Titanium pots and intense heat

[Viper2016]

So I was thinking I might be able to lighten the load a little...titanium pot. But in reading some of the notes on the boxes, I find "not to use intense heat, it is not necessary..." moderate heat only.
Followed by the usual verbage about damage to the product.

Am I missing something, or over thinking the issue? I've used alcohol in the past, and will again, but I do plan on using a canister, or white gas.

Has anyone found issues or problems with such a pot - stove combination?

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[egilbe]

It has to be really high heat to damage the pot. Worrying about nothing. Titanium is damn near indestructible.

[bobp]

Even steel household pans will warp (the damage) if subjected to inappropriate heat. Of course, if you suck that badly at cooking, a warped pot bottom isn't going to negatively affect the result by that much (burned to a cinder vs. burned to a crisp). If you are just boiling water, don't let the water boil away, and you should be fine. I've used all of the stove types you mention on my Ti pots with no issues at all. To be fair, I wasn't trying to put the right sear on a sushi-grade piece of ahi :^)

[HooKooDooKu]

The only problem I've heard of with Ti pots was with the JetBoil pots... but that was because JetBoil Ti pots still use Aluminum for the heat exchanger fins. Because the two metals expand at different rates, you will blow the fins off a Ti JetBoil if it gets too hot. But even the JetBoil Ti pots do ok if you always keep some water in the bottom of the pot so that the aluminum/Ti weld doesn't get too hot.

[squeezebox]

If you are doing the wrong thing you can break anything. I once cracked a cast iron dutch oven. Put it on high heat and forgot about it, got busy doing something else. A bit of common sense and you'll be fine.

[daddytwosticks]

I've noticed my Ti pot has gotten a really cool rainbow-like color stain on the bottom from using it with my canister stove over all these years. I usually just boil water in the pot. No damage at all other than the discoloration. :)

[Puddlefish]

I melted the hell out an aluminum clad steel pot on my kitchen stove once, but that took some serious negligence on my part and a good bit of time.

[4eyedbuzzard]

The different colors on a titanium alloy pot are caused by the varying thickness of oxide layers. Newly manufactured Ti normally has an oxidized surface perhaps a 10 millionths of an inch thick or so which almost completely seals it from the oxygen in the atmosphere and prevents it from oxidizing further under normal temperatures. It is similar to aluminum in this sense. This oxide layer thickness increases somewhat over time as it ages and more so as it is exposed to heat. When heated the Ti oxidizes more deeply and may also react wit other gases present in the combustion process, like nitrogen, (relatively - we are talking at most millionths of an inch here), and the result is that the wavelengths of light (colors) that are reflected change, from a yellow (thinnest) through blues, then green, and eventually to an almost white color if heated high enough (such as a dry pot subjected to a strong flame). The higher the heat, the more it discolors. But for practical purposes, this discoloration doesn't affect its performance.

[Cheyou]

I don't cook in mine just heat water add food put in cozy . I use gsi stuff for cooking. More even heat and easy to clean

thom

[SWODaddy]

I think the caution has more to do with a risk of warpage (and subsequent warranty claims). You can very easily warp the thin titanium cookwear used for backpacking.

[Hosh]

I have 2 Evernew titanium pots, one non-stick and one with no coating. I usually boil water and re-hydrate in a separate container with a cozy. Even in the non-stick pot, there's a pretty good chance of food sticking. Most lightweight stoves, less than 3 ounces, have poor flame distribution. Titanium is pretty light, very durable but doesn't distribute heat as well as anodized aluminum.

If you keep water or food in any pot and keep the heat at medium or below, it shouldn't warp. Excess heat and/or an empty pot will warp regardless of material. Worst case is an empty overheated pot that gets cold water poured into it.

My experience shows that a lower flame setting saves fuel even though it takes longer to boil water.

[Maui Rhino]

I've dry baked using an CHS-U alcohol fuel stove in my Ti SP900 and 1300 pots with no sign of warpage. They do have a nice blue patina from use though.

[Vegan Packer]

I've had zero issues with MSR and Toaks.

[Mtsman]

as long as the TI doesnt have a coating you should be fine. I clean my non coated Ti pot by sticking it in the fire and burning everything off. My evernew coated Ti pot is a different story though.

[Odd Man Out]

I saw on line instructions for anodizing titanium. You could get a rainbow of different colors by using different voltages. It was really very cool.

[TexasBob]

Titanium pots are thin and they are easy to bend accidentally. I think you are more likely to bend the pot by accident than warp it by overheating it.

[QiWiz]

Any kind of pot full of water can take any kind of heat your stove or a fire can dish out. This is because all the water will need to boil off before the metal gets much hotter than the boiling point of water (remember your physics?). An empty aluminum pot, on the other hand, can melt or deform badly on a hot stove or fire, so is no good for dry baking. An empty titanium pot can be heated to glowing red with no damage.

[imscotty]

Perhaps the warning has more to do with the food than the pot. Ti, great for boiling water, even better for scorching food. Stir like a mad man when you have anything other than water in a Ti pot.

[bikebum1975]

It has to be really high heat to damage the pot. Worrying about nothing. Titanium is damn near indestructible.
Friend of mine had his warp on him. Still not buying the bombproof part yet in them.

[Viper2016]

For all who responded, thanks. Experience is always welcome. But I have made the decision to opt for the Ti. Physics was a class they told me I probably wouldn't need. But time in the steel mill did provide experience with heat, just not Ti. I shall be careful, maybe I won't burn food beyond recognition. I did pass the Boy Scout cooking test. I cooked, ate, and kept it down.

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