The advantage and disadvantage of stainless steel roller chain

A harsh environment is no place to use regular carbon steel roller chain. If you are using roller chain in outdoor applications, wash down areas, in or around salt water, fertilizer equipment or food packaging, you are probably using stainless steel roller chain. It's sanitary and can hold up to 840 hours plus before it starts showing signs of corrosion under a salt water spray test.

There are however some common challenges that most end users face with Stainless Steel roller chain. The biggest challenge is that stainless steel roller chain is weak in comparison to carbon steel roller chain. For Example:The maximum allowable load for 60-1R stainless steel roller chain is 231 lbs. In comparison, the carbon steel roller chain and coated 60-1R chains maximum allowable load is 1950 lbs. Also, pricing for the Stainless Steel roller chain can range from $20-$60 per ft. depending on the manufacturer and your vendors pricing. Maintaining your equipment can become very expensive if you are constantly having to replace your chain due to failure. Not to mention the costs you incur due to facility downtimes.

Now, you can be ready to contact me for pricing and availability. There are many stock sizes available in single pitch, double strand and double pitch. Any series chain can be made as an Aqua Series chain by special order.