dantodd
Well-Known Member
Any significant disadvantage to using aluminum for an immersion chiller? It is about 1/3 the cost of copper tubing at OSH.
INCORRECT! Stainless would be less efficient as a heat conductor, but aluminum is at least as good a heat conductor as copper, if not better.eviltwinofjoni said:You won't get as good of a heat transfer with aluminium than you would with copper, but if I were in your situation, I'd go for the aluminium tubing too.
Yuri_Rage said:INCORRECT! Stainless would be less efficient as a heat conductor, but aluminum is at least as good a heat conductor as copper, if not better.
I already acknowledged my mistake, but a lot of expensive stainless pots have a sandwiched aluminum core for exactly the same reason.Beer Snob said:Not sure if I'd say that... if that was the case wouldn't we see aluminum bottoms on expensive pots instead of copper? Not saying that I know this... just trying to follow the thought of the bottom of expensive pots thats all
Yuri_Rage said:I already acknowledged my mistake, but a lot of expensive stainless pots have a sandwiched aluminum core for exactly the same reason.
Ok, this I DO know for a fact. Aluminum fuel line is REALLY easy to form. Easier than copper, even.Baron von BeeGee said:How easy is aluminum tubing to bend/coil? I have no idea. With twice the tubing you could do an outer coil and an inner coil to make sure it all fits in your pot (and hopefully doesn't displace too much wort).
Edit: I mean bend/coil without crimping it.
Yuri_Rage said:Nice find! I guess I was slightly incorrect about aluminum being as efficient as copper. Even so, there's a reason they make aluminum radiators... The heat transfer potential also depends on the thickness of the tubing.
dantodd said:well... stainless is around 8.
Aluminum is next best to copper but gold and silver are better than either.
Yuri_Rage said:... The heat transfer potential also depends on the thickness of the tubing.
Thermal resistivity is the reciprocal of thermal conductance, i.e., the higher the conductivity, the lower the resistance.dantodd said:So, not being a materials guy (AT ALL) I have to ask.
What is the difference between thermal conductivity (i.e. the data in the link I posted above) and thermal resistance?
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