Home Distiller

Just bought a 42 Quart pot no marking on it at all can I test it for aluminum and not damage it, if so how? Want to use it for a boiler if SS. is there some kind of acid test you can do?

Try hitting it with a magnet not all stainless is non-magnetic.
If the magnet sticks you got stainless coated or low grade stainless.
If not and you still need to test you can run a fine file over a edge.
f the file plugs with a dull gray metal its aluminum.

Stainless steel is approximately 3x as heavy as aluminum by volume... That may or may not help...

Sound is also different when banged, such as with a spoon... Aluminum will have a dull sound whereas stainless with have a more pronounced ring to it with a longer duration...

A lot of aluminum pots have a stamping on the bottom... The fact that a stamping exists leans towards aluminum whether the stamping states aluminum or not... This can be a deceiving point, however, because some stainless pots are aluminum clad on the bottom to eliminate hot spots...

Damned stainless steel... Too hard to identify without a metallurgy lab...

how about this. git some sodium hydroxide/caustic soda/lie. mix a tiny bit in spoon or dropper , apply a drop somewhere out of site,
watch for reaction,, if it bubbles smokes etc it is aluminum (it will also turn white) wash it off with acid like vinegar
(to reseal that area just heat.)

still crazy wrote:Try hitting it with a magnet not all stainless is non-magnetic.
If the magnet sticks you got stainless coated or low grade stainless.

I have never heard of stainless coated anything. Didn't know you could stainless coat stuff. Could be wrong.

The austentitic (300 series) is not 'low grade' as in low quality, and are in fact the main ones used in food and medical applications. 304 and 316 (and 304L and 316L) are probably the best for our use. Certainly the commonest and easiest to get.

Only the 300 series of stainless are non-magnetic or low level magnetic. And they can become slightly magnetic after being worked/machined. You will find that stainless kegs and scrubbers usually have a low level of magnetic attraction. A magnet will hold onto them, but only just. (Though I think 316 remains almost completely non-magnetic.)

I was referring to "chromium" plating which you sometimes see on cheap silverware or tools in the dollar store.
Never seen it on a pot but just a thought.

Simple Test

you CAN cut aluminum with a knife

You CANNOT cut SS

Coyote

Thanks for the nails on a caulk board shivers Ki ote