Why You Should Upgrade from Aluminum to Stainless Steel Storage Canisters

The most important consideration when choosing a storage container for herbs, buds, and dried flowers is the material that the container is made from. We contend that stainless steel is greater than aluminum in a number of ways when it comes to storing your plant materials. Read on for some of the leading reasons to ditch your aluminum stash containers and upgrade to stainless steel canisters.

Ratio of Strength to Weight

Aluminum is weaker than steel, and it’s also lighter. Cars and airplanes are made from aluminum to keep their weight low. Aluminum is nearly one-third of the weight of stainless steel, so when choosing between aluminum and stainless steel, ask yourself what’s more important – low weight or higher strength.

Thermal Conductivity

Aluminum conducts heat better than stainless steel. That being said, stainless steel will protect whatever is inside of it for it from heat much more effectively. Aluminum starts to lose its form at temperatures as low as 400 degrees. With stainless steel, your contents are better protected from damage by temperature, meaning they stay fresh and retain their potency.

Electrical Conductivity

Aluminum conducts electricity. Stainless steel containers protect whatever is inside them from damage caused by rogue electric currents.

Strength

Stainless steel is stronger than aluminum and will stand up to more pressure. Where aluminum will become crushed by heavy pressure, stainless steel retains its form, its strength, and its ability to protect whatever is inside.

Cost

Stainless steel costs more than aluminum because it is a superior product in many ways. While you can spend less and get aluminum, the old adage “you get what you pay for,” is true. The quality you get with stainless steel construction is more valuable than the couple of bucks you save by choosing an aluminum container.

Less Chemical Interaction with Contents

Stainless steel is often used to produce products and furniture for kitchens and other areas where food will be handled. The one area where chefs sometimes prefer aluminum as cookware because of aluminum’s ability to conduct and hold heat. However, you don’t want your plant flower container to retain heat. Too high of a temperature and the contents could suffer damage.

Stainless steel is well known for not being affected chemically by the food it touches and also for not affecting the flavor, smell, or look of the food it touches. This kind of chemical effect can happen with aluminum or copper containers used to store flowers, buds, and spices. Aluminum is much more likely to have an effect on your precious contents than stainless steel will.

How can metals like aluminum and copper affect your dried plant materials? These types of metals can release the properties of their metals into the herbs and flowers and change how they taste or smell. These metals can also affect how your body processes the herbs.

Stainless Steel Canisters are Superior

In addition to their superiority over aluminum containers, stainless steel containers boast the following:

Resistance to light damage

Stainless steel containers protect plant materials from all sorts of potential damages, including light damage. While many people like to store their herbs in glass containers, stainless steel does a much better job of protecting its contents from light. Obviously, glass is easily breakable as well, which makes it a particular weak container in environments that include a lot of possible dangers.

Resistance to corrosion

Stainless steel is pretty impervious to damage from the elements. This is partially because of what stainless steel is made from iron, nickel, manganese, copper, and chromium. Another factor is that stainless steel is non-porous which aids in its resistance to corrosion. This non-porous quality also makes stainless steel more resistant to mold, bacteria and other tiny contaminants.

CVault: The Best Stainless Steel Canisters

All in all, stainless steel is the premier material for the storage of herbs, spices and plant materials if your goal is longtime freshness, as well as the preservation of smell, taste, and humidity. If you are looking for an effective way to store your plant materials, including isolate and distillate, check out our selection of EVault and CVault stainless steel canisters.