Stainless steel or Aluminum kegs - how do you tell?
Paul R. MARTIN
I found an old 15.5 gal shiny metal keg (the rounded side kind) which I
would like to cut open and use as a brew pot.
Is there any easy way to determine whether it is aluminum or stainless
steel?
Is one magnetic and the other not?
thanks in advance
Paul Martin
Austin, TX
5 liter mini-keg system for sale
Lonnie Haden
"Paul R. MARTIN" <prma...@tfc.net> wrote:
>I found an old 15.5 gal shiny metal keg (the rounded side kind) which I
>would like to cut open and use as a brew pot.
>Is there any easy way to determine whether it is aluminum or stainless
>steel?
>Is one magnetic and the other not?
At least some of the s/s kegs I've seen say stainless steel on the
side.
LH
Bruce Christofferson
JOE BOB wrote:
>
> In article <33068D...@tfc.net>, prma...@tfc.net says...
> >
> >I found an old 15.5 gal shiny metal keg (the rounded side kind) which
> I
> >would like to cut open and use as a brew pot.
> >
> >Is there any easy way to determine whether it is aluminum or stainless
> >steel?
> >
> >Is one magnetic and the other not?
> >
I've found that a magnet will not stick to my stainless
steel brewpot either, so that method of determination is
out.
Paul R. MARTIN
JOE BOB wrote:
>
> In article <33068D...@tfc.net>, prma...@tfc.net says...
> >
> >I found an old 15.5 gal shiny metal keg (the rounded side kind) which
> I
> >would like to cut open and use as a brew pot.
> >
> >Is there any easy way to determine whether it is aluminum or stainless
> >steel?
> >
> >Is one magnetic and the other not?
> >
> CORRECT....A MAGNETIC WILL NOT STICK TO THE ALUMINUM.
Well, this has become quite interesting. It's true that magnets don't
stick to aluminum. It's also true that magnetics didn't stick to my
stainless steel Corny kegs either. Try this and let me know if anyone
else finds this to be true.
Now I'm totally confused..... I went to the store with a magnet and went
down aisle of the stainless steel brew pots. I discovered that the
magnet will stick to most stainless steels but will not stick to 304
stainless steel. Again anyone chime in.
So do any of you hobby-metallurgists have any hints on how I can tell
whether a keg is stainless steel (including 304) or aluminum?
Paul Martin
Austin, TX
(for sale 5 liter mini-keg system)
JOE BOB
Bill Crick
BILL CRICK
Brewius,Ergo Stainless!
Dion Hollenbeck
>> Paul R MARTIN writes:
PRM> So do any of you hobby-metallurgists have any hints on how I can
PRM> tell whether a keg is stainless steel (including 304) or
PRM> aluminum?
A destructive test for aluminum is caustic (Red Devil Lye or some
drain cleaners). A little bit applied to aluminum will cause foaming,
gas production and in many aluminums, the metal will blacken. The
surface will be etched in the process. Caustic will do nothing to
stainless steel.
A second destructive test but much less so would be to scratch the
metal with a piece of mild steel. Aluminum will be easily scratched,
SS will be virtually untouched.
A non-destructive test would be to tap on it with a key. However, you
have to know the difference between the sounds, but *I* can tell them
apart this way, you may not be able to without practice on known
samples.
dion
--
Dion Hollenbeck (619)597-7080x164 Email: hol...@vigra.com
http://www.vigra.com/~hollen
Sr. Software Engineer - Vigra Div. of Visicom Labs San Diego, California
Clinton W Schneider
Dion Hollenbeck <hol...@axel.vigra.com> writes:
>A non-destructive test would be to tap on it with a key. However, you
>have to know the difference between the sounds, but *I* can tell them
>apart this way, you may not be able to without practice on known
>samples.
This method works quite well, but as you say you need to *know* the
difference between the sounds. Attempting to make a small scratch with
mild steel (a key works) is effective.
Shouldn't a pot have the material it is made of stamped on it somewhere?
Also, the question of magnetic and nonmagnetic stainless steel arose:
Stainless steels all have different compositions. This composition is
reflected in the series and number. The most common SS numbers are
3xx and 4xx. Of these, I know that 302, 304 and 321 are non magnetic.
