stainless steel thickness

[chicken123]

I am buliding a new oil tank evaporator. And i'm making the pan myself, how thick should the SS be? My Dad thinks we should use 11 gauge (1/8 inch) but I think that is to thick.

[Gary R]

Have you every heard about "thin to win"? It has to do with heat transfer (or poker:) ). Use the thinnest you can weld. If your a super tig welder, stay 22-24 ga.

[Sullydog]

The thinner the better. Gary R is right on.

[govner4]

yes go thin not only for heat transfer but cost as well

[chicken123]

Thanks
My Dad is worried that if we make it thin it will wear out quicker and not last as long, is that a problem?

[maple flats]

My pans, made by a maple equipment manufacturer, are 20 and 22 ga.

[Flat Lander Sugaring]

Thanks
My Dad is worried that if we make it thin it will wear out quicker and not last as long, is that a problem?
your dad doesnt need to worry about lasting long, my pans are 11 years old and if I havent had to replace them yet there is nothing wrong with the thickness, I'm gonna guess 22/24 gauge

[chicken123]

Thanks everybody!!!

[psparr]

If your welding them yourself you'll need to tig weld them and even for an experienced welder. 20 ga. is tough.

Not trying to discourage you. Just saying don't go too thick and regret it when it won't boil good, and don't go too thin and regret it when you warp it bad trying to weld it.

[m_hoogendyk@hotmail.com]

I just finished building a flue pan (cut up an old milk tank for the ss, the whole thing is made with 16 gauge) It was very hard to bend, had to make thin relief cuts the entire length of each bend. After that step, was able to make very crisp bends. Then mig welded it. Thicker ss is much more $ then thinner is but easier to weld. My finishing pan is 14 gauge takes a little longer to heat up but boils hard once its going.

[b116757]

If you plan to MIG weld them then 11 to 16 ga if you are going to TIG then 20 ga maybe 24 ga if your real skilled with a TIG welder I have a 11 ga syrup pan works just fine and a 16 ga sap pan both MIG welded I'm building a 20 ga flu pan right now should be done in the next week or so. No matter what you do you will need to back purge all your welds with argon or use Solar flux type B I prefer the argon back purge over the solar flux but it does work OK if you take your time and apply it evenly on the back of the weld. if you don't do anything to the back of the weld it will sugar causing it to be very rough it's the chromium precipitating or something but it looks nasty and it hard to clean. Stainless does not MIG weld at all like mild steel it's a pain in the /;()$&!! Weld puddle hard to control but can be done I have used Trimix gas and 98 argon 2 CO2 gas the later works better than Trimix on thinner stainless the the helium in the Trimix adds a lot of heat that you do not want on thin stainless just get 304 stainless sheets and use 308 rod or wire depending on your welding process.

[maple flats]

Pans will not wear out unless abused. Many sets of pans are 40 and even 50 yrs old. Those were english tin, SS will last even longer, just don't let them boil dry or get badly dented.

[chicken123]

Thanks. My dads a welder so no problme welding thin stuff