What boils faster?

[mr x]

Mrfocus, I'm really glad you went through and re-did the calculations, I was about to one night and then I was like, aw f-this to much time.

BTW the turkey fryers range from ~65,000BTU to 250,000BTU so roughly 20KW to 73KW. (BTU/hr * .293 = W) I know mine is toward the bottom of that range.

I think this should be the end all thread Steel vs Aluminum.

Do you have an aluminum pot? I'd like to know how long it takes to boil 3 gallons of water from 15 C on a large electric burner.

 

[z987k]

I have an Aluminum pot and roughly a 65K BTU turkey fryer. I actually have no idea how long it takes to boil the 5 gallons of wort because as soon as there's an inch in the bottom of the pot I turn the burner on while I'm draining the mash and sparge water. I can time how long it takes to go from tap water temp to ~165 next time though.

Any maybe we should sticky an Aluminum vs SS pot with some math in it.

 

[mr x]

Not a valid comparison. We need to see equivalent volume of water in ss vs. alum on electric burner.

I wouldn't be too quick to make a sticky until the math is proven. What I have seen here is pretty suspect so far.

 

[z987k]

There are so many variables, I doubt anyone has what is needed to conduct a real world experiment. Mrfocus' math looks fairly sound. Do it yourself if you'd like, but I think we have proven without a doubt that aluminum will boil water far faster than steel. I think most people can tell you that without math or experiments.

To do a fair comparison you would need 2 pots identical in every aspect but the fact that one is SS and one Al. Good luck with that.

 

[shafferpilot]

Instead of two identical pots in SS and aluminum, I think the best expiriment would be a keggle vs the aluminum turkey fryer pots most of us use. The burners should be identical, but since identical pots in SS and aluminum don't exist, there's no reason to try to compare them.

 

[mr x]

There are so many variables, I doubt anyone has what is needed to conduct a real world experiment. Mrfocus' math looks fairly sound. Do it yourself if you'd like, but I think we have proven without a doubt that aluminum will boil water far faster than steel. I think most people can tell you that without math or experiments.

To do a fair comparison you would need 2 pots identical in every aspect but the fact that one is SS and one Al. Good luck with that.

No-one is doubting that aluminum will boil faster. The question is how much faster? Is it an appreciable amount of time? The math I have seen here is pretty shady to the point where I don't think it's correct.

I think it would be pretty easy to find a thin walled 3 gallon aluminum pot to do a comparison. From the math shown above, a majorly thick aluminum pot should still boil faster...

 

[z987k]

The thickness will matter, but since Aluminum is such a better conductor, even a thick pot will boil faster up to a point.

Look into this website, conductive heat transfer. I guarantee those formulas are right, do the math yourself.
http://www.engineeringtoolbox.com/conductive-heat-transfer-d_428.html

 

[5 Is Not Enough]

I think that the fact remains, a true real-world test would be impossible since ss pots just aren't as thick as aluminum...
To be of any real use, the question would need to be based on averages:
Capacity to Capacity, Gallon to Gallon, Minute to Minute...
Knowing that an aluminum pot would boil faster *IF* it was the same thickness(thinness) is pointless, since your pot would be too delicate for sustained use! And, I don't think it would be cost effective to buy a SS pot as thick as most of the alum pots out there...

 

[z987k]

So a realistic test would be my 9 gallon Al pot vs a keggle? - what people use.