Tin can cooking

A

Angus McGunnigl

Joined
May 22, 2002
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I see that some have used tin cans as cheap pots for outdoors cooking.

Are there any health issues when heating up this sort of can ?(1 lb coffee can, soup can, etc) ?

Soldered on bottoms ?
 
Angus McGunnigl said:
I see that some have used tin cans as cheap pots for outdoors cooking.

Are there any health issues when heating up this sort of can ?(1 lb coffee can, soup can, etc) ?

Soldered on bottoms ?
Click to expand...

I have a couple of Civil War replica soldered tin mug/cups. It's heavier duty tin, but the only warning is to make sure you have liquid inside when using directly over the fire...if it dries out, than it will melt the solder; probably not too good for your health, but for me it would ruin two nice camping cookware pieces.

ROCK6
 
i hadn't even thought about the seems coming unsoldered...

i know that alot of the canned foods like soups have a plastic liner that probably isn't too healthy to be boiling food in...
 
^ thats why you burn out the coat in the oven, then coat with vege oil, similar to a cast iron pan.

i use tin can billys all the time. Never had an issue with the seams melting. It should be noted the seams are not soldered with plumbing solder, but tin (if soldered at all, most are triple press crimped and use no solder) , and that the amount of heat you would need to melt the seams is INCREDIBLY high, higher than any cookign temp we see.

hop that helps! :thumbup:
 
That makes sense. I'm updating gear this year and trying to do it on the cheap.

Read a article in backwoodsman about "poorboy camping" and I'm inspired.


Thanks to all who responded so far.
 
BTW the solder that custom makers use for soldering guards to blades is about 95Sn-5AG. This is a food safe solder.I have no idea what they use for cans though some of the coffee can 'soldering ' is resistance welded. Many cans do have a plastic liner which is not made for cooking !
 
I used a side cut canopener, also called a safety can opener, to take the top off a Heiniken can. The 24 oz version. I heat coffee and soup in it over my pop can alcohol stove.
Badge54
 
Angus McGunnigl said:
I see that some have used tin cans as cheap pots for outdoors cooking.

Are there any health issues when heating up this sort of can ?(1 lb coffee can, soup can, etc) ?

Soldered on bottoms ?
Click to expand...

The cans mentioned are not soldered with the very hazardous lead solder. Even my reenacting (early American) tinware is assembled with food safe solder (copper kettles and mugs are lined with tin). I avoid direct high heat with any of my soldered cookware to avoid damage.

The well-seasoned can, shown in the photo below, has been used for years and stays in one of my saddlebags. We just used it the other night for brewing up some tea while inspecting fence around the ranch. Inexpensive, but it does the job. :)
nightfire1hb0.jpg
 
There's some circumstantial evidence of an association between Alzheimer's and aluminium that's been known for a long while, but the jury is very much out. Although you probably get a good dose of aluminium as part of daily living brewing up strongly acidic things in aluminium will get you more. Whether that matters remains to be seen.

None of the evidence so far has proved that aluminium contributes the degenerative changes which cause Alzheimer's disease. However, there is more evidence linking aluminium with this disorder than there is for any other environmental factor. The disease may involve an interaction between genetic and environmental factors.

The majority of older people do not get Alzheimer's disease despite the widespread presence of aluminium in the environment. The risk from increased exposure to aluminium must be small in general terms. At the moment there is no known test which will identify those at risk from Alzheimer's disease and it is not known whether limited aluminium would prevent the disorder or slow down its progression.

Although foods and medicines rich in aluminium additives can be avoided, it must be emphasised that we do not know if they constitute a risk.

Any precise link between Alzheimer's disease and aluminium will remain a mystery for the meantime.



aluminium pan + rhubarb + alzheimers
 
Despite the above I use an aluminium kettle [Trangia]. I recall a change of advice that when using a water bath in your mess tin to heat a can - one should not follow the time honoured tradition of making a brew with the water when you were done. Boswellox to that! I'm sure it aint that which could explain my nut nut. I'd go as far as avoiding extremely acidic things in aluminium, but that applies just as much to my kitchen. 'Till someone does better than show a fairly woolly association that's about as precautionary as I'm going. If I'm in a no choice situation it's going to be way down my list of concerns too.
 
I have used coffee cans to cook in a lot. I don't think any food cans are soldered anymore. If you are worried about plastic just burn the can inside and out, but not too hot; then scrub with steel wool or even a handfull of sand and gravel. There are also lots of other odds and ends that can be used as a pot, check out your local thrift store.
The aluminum-alzheimer's connection is kinda scary, but occasional cooking in your aluminum camp gear won't be a major source. It is more likely you will get aluminum from the food you eat and products you use. Baking powder, Corn meal, anti-perspirants, antacid...all this stuff has large amounts of aluminum in it.
 
i was at a pet supply store a while ago and picked up a 1 .5 litre stainless steel bucket with a bail. haven't had the chance yet to use it over the fire, but i think it will work well as a slightly more expensive version of the coffee can pot.

i also rigged up a nice folding-flat bail on my coffee can (ala:http://woodsdrummer.com/personalgear.html) that was also placed right so that i can could still put the plastic lid on to hold things in the can.
 
When I first read this thread, I thought it was about coffee can stoves - brings back memories of the metalworking merit badge in Boy Scouts.

If you're concerned about the aluminum/alzheimer's link (which I am a little - consider it a healthy respect), I'd say it's still safe to use aluminum cookware, unless you're cooking something acidic (tomato sauce, etc.). pH neutral concoctions shouldn't leach much aluminum out of the can at all. I do remember a six pack of Coke that sat in my parents' pantry for a few years when I was a kid. One day, a few of the cans geysered because the coke had eaten through the aluminum.
 
It's hard to find actualy tinware anymore. Just about everything is aluminum or steel.

The plastic lined cans are that way because theya re made of steel, and it's to prevent them food being contaminate should it rust. Aluminum cans that are coated are usually pop cans, and that's because Coke and the like dissolve uncoated aluminum (makes ya feel good, huh?)

I'm not sure I buy the aluminum-alzheimer's connection. Back in the old days, it was simply called senility, and was expected. It happened even though they didn't use anywhere near the aluminum we do today (it was too expensive refining it back then.

Beauty of it is, if I'm right, there's no problem, if I'm wrong, I won't know it anyway!
 
I lived in Guam for a couple of years. It has about 13 times the national average of Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), sometimes called Lou Gehrig's Disease. It was concentrated in the southern part of the island where the water had aluminum in it.
Scares me. I do use anodized aluminum pots at home, but they are hardly outdoor gear.
 
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