Mess Tins VS Pots.

[John Sheridan]

I bought a mess tin on the weekend from a cheap *&%$#! shop, it only cost 4 bucks, but I just could not turn it down, it's got a nice fold handle and is pretty big. I did a boil test and boils in about 6 minutes or so. One problem it is stainless steel, not sure if that's better than aluminium ?

Is stainless steel better for boil times, the mess tin is 120g which is ok if that's the only cooking gear I take I guess.

I can see if boiling water,using this as a plate, fry pan and even and oven as it comes with a nice snug lid, would love to use this to bake some bread in the coals

I know trangia ect sell mess tins, but they are like 30 bucks.

Does anyone here use a mess tin, just like to know.

Cheers.

[Capt DropBear]

Stainless steel has a lower thermal conductivity than aluminium - meaning it'll take longer to boil water in an SS mess tin than it will an aluminium one.

The flipside of this, is that the heat of your stove / gas burner / fire won't go straight through the tin and burn the food inside - the SS tin will take longer to heat up, and will therefore be easier to control any simmering or slow cooking you're doing. The SS tin will also cool down slower, keeping the food warmer for longer.

[John Sheridan]

I think the Stainless Steel might be better for me as I want to use it for Pot cosy cooking should take less time to cook my meals and keep them warmer for longer

Still probably take a pot for boiling water and even a dedicated frying pan for my fish frying, though will have to go out and see what Is really needed and what is unnecessary.



Thanks for the response.

Cheers.

[Tony]

Stainless steel has a lower thermal conductivity than aluminium - meaning it'll take longer to boil water in an SS mess tin than it will an aluminium one.

The flipside of this, is that the heat of your stove / gas burner / fire won't go straight through the tin and burn the food inside - the SS tin will take longer to heat up, and will therefore be easier to control any simmering or slow cooking you're doing. The SS tin will also cool down slower, keeping the food warmer for longer.

Hi Capt DropBear,

You are right SS has lower thermal conductivity than aluminium so does Titanium but with cooking pots it is not that simple, as the thickness or lack of thickness of the pot is very important factor in the heat transfer process and as bushwalking pots and billies are very thin this negates a lot of the thermal conductivity of the particular material.

I am currently doing some testing for a article on pot materials and I can assure you there is very little difference in the performnce of SS, Ti and Al pots when boiling water.

To me the weight of the pot is more important, if you want a good frying pan or a pot that has less chance of burning food a thick bottom pot should be chosen.

I personally use a cheap aluminium billy or two.

Tony