edcon Steel strongly recommends you discuss your requirements with your designer or fabricator.

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