Question on stainless grade

We are removing some store fixtures. Part of the job is getting rid of these brushed stainless table bases that are about 150lbs each.

We took them to the local yard and were given the rate or irony stainless at .10/lb



How would we tell the correct grade of stainless they are? There was no rust inside or out. The magnet at the yard didn't really seem to stick to them. Kind of feel like we got jipped, but maybe I'm wrong.nim curious because we have another 12 bases to go and if it's a big difference in price I would like to try and get it.

They are bright, and clean like a veterinarians table, or even a nice appliance...
Retail displays are usually made of decent material I was thinking it was a 300 grade stainless like 304 but how do you really tell?

Thanks in advance.

Did you make sure there is no steel or iron framework inside or around it? I found a restaurant one that had a stainless table top but it was welded to iron piping for legs and supports underneath. I wasn't worth separating it so it's in my garage, I mounted my vice beside the cut out for a sink so I can turn the crank and whatever I cut off falls through the hole to the ground or bucket I have underneath.

Also, I have learned to always ask when I bring in something I have never scrapped before as even 1-5 min of work can double or triple your money (weights off al rims, for example). Maybe call another yard or two and see what they say?

I've had very good luck selling tables like that to restaurants on Craigslist for $50-$150 each. But, to answer your question, the only way to know the composition of the actual metal would be to have someone/yard shoot it with an XRF gun to give you the composition...

SS is a tricky one, in the Marine industry we "only" use 316 SS. You can put a magnet to it and if it's solid quality there won't even be a touch of resistance with it. I've used some really powerful ones and the worst culprit is SS washer, flats to be exact. Best being SS plate we use for engine mounts.
Call the company that manufactures them and ask them what grade they use, or like "Scrapping Red" suggests get it tested. It's really the only way.
Hit most SS. With a powerful enough magnet and you will get some form of attraction lol.

Remember 300 series stainless will become slightly magnetic when "cold worked" very common with 300 series stainless hardware. There are also "Spot Acid Test" that can very accurately identify the different grades of stainless. You can find that info online, don't believe we want to be talking specifics about acid test on this forum. Sounds to me as if you might want to take a few samples of your stainless to more than one yard.

Thanks guys,

The next set of 4 we broke down the steel out of them. Took us maybe 30 minutes.

It was marked actually 304 stainless right on one of the panels.

A set of the bases yeilded 328lb stainless 304 at .40/lb

They don't seem to care about grade only that it is magnetic and it's .40/lb. no matter the grade.

And 334 steel at .07/lb

Are those fair prices? Last time we took steel there it was worth way more.

I only scrap when we get random stuff from our construction jobs.

Got $154.58 vs $65 for a bit of banging.

Good deal you got more coin for a "little banging"!! We only have a couple of places to sell in my metro and the only thing they care about with ss if its magnetic or not. If its magnetic its considered regular steel and a guy gets 'tin" price for it unless its over a quarter inch thick. The non-ferrous guy I go to is offering 32 cents a pound right now, down nearly a third from the 45 cents he was offering back in the fall. The much bigger place that also takes steel doesn't advertise their prices on-line so I've never taken my non-ferrous to them (much more of a zoo there than the other place which is a drive through operation). The steel guys have built (but haven't opened yet) a second much larger spaced out yard much closer to my house so I'll probably get to know them better with all their prices...