October 2, 200718 yr I have a wood furnace that requires a custom type grate. After many years the old one simply wore away. Since I am having trouble finding a distributor (even after talking to the manufacturer). I am thinking about making my own grate. The grate is simply a 24" rod with about 18 fingers running perpindicular to this rod. So the question is what type of steel would handle the temperature and oxidization effects from a wood fire, and can this steel be welded? A suggestion has been to use a s10 steel, are there any other options. any suggestions would be welcomed Armand.
October 2, 200718 yr I have made a lot of fire place grates and I just used good ol' mild steel, it is cheap and if need be replace it again in a few years. Just my thought and I bought the steel in the rem pile at .30 cents a pound could even use rebar.
October 2, 200718 yr Keep the ash cleaned out from the bottom of the grate, so it is open to the air. If the ash builds up the grate will burn out in no time.
October 2, 200718 yr what makes grates subject to deterioration is the carbon content, that is why there are so many surviving andirons from the 19th century and before, they used Wrought Iron which has vertually no carbon content. Some Stainless Steels have high heat resistance because of the Chrome and Nickel content, its used in big commercial furnaces where the fire is hardly ever shut down except for routine maintenance.
October 2, 200718 yr Well if you have a lot of money to pour into the project there are some dandy high heat corrosive atmosphere alloys out there. Inconel makes some great ones. Also most any alloy can be tig welded it an inert atmosphere box.
October 2, 200718 yr what makes grates subject to deterioration is the carbon content, that is why there are so many surviving andirons from the 19th century and before, they used Wrought Iron which has vertually no carbon content. Some Stainless Steels have high heat resistance because of the Chrome and Nickel content, its used in big commercial furnaces where the fire is hardly ever shut down except for routine maintenance. Yes, but cast iron will also last a long time and it runs 3-6% carbon so fire resistance is related to overall corrosion resistance. Neither wrought or cast iron rust away as readily as mild steel. With all that said, I'd still probably use rebar for a grate and call it good - then simply make another one when that one dies.
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