Boiling water without a pot.

[2dogs]

Carrying a roll of leather might be the only convient way to do boil water...

You're kidding right? Why would you carry a role of leather rather than a pot or a Nalgene cup or a bucket? Until recently my town had a tannery. It wasn't a place to go to buy an appliance to boil water in. Talk about leaching poisons have you ever worn new leather boots in the rain and found your socks and even your feet have turned the color of your boots. Come on, just carry a small pot. It will weigh a heck of alot less than a roll of leather and it won't poison you.

 

[psy-ops]

Carrying a roll of leather might be the only convient way to do boil water...

You're kidding right? Why would you carry a role of leather rather than a pot or a Nalgene cup or a bucket? Until recently my town had a tannery. It wasn't a place to go to buy an appliance to boil water in. Talk about leaching poisons have you ever worn new leather boots in the rain and found your socks and even your feet have turned the color of your boots. Come on, just carry a small pot. It will weigh a heck of alot less than a roll of leather and it won't poison you.

Yeah, you are right about the chemicals. Although, you can get untreated hide. I have defintely moved toward the pot idea, in my 5 posts after the one I made about carrying the leather.
Thanks

 

[2dogs]

Good choice. A live BF member is better than a preserved BFer.

 

[DOC-CANADA]

Why all this talk about boiling water in a Nalgene container? I think it was in this forum, awhile back, somebody was mentioning stainless steel Nalgene-like water bottles.

I emailed the company yesterday and told them how I planned to use their bottle (water purification in an emergency) and asked them if there was some reason I shouldn't do it, considering the bottle would become hot to the touch and the plastic top would have to be removed. The reply was that they 'supposed in a pinch it could be used this way, but it is not the intended use'. She also reiterated about the bottle getting hot to the touch and the plastic top would have to be removed.

So I ordered one (38 oz - good size to boil water in). You carry water anyway, why not in a stainless steel bottle? As far as I'm concerned, problem solved.

Doc

 

[superc0ntra]

I have several times boiled water in a folded piece of paper. It is no problem since the water, even boiling, cools the paper below ignition temperature.

 

[Pritch]

Why all this talk about boiling water in a Nalgene container? I think it was in this forum, awhile back, somebody was mentioning stainless steel Nalgene-like water bottles.

I emailed the company yesterday and told them how I planned to use their bottle (water purification in an emergency) and asked them if there was some reason I shouldn't do it, considering the bottle would become hot to the touch and the plastic top would have to be removed. The reply was that they 'supposed in a pinch it could be used this way, but it is not the intended use'. She also reiterated about the bottle getting hot to the touch and the plastic top would have to be removed.

So I ordered one (38 oz - good size to boil water in). You carry water anyway, why not in a stainless steel bottle? As far as I'm concerned, problem solved.

Doc

Doc, I very nearly ordered that same container yesterday. I'll look forward to your evaluation once you've received it.

-- FLIX

 

[psy-ops]

Please let us know if it works. My only fear is that it could be too thin for repeated use.

 

[Horse]

I have a 40 oz Kleen Kanteen, which is a very similar product. It has held up well to boiling.

 

[k_estela]

I can tell you, the guyot bottles are perfectly safe to boil in. Here is a picture from a camping trip in PA last month. I boiled water in it all weekend long directly on the fire.

Just make sure not to get the double wall version unless you want an explosion. Take the lanyard off with a leatherman and you're good to go.

 

[TravelerKid]

Before seeing this thread it had never really occurred to me that I don't keep a good (that is, suitable for providing sufficient drinking water) item to boil in - and I actually feel pretty embarrassed about it, considering that I cover my other "worst case" bases pretty well when I'm traveling. But those are all for naught if I can't get clean drinking water! I usually have an average-size metal mug, but that's definitely not sufficient. I'm glad I realized this during some downtime. I've now swapped out my camp mug for a stainless steel bowl with 1L capacity and a D-Ring off one side that's been serving infrequent kitchen duty here for over 20 years (still in tip-top shape).

At first reading through this thread, the Kleen Kanteen or Guyot bottles seemed pretty tempting, but then I looked into their weight - 11oz or 14oz. for 40/48 oz. capacity!? You mean when EMPTY?! Haha, no thanks! I'll keep using my polycarbonate bottles with half that weight and just add the bowl (while losing the weight of the mug) - besides, it's extremely useful to be able to STORE water *and* boil it. On a side note, looking around for metal bottles, I turned up a lot of talk about chemicals leeching out of those plastic ones, and I think I may end up switching to a metal one soon enough for that reason...

