Bushwalk Australia

Type Thermal Conductivity- k -(W/m K)
Aluminium 232
Copper 413
Gold 327
Cast Iron 52
Nickel 106
Silver 403
Carbon Steel 43
Tin 73.3
Titanium 24.5
Tungsten 197
Stainless Steel 304 14.4
Nickel 106
Platinum 72.4
Inconel 15

Thermal Conductivity chart of common metals reveals some surprising results.

Whilst Titanium is light, the only worse metal conductivity is stainless steel
with Silver being the second highest and therefore the most useful

Cook pots should be made of pure Silver as the most efficient usage for hikers where fuel is always at a premium.

But titanium is strong, so it can be made thinner than silver, which mitigates this.

Gold isn't too bad, and it's the most malleable metal so you can beat it too a thinner sheet than the others.

Most of the heat is on the bottom of the pot .. that is where you want both thermal conductivity to spread the heat evenly.

You also want light weight, cheap and strong.

A Ti pot with an aluminum base would be good. Balance of weight, performance and cost.

Copper pot all the way, a shame it's toxic, so lets plate the copper with Electrum and get the best of all possible pots.

Duossal ? S/S inner with aluminium over the outside. Used to be available from Trangia and IIRC Optimus.

A tad heavy for walkers but superb performance.

The inefficiency of entirely S/S cookware is far worse than the figures suggest. In part, I think, because of the thickness differences already mentioned.

I did boil tests with a TI pot and one of my old aluminium billies and time to boil an equivalent amount of water was, to my surprise, close enough that I couldn't decisively pick a winner. The aluminium was much thicker than the TI.

Did the same test with the entirely SS post that I had hoped to use, and (again, IIRC) time to boil was 3x the other two. May have been 2x, but my failing memory favours 3x. Why would anyone bother - triple your fuel usage and still have hot spots when cooking.

Thanks Commando. Your chart says my cast iron cook set has a conductivity of 52 which explains why I have to use so much fuel. I'll swap over to silver.

If it wasn't for the anti Alzheimer brigade aluminium should still be on top for hikers with high thermal conductivity cheap robust and lightweight

I don't think thermal conductivity of the pot is the limiting factor. With a temperature difference between the flame and water of almost 2000 degrees, the amount of heat the stove can drive through that thin piece of metal will be limited by the output capacity of the stove rather than by the thermal resistance of the metal.

Thanks Commando. Your chart says my cast iron cook set has a conductivity of 52 which explains why I have to use so much fuel. I'll swap over to silver.

Or Gold, I can see a thriving trade in purloined cook pots

ribuck wrote:I don't think thermal conductivity of the pot is the limiting factor. With a temperature difference between the flame and water of almost 2000 degrees, the amount of heat the stove can drive through that thin piece of metal will be limited by the output capacity of the stove rather than by the thermal resistance of the metal.

Must be talking Fahrenheit, because if you're gettin 2000°C on your stove, you could sell that to any backyard forge.

icefest wrote:if you're gettin 2000°C on your stove, you could sell that to any backyard forge.

The flame temperature of isobutane is 1975°C. So the temperature is plenty high for a backyard forge, even though the heat output isn't.

https://www.elgas.com.au/blog/1688-buta ... roleum-gas

Ti vs ali material cost is about x10 but does it still need to cost $30 for a large mug or is it marketing rip off? Yet on eBay from China Ti products not that much cheaper.

The small amount of camp time using Ali pots shouldn’t present a significant Alzheimer risk over one’s life span

Al M wrote:Ti vs ali material cost is about x10 but does it still need to cost $30 for a large mug or is it marketing rip off? Yet on eBay from China Ti products not that much cheaper.

The small amount of camp time using Ali pots shouldn’t present a significant Alzheimer risk over one’s life span

its extremely expensive to refine Titanium, it takes a large amount of energy to do so.

Definitely some camping manufacturers have spent time researching this. From experience with a GSI Pinnacle Soloist, it has many features I like but the Pinnacle technology is big step up compared to Ti, when it comes to heat conductivity and distribution. Distribution equals quicker cook times and less chance of bottom burn. And no one wants to scrub a burnt bottom!
https://gsioutdoors.com/pinnacle-technology
Their not giving away what exactly that technology is but it's based on an Aluminum pot (good conductivity), coated with a non-stick Teflon+ coating. Doubt there is any Silver in the coating, but it is more than just Teflon.

I do take a Ti pot for an overnighter because I can scrap/clean any burnt food when I get home, but for longer walks, I prefer something that is more fuel efficient and easy to clean, even if it's a bit heavier. The GSI Soloist isn't by any means heavy.

Is there any evidence that Ti pots are less efficient than Al pots at heating water? I wouldn't be surprised if it were the the other way around. Heating rate, environmental conditions, and pot geometry are far more important when it comes to fuel efficiency.

The big problem with Ti cookware is hot spots that result in burned food. They're horrible for frying. I remember well the first time I tried to pop popcorn in a Ti pot. I had to learn a new technique.

I prefer Al because of cost and versatility. But it's hard to find small, lightweight Al pots designed for bushwalking. That's the only reason I own Ti cookware.