AFAIK there is no a priori method for determining which ones are
magnetic or non magnetic.
--
Clint Schneider
Dept. of Physics
Clemson University
Rayvil
I'm no metallurgist, but high grade stainless isn't magnetic. Aluminum
is definitely not magnetic. So, a magnet test isn't going to tell you
anything. Marine-grade Aluminum looks an awful lot like Stainless. Most
of the tests I know of for metal determination include grinding wheels.
Years ago, Aluminum wouldn't spark when hit with a grinding wheel.
Stainless will. But, with the modern alloys, I'm not even sure that's
foolproof. To be sure, I'd take it to a local welder.
Bag Man
Paul R. MARTIN
Clinton W Schneider wrote:
>
>
> Shouldn't a pot have the material it is made of stamped on it somewhere?
>
> Also, the question of magnetic and nonmagnetic stainless steel arose:
>
> Stainless steels all have different compositions. This composition is
> reflected in the series and number. The most common SS numbers are
> 3xx and 4xx. Of these, I know that 302, 304 and 321 are non magnetic.
> AFAIK there is no a priori method for determining which ones are
> magnetic or non magnetic.
> --
> Clint Schneider
> Dept. of Physics
> Clemson University
You would think that most of the pots, Corny kegs and 15.5 gal kegs
would have the material stamped on them, however none of my Corny kegs
have any material designations stamped on them, the 15.5 gal keg, which
I received free from the local police after it was abandoned, only
indicated the brewer.
With everyone's help and using all the suggestions, I have determined
that this keg IS a stainless steel keg, yeah!!!
And learned a whole lot about stainless steel in the process....
Thanks to everyone!
Paul Martin
Austin, TX
(5 l. German keg for sale)
Marc Shapiro
Paul R. MARTIN wrote:
>
> Is there any easy way to determine whether it is aluminum or stainless
> steel?
>
> Is one magnetic and the other not?
Stainless, like *any* product made of iron will attract a magnet.
Aluminum, like any *non-iron* product, will not.
--
Marc Shapiro mn.sh...@mindspring.com
Visit 'The Meadery' at:
http://www.mindspring.com/~mn.shapiro1/index.html
http://www.geocities.com/Paris/1265/index.html
"If you drink melomel every day, you will live to be 150 years old,
unless your wife shoots you."
--Dr. Ferenc Androczi, Winemaker of the Little Hungary Winery
Dion Hollenbeck
>> Marc Shapiro writes:
MS> Paul R. MARTIN wrote:
>>
>> Is there any easy way to determine whether it is aluminum or stainless
>> steel?
>>
>> Is one magnetic and the other not?
MS> Stainless, like *any* product made of iron will attract a magnet.
WRONG, WRONG, WRONG!!! Most stainless steels are non-magnetic, or the
attraction is so small as to be unmeasurable by your body.
Yes, there are magnetic stainless steels also but magnetism is not a
way to tell aluminum from stainless across the board.
Robert A.
Marc Shapiro <mn.sh...@mindspring.com> wrote:
>Paul R. MARTIN wrote:
>>
>> Is there any easy way to determine whether it is aluminum or stainless
>> steel?
>>
>> Is one magnetic and the other not?
>Stainless, like *any* product made of iron will attract a magnet.
>Aluminum, like any *non-iron* product, will not.
>--
>Marc Shapiro mn.sh...@mindspring.com
This is plain and simply incorrect!
Many forms of stainless steel, including the type 300 forms, are NOT
affected appreciably by a magnet
Type 304 stainless is widely used in the manufacture of pots, kegs and
other items... a magnet will NOT stick to it.
I manufacture ring perches for hawks and falcons from 304 stainless
steel, my corny kegs are stainless and my brew pot is stainless. A
magnet ignores them all.
Robert A.
Electronic Digital Scales For Sale CHEAP at
http://www.calweb.com/~robertac
--- All in a days Wort ----
Due to high numbers of JUNK MAIL I have been forced to
change my "reply too" address.
