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#201299 - 06/30/18 10:59 AM Re: aluminum vs titanium pots. [Re: Alf]
Pika Offline
member

Registered: 12/08/05
Posts: 1814
Loc: Rural Southeast Arizona
You will find that aluminum naturally occurring in various food sources (spinach, potato, tea) far exceeds the minor amount of aluminum that may be picked up by boiling water in an aluminum container. Especially if that container has been well used and has an internal "patina" of oxidation between the raw metal and the water. I'm not saying that aluminum is good for one but I am saying that the amount gained from using aluminum cookware is probably a small fraction of the amount of aluminum ingested form other, less hysterically discussed, sources in the normal course of eating.
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#201577 - 08/21/18 06:47 PM Re: aluminum vs titanium pots. [Re: bobito9]
Sharbear Offline
newbie

Registered: 07/13/18
Posts: 7
Loc: MO
I prefer iron, but of these two I think aluminum would work the best.

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#201784 - 09/24/18 10:02 PM Re: aluminum vs titanium pots. [Re: BZH]
Petro1234 Offline
member

Registered: 10/27/16
Posts: 101
Loc: engeland
Originally Posted By BZH
Titanium does have a lower thermal conductivity, but heat transfer is proportional to thermal conductivity divided by wall thickness. Titanium pots tend to be thinner than aluminum so it is not clear which one will have better heat transfer. Based on anecdotal evidence from various people my guess is that pot material is pretty negligible in terms of how quickly or efficiently you will boil water. Pot shape, windscreen use and fit, and whether your pot has a heat exchanger play a much bigger role in bringing water to a boil. I would guess even the radiative properties of the pot play a bigger role in how quickly you boil.

If you really want to put some numbers to, you can look up thermal conductivity for various materials on: http://www.matweb.com/

I looked up a typical aluminum and found a thermal conductivity of 180 W/m-�C and 6.7 W/m-�C for Titanium. I couldn't readily find wall thicknesses for various pots. If you can get that info, just divide the thermal conductivity by the thickness and compare.

Your's is the first report I have heard of a titanium pot become more slippery on a stove than an aluminum pot. That is interesting... I have no idea what is causing that. You could try roughening the surface to make it more grippy (it would also improve the radiative performance of the pot!).

Yep, radiation is bad, and convection, insulate the pot and lid, which can act like a radiator.

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#202461 - 01/21/19 10:18 PM Re: aluminum vs titanium pots. [Re: Petro1234]
Jimshaw Offline
member

Registered: 10/22/03
Posts: 3983
Loc: Bend, Oregon
I dearly love my titanium pots and I have learned to cook in them, but if you have something that can scorch easily an aluminum pan a bit thicker does a better job of distributing the heat in the metal. like at home doing some sauces you want a heavy aluminum pan. However if you are just heating water - go titanium, except you do not get your moneys worth in cost savings, there is really no good reason to go Titanium except for the minimum weight. Jim
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