Can A Stainless Steel Ball Valve Rust?

The answer is not absolute. Why do stainless steel flanged ball valves rust? When brown rust spots appear on the surface of stainless steel flanged ball valves, people are often surprised and may think that "stainless steel doesn’t rust, so there must be a problem with the steel." In fact, this is a one-sided and incorrect view resulting from a lack of understanding about stainless steel ball valves. Stainless steel flanged ball valves may rust under certain conditions.

Stainless steel flanged ball valve has the ability to resist atmospheric oxidation (rust prevention), and the ability to resist corrosion in the medium containing acid, alkali and salt. However, the corrosion resistance of stainless steel ball valve is affected by its chemical composition, protection state, usage conditions and the environmental factors. For example, 304 stainless steel ball valves have excellent corrosion resistance in a dry and clean atmosphere. However, when they are moved to the seaside areas with sea fog containing high levels of salt, they will quickly rust. On the other hand, 316 stainless steel flanged ball valves perform well in such condition. Therefore, not all types of stainless steel can resist corrosion and avoid rusting in any environment.