One of our major customers is All4FVE, which buys high quality stainless steel hooks made of 1.4301 material, which are guaranteed for 5 years. We stand behind the quality of our stainless steel material.

Mounted PV:

the name is a bit misleading, although it has a lot to do with photovoltaic systems. I won't go into the various parameters of PV panels, batteries and inverters, that's what more experienced and educated people than me are for. Personally, I believe that PV on the roofs of homes and industrial buildings makes sense, but I am not a proponent of island systems that deface the landscape.

The pitfall I want to mention is in constructions made of poor quality materials. Unfortunately, the end customer, who orders a turnkey photovoltaic power plant for his family house with saved or borrowed money, often has no idea what he will actually have on the roof. In addition to the panels, the installation of the PV plant also includes other components such as hooks, fasteners and aluminium profiles. These hooks are manufactured not only in the Czech Republic but also in neighbouring countries. From my own experience, I know that hooks imported from neighbouring countries like Poland but also from more distant countries like China are not the right option for the roof of your house. And for a simple reason.

There is one crucial thing to note. Many Czech companies produce hooks from high quality stainless steel of 1.4301 (A2) grade. You can recognize this material quite easily. It is not magnetic. If you have hooks made of this stainless steel on your roof, you can be sure that this hook will not rust. You need to be careful with hooks made of stainless steel grade 1.4016. While this material is more durable, note the word more durable in the specification (specs below the article). Unfortunately for the end customer this does not mean - corrosion resistant. So it happens, and quite often lately, that the hooks on roofs rust.

I recommend pushing your PV supplier to supply you with quality steel hooks. The price difference on the whole project is in the thousands of crowns, not tens of thousands. You will avoid later complications with rusting hooks. Also, beware of so-called quick-fixes, companies that don't have much history and experience behind them. Better to pay a little extra knowing you have somewhere to turn for complaints, service, or minor repairs.

Specifications - difference between 1.4301 and 1.4016

Material 1.4016 / AISI 430 is a magnetizable ferritic stainless steel that is suitable for forging and cold forming. Due to its high chromium content of 16-18%, this grade of stainless steel is more resistant to corrosion (especially stress corrosion cracking) than comparable material with lower chromium content.

Data list 1.4016

Material 1.4301 / AISI 304 is austenitic stainless steel, which has high corrosion resistance. This grade of stainless steel has very low magnetization and is suitable for welding, forging and cold forming.

Data list 1.4301