Steve Beswick wrote: > To those who have recommended using a magnet to test valves:Stainless Steel > is magnetic. How do you think magnetic knife bars work? >
Umm. Sort of. Austenitic stainless steels are not magnetic in their annealed form, but become weakly magnetic with working, but not as strongly magnetic as ferritic stainlesses or other carbon steel. The more an austenitic stainless is worked, the more magnetic it becomes. So, it's true that a magnetic test won't identify a stainless valve from a carbon steel valve. As for the original question, I don't think a stainless valve is necessarily a mandatory item for unleaded operation, and depending upon the stainless alloy, might not actually be the best choice, as some stainlesses are not as hard as better carbon steel valves, and the valve face may deform around the valve seat over time. In any event, simply assuming that "stainless" is better is not necessarily true. Any valve with Stellite hard facing is probably just as suitable. Cheers. -- Michael Porter Roswell, NM Never let anyone drive you crazy when you know it's within walking distance.... _______________________________________________ Support Team.Net http://www.team.net/donate.html [email protected] http://autox.team.net/mailman/listinfo/spitfires http://www.team.net/archive
