Ss Vs Aluminium Brew Kettle

[Dazza_devil]

Ok, luckily my tinfoil is the woollies heavy duty stuff and I'll try and stay pissed.

Seriously though, this is probably a dumb-arse question but why wouldn't you cover stainless steel with tinfoil, or why would you for that matter?

 

[manticle]

That study is nothing more than a government funded blind. I'm surprised you fell for it.

Apologies to OP.

@Boagsy - the only reason I can think of to not cover one metal with another is the possibility of galvanic corrosion. Would have to look up a chart to see if there's a huge likelihood of that occurring between SS and ali.

As to why would you??? Sometimes I cook in an SS pot then cover with foil to retain heat. I do the same with my SS bowls. I wouldn't expect Galvanic corrosion to happen in that short time frame though.

 

[jakub76]

At the risk of curtailing Boagsy and Manticle's hilarious tangent...Aluminium is a substantially better conductor of heat than stainless steel. When I was shopping for a kettle I was initially worried because of the reported link between aluminium and Alzheimer's Disease. Sufferers of the disease were found to have increase aluminium deposits in their brains.
In the decades since these findings it has been generally accepted that aluminium cookware does not contribute to higher levels of aluminium in our brains. Most aluminium cookware is anodized, dipped in an acid bath that seals it and changes the molecular structure. We pick up more aluminium from our surroundings air, food & pollution. Maybe the problem lies in their kidneys' ability the excrete it.
Anyway, after a lot of reading I decided to buy the Aluminium pot because it was cheaper and I'd get better efficiency from my 2-ring burner.

 

[bum]

I can't remember why I decided to buy aluminium.

 

[roller997]

At the risk of curtailing Boagsy and Manticle's hilarious tangent...Aluminium is a substantially better conductor of heat than stainless steel. When I was shopping for a kettle I was initially worried because of the reported link between aluminium and Alzheimer's Disease. Sufferers of the disease were found to have increase aluminium deposits in their brains.
In the decades since these findings it has been generally accepted that aluminium cookware does not contribute to higher levels of aluminium in our brains. Most aluminium cookware is anodized, dipped in an acid bath that seals it and changes the molecular structure. We pick up more aluminium from our surroundings air, food & pollution. Maybe the problem lies in their kidneys' ability the excrete it.
Anyway, after a lot of reading I decided to buy the Aluminium pot because it was cheaper and I'd get better efficiency from my 2-ring burner.

I wouldn't have thought that there is much in it in terms of direct heat working its way through a layer of stainless vs aluminium as it is quite concentrated.
I would however expect that you would loose a lot more heat through the large surface area of your pot, so a stainless pot might actually take less direct heat to maintain its temperature.
In terms of the anodizing and being dipped in acid. I would assume that most of the chinese import pots are not anodized as they look nothing like the darker coloured Analon, Scanpan and other anodized pots & pans. Using acid to treat the surface may assist in aluminium not leaching into the food, however is there a greater chance of aluminium making its way into your diet when you scratch the surface with a stainless stirrer, immersion chiller or similar?

Personally, I would not use Aluminium for a kettle as the wort boils for quite some time in there and the chance to scratch the surface of the kettle is greater, however I would be more than comfortable to use it for a HLT, especially since it is easier to install elements into softer metal and all you are doing is heating water.

While it has been mentioned as a reason to look at stainless, in terms of sterilizing the kettle - Not sure why you would want to do that.
I make sure that my kettle is cleaned well straight after I use it and I wipe it clean again before I start a brew. I would never start a brew with dirty equipment. If something is so resillient that it survives 60 (or even 90) minutes of a boil, you have to question if sanatizers such as starsan will actually work on such superbugs.

Cheers

Roller

 

[chappo1970]

Personally I don't like aluminium pots. I have 2 in my current brewery and have been using them for 18mths or more now. A 60lt as my MLT and an 80lt for my kettle. Both having done about 40 brews between them and both have not faired well IMO. The MLT started life as my Kettle and inner surface is heavily pited and very rough to the touch as is the Kettle now. The MLT was also wrapped in dense foam insulation with aluminium airconditioning lagging tape as a means to fix the insultaion to the pot.

I'm having a brew day this Saturday with a few forum members and I will ask them to give their independent opinion on the condition of the pots. I will say that I look after my gear and they have not been subjected to harsh chemicals except for the odd PBW to remove beer stone.

I am in the throws of upgrading to a full SS brewery as the metal is tough, hardwearing, food grade and basicallly inert. SS will last you a lifetime of use and abuse, where as, Aluminium I have my doubts of it being a long term solution in my experience. For the extra bucks up front I reckon SS is worth it over the cheaper Aluminium alternative and I wish now I had gone SS from the start as it would have saved me mega money in the long run. BTW I am also removing all the brass and copper from the systems as well, as both these materials have the ability introduce some pretty nasty by products to your beer.

FWIW my 2c

Here's a photo on my rig with the 40lt Crownie as the HLT, next tier down is the 60lt MLT with insulation and aluminium tape and the bottom with 80lt aluminium kettle. The HERMS vessel is 11lt SS pot with 6m copper coil.

 

[Paul H]

In respect to the effects of aluminium on the brain, we use aluminium cookware at home & when I asked my wife stated that "I was no more stupid than usual & any injury to my brain would be probably attributable to my level of consumption of beer. <_<

:icon_cheers:

Paul

 

[Faithy]

Thanks for your replies, especially Chappo. That sounds like some good advice from an experienced brewer.

 

[Gavo]

Especially Chappo? He doesn't brew on his rig, he just takes photo's of it and posts them. h34r: I have an ally kettle and ally does need looking after. If your not worried about the extra bucks then just go stainless.

Gavo.

 

[manticle]

Stainless is just a really nice material. I like nice materials. If it's within budget - go the nice stuff. I wouldn't worry about getting alzheimer's from aluminium pots though.

I'd worry about getting it more from um......................




Ah...


hhmmmmmmmmmmmm..

 

[jbirbeck]

I've got a 3V ally set up and love it. I went that way because of the cost. I also have a cheap ss pot...the stainless isn't as pretty anymore and its harder to clean than my ally pot but I don't do any of the soaking others may do.

If I had my time again and the exchange rate was as it is now I'd buy here because the cost including shipping would be the same as a new ally pot of the same size for me. Stainless pots.

Hell I may still do that, anyone want three ally pots?

 

[warra48]

I have an ally kettle, and it works just fine for me. I can't see any pitting or other degradation of the surface.
All I do to clean it is to give a quick squirt with the hose, and a light application of a plastic scrubby if I feel like it.
I reckon the brown deposit on the inside of the kettle heps to prevent corrosion etc.

I ask any brewers who have died from using ally in their brewery to please post and give us a description of their experience.

 

[Dazza_devil]

Well I can't remember dying from using it so perhaps I did, I just can't say for sure.
I can't find any aluminium pots around here if that's any help.