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Titanium versus Aluminum

Some backpackers talk about a titanium pot is lighter than aluminum but conducts heat slower. Conducting heat slower means less heat, from the stove, will make it to the water being heated. They assume a titanium pot will create the need for more fuel, which increases the weight of the backpack.  The increased weight of fuel offsets the weight savings of the titanium pot.

At 250°F the thermal conductivity of titanium is about 20 and aluminum is about 200. In theory, The aluminum will conduct heat from the burner to the water 10 times faster.  But in reality most of the heat from a stove is lost by rising around the pot faster than it can be absorbed by the pot.  There is more at play in reality than simply the weight and thermal conductivity of the metal pot.

I wanted to get a feel for this myself, so I set out to see how much of a difference it actually made.  I decided to do an experiment of my own, to determine just how much of a difference the thermal conductivity of the pot makes.

A 0.9L titanium pot and a 0.7L aluminum pot were used. The titanium pot weighed 4.2 oz. and the aluminum pot 5.1 oz. 2 cups of water was boiled 3 times, in each pot. Efforts were made to keep the ambient temperature, water starting temperature, water volume and amount of fuel the same for each run.

The time it took to bring the water to a rolling boil was averaged, for both the titanium and the aluminum pots. The aluminum pot averaged 5 seconds faster. In the BluuBull Stove it takes 8 minutes 38 seconds to burn 1 oz. of fuel. Since the titanium pot takes 5 seconds longer to boil 2 cups of water (average amount needed for a meal), it would take approximately 103 meals to add up to 8 minutes 38 seconds (1 oz.). At 4 meals a day, it would take over 25 days to create the need to carry an additional ounce of fuel.

The titanium pot weighs about 1 oz. less than the aluminum pot. Trips requiring less than 103 meals would be lighter if the titanium pot were used. Since the titanium pot is 0.2L larger, there is technically more of a weight savings with titanium.

The ambient temperature and starting water temperature of the test runs were warmer than what may be experienced on a backpacking trip. Using cooler ambient and water temps may effect the outcome, but the difference between aluminum and titanium pots for weight savings is very minimal.

I prefer the titanium pot for 3 reasons. First I like titanium just because it sounds cool. Second titanium is stronger and lighter than aluminum. Third my trips Never, Ever, Ever require even close to 103 meals to be prepared, so it is still lighter than aluminum.

The light weight, of the Titanium Pot, more than makes up for the extra fuel needed. If fuel efficiency is a major concern, burner / stove designs should be rethought. The BluuBull stove, like any other stove, wastes large amounts of heat and therefore fuel. Next time you use a stove of any kind, hold your hand over the pot. If you feel heat rising from around the outside of the pot (and you will), then that heat is lost and was never used to heat the water.

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Data from Titanium versus Aluminum test runs

The Titanium pot is the 0.9L Titan Tea pot by MSR and weighs 4.2 oz.

The Aluminum pot is the 0.7L pot from the Scout Mess Kit by Open Country and weighs 5.1 oz.

Test run parameters: Pan set 1" above burner, windscreens not used, lids on pots, 2 cups of water boiled, and 1 oz. of fuel used.
Temperatures taken with an infrared thermometer, and the altitude was 2,300 feet.