E-mail replies should be sent to ROBE...@CALWEB.COM
Nate Sornborger
Marc Shapiro <mn.sh...@mindspring.com> wrote:
>Paul R. MARTIN wrote:
>>
>> Is there any easy way to determine whether it is aluminum or stainless
>> steel?
>>
>> Is one magnetic and the other not?
>Stainless, like *any* product made of iron will attract a magnet.
>Aluminum, like any *non-iron* product, will not.
>--
>Marc Shapiro mn.sh...@mindspring.com
> Visit 'The Meadery' at:
> http://www.mindspring.com/~mn.shapiro1/index.html
> http://www.geocities.com/Paris/1265/index.html
>"If you drink melomel every day, you will live to be 150 years old,
>unless your wife shoots you."
>--Dr. Ferenc Androczi, Winemaker of the Little Hungary Winery
Apparently you aren't a metalurgist.
Austenitic stainless is not magnetic this includes 200 and 300 series.
Ferritic and Martensic are and they fall in the 400 series.
Anything having to do with cooking, kegging, brewing and non-specialty
industrial will be 200 or 300 series.
Nate
Mark S. Fitton
In article <5eks8t$o...@ganesh.mc.ti.com>, Nate Sornborger says...
> Marc Shapiro <mn.sh...@mindspring.com> wrote:
>
> >Paul R. MARTIN wrote:
> >>
> >> Is there any easy way to determine whether it is aluminum or stainless
> >> steel?
> >>
> >> Is one magnetic and the other not?
>
> >Stainless, like *any* product made of iron will attract a magnet.
> >Aluminum, like any *non-iron* product, will not.
>
> >--
> >Marc Shapiro
>
> Austenitic stainless is not magnetic this includes 200 and 300 series.
> Ferritic and Martensic are and they fall in the 400 series.
> Anything having to do with cooking, kegging, brewing and non-specialty
> industrial will be 200 or 300 series.
>
> Nate
wrong. His punishment? Have another home brew. On second thought I'll
take that punishment. Why not, its Friday afternoon.
--
PLEASE READ. If you e-mail me, please remove the word REMOVE from
my address. It is there to thwart e-mail stripping programs, which
strip addresses from Usenet posts. I truly apologize for any
inconvenience this may cause. PLEASE READ.
Mark
L.Wadzinski
In article <330A11...@tfc.net>, "Paul R. MARTIN" <prma...@tfc.net> says:
>
>JOE BOB wrote:
>>
>> In article <33068D...@tfc.net>, prma...@tfc.net says...
>> >
>> >I found an old 15.5 gal shiny metal keg (the rounded side kind) which
>> I
>> >would like to cut open and use as a brew pot.
>> >
>> >steel?
>> >
>> >Is one magnetic and the other not?
>> >
>
>stick to aluminum. It's also true that magnetics didn't stick to my
>stainless steel Corny kegs either. Try this and let me know if anyone
>else finds this to be true.
>
>Now I'm totally confused..... I went to the store with a magnet and went
>down aisle of the stainless steel brew pots. I discovered that the
>magnet will stick to most stainless steels but will not stick to 304
>stainless steel. Again anyone chime in.
>
>So do any of you hobby-metallurgists have any hints on how I can tell
>whether a keg is stainless steel (including 304) or aluminum?
>
>
>Paul Martin
>Austin, TX
>
>(for sale 5 liter mini-keg system)
stainless steels have a very high carbon content, and sre not
magnetic, while other softer stainless steels are ,somewhat
magnetic. Not a good test.
Rayvil
This thread has got my interest. So, I called the local Budweiser
distributer. He said most current in-use kegs are straight sided, and
stainless. Older kegs, that are rounded, are LIKELY to be Aluminum. Even
then, there's no guarantee. The current Bweiser kegs are 304, Austinetic
SS in the body, with 340 on the handle portion. Austinetic SS is
definitely not magnetic.
Bag Man
Michael Gleason
> >would like to cut open and use as a brew pot.
>
> >Is there any easy way to determine whether it is aluminum or stainless
> >steel?
>
> >Is one magnetic and the other not?
>
> side.