Anyway, as someone who lives out of a backpack and nothing more pretty much year-round, weight and space are a big deal, but now that I've thought about it, adding this decent-sized bowl is definitely worth the burden.

 

[Codger_64]

Well, if you trade the heavy nalgene bottles for lighter Gatorade or Powerade bottles, you can better stand the wieght of a boiling pan.

And consider carrying half as much water and replenishing it as needed. Water is dang heavy! Carry two quarts? I don't think so! Well, when I canoe I do in a spigot waterbag. But I wouldn't try to pack with it.

I am still looking for an old fashioned billy can. No luck in the conus so far. I may have to get an Aussie friend to send me one.

Codger

 

[Thomas Linton]

. . .I am still looking for an old fashioned billy can. No luck in the conus so far. I may have to get an Aussie friend to send me one.

Codger

Codger, the German and Swedish militaries have dumped scads of their mess kits on the market. They consist, in part, of a pot with bail handle and smaller pot that serves as a lid. Some are steel and some aluminum. Sportsman's Guide, [not] Cheaper Than Dirt, and eBay are places to find them. $10 should do it, including an alcohol stove and fuel bottle.

When I was a Scout, a No. 10 can (no plastic-lined ones then) and coat hanger did the deed - and a very Aussie solution that is.

Here's a link to a picture of one of the surplus mess kits that's had the NATO OD paint removed and seems to lack the stove and fuel bottle.http://cgi.ebay.com/SWEDISH-MILITAR...ryZ36071QQrdZ1QQssPageNameZWD1VQQcmdZViewItem

I have a whole collection of aluminum pots with bail handles (Some even lock in the upright position for landing.) that I've collected at house sales over the years -- 1 gallon to 2.5 gals. I've passed on the ones that look big enough to boil laundry. I always suspected that bail-handled pots went out of style years ago. Maybe I should buy all I see and give them away here. They cost $.50-$1.00 for the 1 gallon size around here.

 

[Codger_64]

I very much appreciate the tips Thomas. But a true billy is just a bit different. I have a pile of accumulated military and civillian aluminum and stainless pots already. A few pieces are real winners. A bunch is junk. Those swede kit alcohol stoves look good though.

I've found a billy in Australia. But not too sure about the shipping and all. I might have to get a friend in Port Lincoln to buy it and ship it to me. Wish I could just go pick it up. I've been promised a good time shark fishing if I ever make it down that way.

Codger

 

[DOC-CANADA]

Before seeing this thread it had never really occurred to me that I don't keep a good (that is, suitable for providing sufficient drinking water) item to boil in - and I actually feel pretty embarrassed about it, considering that I cover my other "worst case" bases pretty well when I'm traveling. But those are all for naught if I can't get clean drinking water! I usually have an average-size metal mug, but that's definitely not sufficient. I'm glad I realized this during some downtime. I've now swapped out my camp mug for a stainless steel bowl with 1L capacity and a D-Ring off one side that's been serving infrequent kitchen duty here for over 20 years (still in tip-top shape).

At first reading through this thread, the Kleen Kanteen or Guyot bottles seemed pretty tempting, but then I looked into their weight - 11oz or 14oz. for 40/48 oz. capacity!? You mean when EMPTY?! Haha, no thanks! I'll keep using my polycarbonate bottles with half that weight and just add the bowl (while losing the weight of the mug) - besides, it's extremely useful to be able to STORE water *and* boil it. On a side note, looking around for metal bottles, I turned up a lot of talk about chemicals leeching out of those plastic ones, and I think I may end up switching to a metal one soon enough for that reason...

Anyway, as someone who lives out of a backpack and nothing more pretty much year-round, weight and space are a big deal, but now that I've thought about it, adding this decent-sized bowl is definitely worth the burden.

I guess I don't understand your post. You don't want to carry a Guyot bottle (38 oz -weight 12.9 oz.) but you'll carry a Nalgene (?) polycarbonate (32 oz. - weight 7 oz. - so it's not half the weight) plus a stainless steel 1 L bowl? How is that more efficient or is because you're using the bowl to cook with as well? I don't backpack anymore, so most of my clothes still have their labels but for playing in the woods or canoeing, I think the Guyot will do the job, although I haven't received it yet.

BTW, Kevin, thanks for posting that picture. I can't quite tell, when you remove the plastic cap and retaining strap, is the threaded part stainless steel or plastic?

