grill rack... Stainless or what?

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short version, i need racks for my BBQ to hold the food, what should i use?I need to make grill rack for my smoker/bbq.  It's pretty difficult to get 316SS or 316L, in fact, i have no idea where to get them.  My suppliers (in so cal) only have 304.  Whenever i call up asking for 316 they say they'll have to special order and never get back to me.  I'm thinking of using 1/2 rounds, but since i can't get "food grade" SS, I though at least i can use 304.  But if using 304SS is same as using hot rolled, i might as well just use hot rolled.A friend of mine build a similar BBQ out of (vegetable) oil barrel and used 304SS, and says SS is SS, makes no difference 304 or 316. i have fired up my grill twice now.  first time with an entire bag of charcol (16.6 lbs) and got it to hold above 650 for about an hour while i seasoned the inside of the tank.  Second time, i made some pork chops and veggies... turned out great.
Reply:304 ss is used for food grade all the time and it is not the same as using hot rolled.You can save yourself time and money by purchasing made grids, then modifying themto fit. Since these grids are directly over the coals, the direct heat will tend to sag and distortthem. Consider using some form of support under the grids  to help control that.After you have the sticker shock of buying SS and decide to go to steel, use cold rolledrather than hot rolled for more strength, looks, etc.Blackbird
Reply:I'd check out a number of Metal Yards.  I come across a LOT of Stainless steel at my local yard and you can buy it for a mere $1.25/lb, maybe even cheaper in California (I'm in Canada).The last stuff I picked up was thick-walled, but small diameter stainless tube and that stuff was DIRT CHEAP, considering it was ALL 304L and 'seamless'.  I found it in both 3/16" and 1/4" (approx.)  I imagine that it would have made for a GREAT BBQ rack.Cheers,Miller Diversion 165120 amp Buzz BoxVictor Oxy/Ace Oxy/LPGSmith "Little" Oxy/LPGHypertherm Powermax 30Lot's of Misc. tools n' crap....
Reply:The 304SS equipment I deal with usually comes witha continuous temperature rating of 800F and an intermitant rating of 1200F.  I think 304 would be sufficient for a grill.  316 has a slightly higher temp rating but 321 is usually the best bang fo the buck for really high temp stuff.  304 will do you fine and save you a couple of bucks.
Reply:hot rolled will get nice and greasy and presto! no rust problems..
Reply:Make it out of expanded metal, if you want stainless, it can be had in expanded also.  Doing round rod will be an awful lot of setup & welding.MarkI haven't always been a nurse........Craftsman 12"x36" LatheEnco G-30B MillHobart Handler 175Lincoln WeldandPower 225 AC/DC G-7 CV/CCAdd a Foot Pedal to a Harbor Freight Chicago Electric 165A DC TIG PapaLion's Gate Build
Reply:If you are still looking for 316 or 321 try http://frysteel.com/
Reply:304 should work OK.I got tired of my grill racks rusting out and/or dropping rust flakes and chunks onto the food.  The OEM coated ones, the OEM plain steel ones, the OEM replacement cast iron ones all rusted out.  The stainless burners and such are/were stiil just fine, so I replaced the main racks with the OEM stainless versions and replaced the rusty flaking original warmer rack with some fabricated stainless ones made myself.Stainless.  The Mrs. isn't all that good about keeping a nice baked-on carbonized grease/oil coating on the grids/racks.  Food residue kept attracting moisture from the air and rusting out the grids/racks.  That or in trying to burn off the food residue, the grids were heated enough to turn the carbonized coating into grey ash and thus bare metal then turned into rusty metal.  So stainless works for me.I did like the nice grill marks on steaks and such from the thick heavy cast iron grids/racks.  The stainless main grids/racks can give me just OK grill marks.  Shrug.  The best laid schemes ... Gang oft agley ...
Reply:Our boilers at work are lined with 304 plate and they run on the front end around 1200 degrees, I was told this was because it tended to warp and distort less than the 316. I know it's nice and pretty when new just a little duller but after a while it looks rusty but not regular steel rusty. It doesn't flake like steel.“Life is not a journey to the grave with intentions of arriving safely in a pretty well-preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out and loudly proclaiming ... WOW! What a ride!”
Reply:I have made a couple grates out of 1/4" hot rolled, one rectangle and one round.  I believe they will hold up well.  I will be picking up a bunch of 1/4" SS soon to make racks for my brothers grill and my parents grill.  Hopefully they turn out.Here is my the round one I made for my friends 55 gallon drum smoker I built recently.Nick Attached ImagesMiller Millermatic 212... and that's about it... for now...
Reply:The standard on most smokers is 9ga 3/4" flattened expanded metal.Here is a pic of a grate I made last week for part of my grill.
Reply:picked up some 304 SS 1/2"the grill will be 34"x19.5.... just finished cutting them and cleaned them up (acetone)
Reply:http://www.mangrate.com/