In a message dated 8/9/05 5:59:42 AM, RAlanen@AOL.COM writes:

<< We do know that stainless steel is more brittle and suseptible to
cracking >>

This is a false statement and especially so with the Grade 409 SS which is
used in the Stebro.  Generally speaking, one of the desirable qualities of
stainless steel is that it is tough and, however measured, toughness in a material
is the exact opposite of brittleness.  Grade 409 SS cannot be hardened by a
normal thermal process, so what is it more brittle than?  I would think that 409
is used so extensively in exhaust systems especially because it does not,
with heat cycling, become brittle and crack.

From what I have seen of the flaccid mounting brackets on the Stebro, the
problem appears to be more with the design than with the material.  The poorly
executed bracketry is just not rigid enough.

Also, the fiber gaskets which are used to make up the connections to the
Stebro are for spherical joints, not flared joints.  If a fiber ring is used in
place of a double-bevel steel ring in a flared exhaust joint, the fiber ring
will quickly erode and the joint will leak.  Does that sound familiar?

Beyond anything else, as mufflers go, the Stebro is a bump ugly fabrication
which appears to have been designed more to accommodate the limitations of the
vendor's tooling than to improve upon what is already available elsewhere.

All this talk about Stebro might be pointless because rumor has it that
Hormel just started making mufflers.

George