Brass, Bronze, Stainless, Plated?

[Code Monkey]

Hi all,

I've been looking for snap bolts and I've found them made out of a bunch of differetn stuff. What's okay to take saltwater diving and what're the relative advantages? Will any of this have an electrolytic reaction with my stainless D-rings?

Thanks!

 

[FatRob]

The golden rule is like with like, and no electrical pathes between dislike....

with stainless snap bolts you want stainless steel, either Grade 316L, 316, 302, 303, 304, the 302 - 304 series also known as 18-8. roughly least corrosive first.

since you are probably nice to your gear and soak it in fresh for hours when you get out of said salt water I doubt that you will see any corrosion of your d rings since the exposure time is so low..

spend the extra 3 bucks, buy stainless and don't worry....

I like the ones that have big nubs on them... because i wear 6mm gloves up here at this time of year and I find them easier to operate!

good luck!

 

[Code Monkey]

Thanks!

How about with plastic D-rings? Are bronze and brass both okay?

 

[dannobee]

It's not the snaps themselves that go bad, it's the springs that corrode and break, as they're still carbon steel and are the weakest link.

 

[Green_Manelishi]

Thanks!

How about with plastic D-rings? Are bronze and brass both okay?

Plastic breaks.

Bronze and brass are "ok" if marine grade but better you spend the money on high-quality stainless. Brass can "develop" sharp edges that cut when you use the clip.

This is life support/gear-loss-prevention you are purchasing; don't be cheap.

 

[herman]

I have been using brass for years with no problems. Rinse them good when you clean your gear and give them a shot of WD-40 on occasion. Some say that brass will wear and get sharp edges on them but so far I have not had any problems. You don't want to use plated ones as they will rust very quickly if the plating gets a small nick in it.

 

[Code Monkey]

Do stainless snaps use stainless springs?

 

[gcg]

nope, not unless you get them from a high end boat dealer. even the DS here sells the same thing you can buy from Home Depot

 

[Divin'Papaw]

The Dive Rite brass snaps use SS springs. Here is the quite from their website: "For long life and ease-of-use, the interior spring is made of stainless steel."

I've gone with these snaps. They use a heavy-duty brass alloy suitable for marine applications and, as stated above, the spring is SS. And they are about 1/4 the cost of Dive Rites SS snaps!

 

[RockPile]

Plastic breaks.

Bronze and brass are "ok" if marine grade but better you spend the money on high-quality stainless. Brass can "develop" sharp edges that cut when you use the clip.

All three metals are very strong and more than adequate for supporting gear weight. Obviously, stainless steel is the nicest of the three. Brass is next (and what I happen to use). The biggest difference from an outfitting and weight bearing standpoint between stainless and brass is that brass isn't as pretty. As far as bronze goes, though I don't believe that any actual corrosion or oxidization will occur, it will take on patina, which is a green shine. Personally, I would not have a problem using a bronze bolt snap or D-ring. It's certainly strong enough to be trusted with plenty of weight. I just woundn't want that green stuff getting all over my gear.

Sounds like the spring is the biggest worry (which I never really considered until dannobee pointed it out). If the spring is anything other than stainless replace it every once in a while.


JB