>
If you could measure the wall thickness of the keg and estimate the
overall surface area, you could determine the density of the material
to make the keg. I don't have the densities of the two materials at
home, yet they can be found in any Machinery's handbook. If you don't
plan to cut the keg open, this becomes a little more complicated.
There is probably some chemicals that will react oxidize with Aluminum
that will not react with stainless steel. Don't know which chemicals
could help determine this, and maybe someone with a chemistry background
could shed some light on this.
Good luck
gal...@sperry-sun.com
sornb...@ti.com (Nate Sornborger) wrote:
>Austenitic stainless is not magnetic this includes 200 and 300 series.
>Ferritic and Martensic are and they fall in the 400 series.
>Anything having to do with cooking, kegging, brewing and non-specialty
>industrial will be 200 or 300 series.
>Nate
I agree with Nate in general with the following caveat: 400 series
stainless is what you typically get when you buy a cheap stainless
kettle. When I read in this group: "I just bought a great stainless
kettle at Walmart for $30!!", I cringe.
My buddy bought a $30 stainless steel kettle at Walmart and we brewed
two batches of metal ale with it (horrible stuff). After getting
educated I learned that it was 400 series stainless, which is not
recommended for food service in an acid environment. Good pots are
almost always 304 stainless. But you pay for them.
Tom
Philip Thornton
Message <21 Feb 1997 03:46> Marc Shapiro (3:800/846.13) wrote to All:
MS> Stainless, like *any* product made of iron will attract a magnet.
MS> Aluminum, like any *non-iron* product, will not.
Low grade stainless steel is magnetic. High quality stainless steel will
not attract a magnet. Here the kitchen sink does not attract a magnet where
most of my cutlery does. You should be able to tell the difference in its
appearance. Aluminium is considerably lighter than stainless steel.
Phil..
ptho...@sawasdi.apana.org.au
fidonet Philip Thornton 3:800/846 files to fi...@sawasdi.apana.org.au
Requests to ftp...@sawasdi.apana.org.au email ptho...@sawasdi.apana.org.au
Phi
Ben Walsh
I would have thought that anything with a high iron content (such as
stainless steel) will attract a magnet, whatever the grade of the steel.
Aluminium has a very characteristic look to it - it's a pale, whitish
sort of colour and will be lighter in weight.
Matthew Karpinski
In article <3316AC...@iona.com>, be...@iona.com wrote:
This is deifinitely not true. If it were, the SS Dewars that encase the 4
superconducting electromagnets in my lab would all self destruct quite
quickly.
Some SS is ferromagnetic, some is not.
> I would have thought that anything with a high iron content (such as
> stainless steel) will attract a magnet, whatever the grade of the steel.
>
> Aluminium has a very characteristic look to it - it's a pale, whitish
> sort of colour and will be lighter in weight.
>
> Philip Thornton wrote:
--
The opinions stated are those of the author. Nobody else.
Matthew Karpinski ka...@ccwf.cc.utexas.edu
MS
Ben Walsh wrote:
>
> I would have thought that anything with a high iron content (such as
> stainless steel) will attract a magnet, whatever the grade of the steel.
>
> Aluminium has a very characteristic look to it - it's a pale, whitish
> sort of colour and will be lighter in weight.
>
> Philip Thornton wrote:
> >
> >
> > MS> Stainless, like *any* product made of iron will attract a magnet.
> > MS> Aluminum, like any *non-iron* product, will not.
> >
> > Low grade stainless steel is magnetic. High quality stainless steel will
> > not attract a magnet. Here the kitchen sink does not attract a magnet where
> > most of my cutlery does. You should be able to tell the difference in its
> > appearance. Aluminium is considerably lighter than stainless steel.
> >
> > Phil..
> > ptho...@sawasdi.apana.org.au
> >
> > fidonet Philip Thornton 3:800/846 files to fi...@sawasdi.apana.org.au
> > Requests to ftp...@sawasdi.apana.org.au email ptho...@sawasdi.apana.org.au
> > Phi
Geez, who cares, as long as the beer tastes good!
--
Don't rush me....... Ya rush a miracle man, ya get rotten miracles.
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