Iron-based stainless brazing filler metals

Our iron-based stainless brazing filler metals are particularly popular for applications where conventional copper-brazing is replaced with stainless-steel brazing. This includes applications such as oil coolers and brazed plate heat exchangers (BPHE), where there is a need to keep copper contents at a minimum level in the end application. In high-temperature and corrosive environments, leaching of copper into the engine oil in an oil cooler or into the fluid in a brazed plate heat exchanger can occur. For oil coolers this is generally unwanted as it affects the performance and lifetime of the cooling system.

For brazed components for drinking water applications, stringent regulations are in place to limit the maximum permissible copper ion contents in the water, which drives the requirement to use other brazing filler metals. Iron-based stainless brazing filler metals have shown a particular technical advantage with low or insignificant amounts of metal ion leaching to drinking water, outperforming both the conventional nickel-based brazing filler metals and copper-brazing.

BrazeLet^® F300 and BrazeLet F86 are iron-based stainless brazing filler metals, with good wetting properties on stainless steel base materials in vacuum or protective atmospheres. The high levels of alloyed chromium (Cr) results in superior hot gas and acid corrosion resistance, which makes the alloys suitable for brazing of applications such as heat exchangers, stainless oil coolers for commercial vehicles and exhaust gas recirculation coolers. The main differences between the two alloys is found in the brazed joint strength and the recommended brazing temperature, where BrazeLet F86 offers higher strength than BrazeLet F300, but requires somewhat higher brazing temperatures.

In addition to our standard iron-based stainless steel brazing filler metals, Höganäs also have full capabilities and experience to develop customer-specific alloys in cooperation with our customers if required by the application. Please do not hesitate do contact us, should you see the need for a brazing filler metal with different properties than the existing product portfolio.