View Full Version : Cookware, aluminium vs stainless steel
appletree_man
10-10-2007, 17:48
What's the pros & cons of these two materials ? I currently use the old style Army aluminium mess tin.
Alumium - Lightweight, but difficult to clean. MUST be dried thoroughly after washing otherwise it oxidises and causes stomach upsets.
SS - Heavier than aluminium, better conductor of heat (so cooks faster, using less fuel), easier to clean (use fine wire wool which can also be used to catch a spark)
If you like the army mess tin style why not upgrade to a Crusader mess tin?
Hope that helps!
Simon
I thought Aluminium was a better heat conductor?
Not as hard wearing as steel and not as good on an open fire. the lightness is a major plus point though
Philbert
10-10-2007, 19:25
Also depends what your cooking on.
Open fires and both will serve you well although alu i find is harder to clean. However if you have certain cookers like MSR you will have to use steel or their anodized alu or similar because i have used ordinary alu and it has eaten slightly through the bottom:eek:
Weight is the biggest factor though if you are carrying your kit any distance.
On the same topic, I was washing some alu pots I haven`t used for a while this weekend. It seemed the harder I scrubbed them the more grey grime came off. Is this oxidisation, and will it eventually come off if I keep scrubbing.
I don`t use them anymore but was just curious ???
Alumium - Lightweight, but difficult to clean. MUST be dried thoroughly after washing otherwise it oxidises and causes stomach upsets.
SS - Heavier than aluminium, better conductor of heat (so cooks faster, using less fuel), easier to clean (use fine wire wool which can also be used to catch a spark)
If you like the army mess tin style why not upgrade to a Crusader mess tin?
Hope that helps!
Simon
Not much difference between SS, Aluminium or for that matter, Titanium when is comes down to heat conduction, nothing to write home to mom about anyway. I have used Aluminium from day one of my camping days some 40 years ago, like any pot, just clean them up. SS is nice, I use a lot at home, but its a bit heavy for backpacking anyway and as for Titanium, well to be honest, I just won't pay the money for the sake of saving a little weight.
If you do a boil test with the three materials in similar pots, its a tight race in terms of boil time. It all comes down to what you fancy, or what is in fashion with some campers should you follow such trends I guess. The Crusader mug is OK, narrow base and high sides make it a thirsty beast (in terms of fuel used and heat waisted up the sides of the pot for instance) to use on a liquid fuel stove, but are OK on a hexi and even better on an open fire, where I would guess it meets one of its design criteria (burn proof). If you use the mug, then please use a lid, you can buy them I think, or make one from tin foil, it works fine
demographic
10-10-2007, 21:08
Theres a lot made of the heat conduction thing but just how much difference does it make to boil times anyway, I am sure that someone will have studied it.
Seems that some of the things that have bad heat conduction are stronger so can be made thinner.
For the sake of a few seconds its no big deal is it?
One being simpler to clean makes more difference I would have thought.
And at ~14 stone a few grammes isn't going to make much difference to me.
Meh.
The stomach upset is news to me. A few years ago I tried out a new ali cookset at home and had 8 hours of severe vomiting straight after. There are very few bugs that affect you that violently that quickly so maybe it was the ali oxide, that's solved a mystery for me!
I've never had the same problem since mind you and I'm not that careful about drying it.
The other health thing is the worry that the non-anodized stuff leaches into your food and gives you Alzheimer's disease. This is very debateable, but has had me taking a second look at my cheapo ebay ali pots (non-anodized) and contemplating a Zebra billy to replace them... It's not actually a massive weight difference (about 200g I think)
British Red
10-10-2007, 21:44
I think the heat transference is more noticeable on frying (for example). Personally I find aluminium tends to show "hot spots" more than steel or iron (uneven heat distribution over entire cokking service). this can result in "burned spots" and "uncooked spots". Clearly this doesn't matter with boiling, but it does in frying and baking.
Just my view (which is that stainless is better but heavier)
Red
No brainer - never heard of Alzheimer’s caused by stainless.
Chris
demographic
10-10-2007, 22:10
No brainer - never heard of Alzheimer’s caused by stainless.
Chris
I can't remember having any problems from aluminium:)
This page (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_thermal_conductivities ) lists the thermal conductivities for aluminum, stainless steel, and Ti.
There is no link between Aliminium and Dementia. My wife is a dementia specialist there is a correlation between heart disease and early on set dementia but she has yet to find any decent info on a link with ali.
"I'll get me coat"......
:BlueTeamE
There is no link between Aliminium and Dementia. My wife is a dementia specialist there is a correlation between heart disease and early on set dementia but she has yet to find any decent info on a link with ali.
Spot on Wayne, your wife is right. The problem with issues like this is that one person or group spout off with one theory which is latter shot down in flames, but the doubt then lingers on with some folk.
:buttkick:
Coat on and shuts door.