Doc

 

[Thomas Linton]

Ah, there's the rub.

billy can
A coffee can (any clean food can with the lid removed) used to boil water or cook food over a campfire.biodegradable soap

Etymology
There are many theories on the origin of 'billy':

It was derived from the local indigenous language billa, meaning creek.
It was derived from North of England slang 'billy', meaning mate.
A corruption of 'bally': Scots language meaning milk-pail.
Large 'bully beef' cans may have been cleaned out to become the first billys. This became 'bullycans' then 'billycans'.

The 4.5 Litre Trangia Billy Can is ideal for group use. Designed to fit snugly on top of Series 25 Trangia stoves.

(TL: It looks like a bail-handled pot with convexed lower sides. It's for sale in the US.)

billy1
billycan
noun

(Brit & especially Austral)
billies, billycans
1. A metal container with a lid and wire handle, used for carrying and boiling water in, cooking in, or eating and drinking from, especially when camping.

Idiom: boil the billy

Billycan Boiler
I've been waiting to make a set of billycans for a while and have even resorted to eating some strange varieties of tinned fruit in order to get a good range of different cans. This was an idea I remembered from my civil war reencating days when muckets were very popular. However we also used to use the 5kg catering cans of coffee as a boiler for the whole mess as they were smooth sided and looked more authentic.
I know this is a very easy make but even so I didn't manage to get any instructional photos as my camera doesn't have a makro mode.
To make a billy can or boiler you simply need a can, a length of wire, something pointy and sharp (I used the awl on my SAK) and something to bend the wire (depends on how thick it is)
Carefully drill 2 holes opposite each other and then bend the wire through the holes to make a bail. Be careful not to crush the can or stab yourself here please!

And let's not even get inta' the much more common "billy pot."

Soooooooooo, whatdijahavinmind?

 

[Codger_64]

My Australian mate, when simply asked to view the billy, took it upon himself to buy and supply. Now how cool is that?

G'Day Michael, They are the real deal mate should be reasonable quality 5 1/2 inches diameter should be useful, the handles on our Billy's generally have metal handles so we Aussies get to swear a lot when we takes the lids off and providing that handle is not only heatproof but burn proof it should last for your purposes. We use steel tripod over open fire but you blokes likely use gas?? When we make a billy of tea we put in some tea bags in the boiling water and swing it by the wire handle full circle, fast, so lid doesnt come off..but I reckon I wouldnt do that if I was an old Codger mate. I dont think you have Paypal so I did the deal and one coming your way as soon as I receive and I will make sure that 'Newman' in USPS cant jump on it and turn it into a metal plate for you.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=130166069497&ssPageName=ADME:B:EF:US:2

It is a bit larger than some of my cookware, but I will be packing it in a 16' canoe, so size and weight isn't a big issue.

Codger

PS- Apologies for being off-topic. I am scratching my head to come up with a tubing boiling distiller for campfire use.

 

[mewolf1]

Codger

PS- Apologies for being off-topic. I am scratching my head to come up with a tubing boiling distiller for campfire use.

[/QUOTE]

This might work.

 

[Tonie Nichols]

I've boiled water over a campfire in a paper bag. You fill a bag with water and put it on a support structure directly over the fire. Just like the cup mentioned earlier, the water soaking through the bag keeps it from being burned by evaporation and the bad burns down to the edge of the water.

You could throw a handful of lunch bag size bags in your kit and have minimal weight.

 

[DOC-CANADA]

Doc, I very nearly ordered that same container yesterday. I'll look forward to your evaluation once you've received it.

-- FLIX

Hey FLIX,

Finally received the bottle today and I am most impressed. The bottle is quite sturdy so there's no problem in that regard. The threads for the cap are quite large so that stripping of the cap's threads should not be a problem. The lanyard for the cap comes off quite easily, and thanks to k_estela's post, we know that it will do the job, although I have yet to use it. There is a warning on it that it shouldn't be used with hot liquids but that would be because the bottle, itself, will be hot.

Initial impression is that I am more than pleased with it. Also, I probably won't be using it to boil water in, regularly, but in times of need, it readily provides a way to sterilize water that I will have with me because I carry a water bottle anyway.

Doc

 

[Pritch]

Thanks, Doc. It's nice to have that option, and it doesn't take up any more space than the Nalgene I'm already carrying.

Is the thread pattern the same as a Nalgene? That is, will a Nalgene lid or water filter screw onto it?

-- FLIX