316, 316L or 317

[whear]

Hello everyone,

I'm in the process of gathering the materials that I need for building a dry cell.

For the SS plates, I went to a local metal scrap yard, looking for 316L. The guy from there told me that he might have 316L, but he cannot guarantee it because he doesn't have a device to check how much carbon there is inside the plates. He told me that the best he can guarantee is 316 or 317.

Is there a big difference between L and no L ? I know it stands for Low Carbon, and that makes it less corrosive, but is it a huge difference ?

What about 317 ? Would it be better than 316 ?

Looking for some advice :)


Also, I was thinking of having slots instead of holes to help the exit of gas from the reactor. Holes are easy to make, since you just drill, but what about slots ? How do you make slots in the plates ?

Any help will be greatly appreciated,

Andrei.



Edited: The price of the SS plates is pretty low. For 1 plate 3'' x 6'' and 1'' thick, I'll be paying 20-30$. I will then cut it into 15 pieces (+6n-6n+), and each piece should have around 0.065 '' which is about 15 gauge.

Is 15 gauge a good thickness for my build ?


Thanks again :)