[pct-l] Cat Stove -Aluminum vs. Steel

[Chris.Ratliff@asml.com (Chris Ratliff)]

Did an experiment last night with two versions of the Cat Stove.  The first version was a steel version of the cat stove using tuna cans and the second version was cat food cans(aluminum), both had nearly the same dimensions (less than .100 difference) and were the same in all other respects.

The conclusion:  Aluminum boils water faster by about 1.5 minutes

Reason why: Aluminum has a higher radiative reflectivity.  This means an aluminum enclosure will contain heat better than an equivalent steel container.

Initially I was too cheap/conservationist to buy the cat food because I do not have a cat, but I could not get my pint boiling times down to less than 7 minutes.  This is when I realized that the can material may have something to do with it.  With aluminum the boiling times are down to 5.5 minutes.

This information may already have circulated without my knowledge, or I may have a flawed experiment.  Let me know if anyone can confirm or disprove.

Thanks,
Christopher Ratliff
PCT 2002 hopeful
Felton CA