Billy can issue

[Oliver G]

Evening all,

Recently I fried up spam and onion on the smaller dish of the zebra billy can, unfortunately I was using a gas stove and had an area of nuclear hot burnt scoff in the centre. Does anyone know how to dissipate the heat evenly when using a gas stove?

Cheers,

Ollie

 

[tim_n]

Copper base?

 

[Oliver G]

I could get hold of some copper from the workshop, and braze it on to the current can. Thanks for the solution.

 

[copper_head]

What sort of gas stove are you using, some of the 'Pocket Rocket' type clones are more like blowtorches than a cooking appliance...

 

[Perrari]

Turn the heat down and cook it slower.

 

[Oliver G]

Oddly enough I am using the MSR pocket rocket, it does a marvelous job with ORPs but naff with proper cooking. Tried turning the cooker down but it just gave me tepid stew.

 

[tiger stacker]

I fried spam at the other day, yip the gas was low heat shield helped there.

As for cleaning hot soapy stuff with a fair amount of elbow grease.

MSR is a good wee blowtorch though

 

[Oliver G]

Might try with a bit more oil next time. I nice bit of scotchbrite always helps with cleaning, even hexi off a mess tin.

 

[crosslandkelly]

If you can get hold of a flame spreader from an old gas cooker, that should do the job.

 

[spandit]

I read somewhere that to clean really burnt on stuff from a pan, you can put it in the garden for a few days and let the slugs get at it

Do an image search for slug teeth and you'll see why

 

[Joonsy]

When frying just keep the pot continously moving over the flame, don't leave it stationary on the stove but hold it over the flame and keep it moving in a circular motion by hand giving it a little shake.

 

[Goatboy]

I read somewhere that to clean really burnt on stuff from a pan, you can put it in the garden for a few days and let the slugs get at it

Do an image search for slug teeth and you'll see why

That was put forward on Radio 4's Gardeners Question Time a few months ago - made the audience cringe but it works.

 

[ex-member BareThrills]

slow cooking with a low heat works for me with any pan. To clean burned on mess i put a dishwasher tablet in the pan, poor on boiling water and leave for 24 hours. falls off

 

[Bluffer]

As copper_head says, it's your fire that's the problem, change it out for a meths burner and not only will you get an even spread of heat, you'll also be using a 'greener' fuel.

I've been a big fan of hexi in the past, I currently have some firedragon military cooking fuel on pre-order as it is supposedly renewable and non-toxic?

 

[tim_n]

At the moot I cooked pancakes over the pocket rocket. It was fine with a) plenty of butter and b) really low flame. The pan I was using was a very cheap pan - bought as part of a Tesco camp kit for about £1.50 in their sale. The RRP would have been £5-7

Generally I have a titanium 'kettle' which I boil ration packs in. That's pretty much all I use it for (and obviously tea/coffee) normally.

 

[tim_n]

As copper_head says, it's your fire that's the problem, change it out for a meths burner and not only will you get an even spread of heat, you'll also be using a 'greener' fuel.

I've been a big fan of hexi in the past, I currently have some firedragon military cooking fuel on pre-order as it is supposedly renewable and non-toxic?

Takes much longer, I'm impatient - also a can of gas generally lasts me well over a week whereas a meths burner is much less efficient fuel weight for fuel weight.

 

[Gray]

When frying just keep the pot continously moving over the flame, don't leave it stationary on the stove but hold it over the flame and keep it moving in a circular motion by hand giving it a little shake.

+1 to this, i use a little trangia frying pan i've had for years and just keep it moving.

 

[Bluffer]

Takes much longer, I'm impatient - also a can of gas generally lasts me well over a week whereas a meths burner is much less efficient fuel weight for fuel weight.

Yeah fair one Tim (great name BTW!) but any efficient burner (petrol/paraffin/gas) will really kick out some heat, which isn't a good thing if he's trying to lightly fry his dainty wee slices of spam.

Something that is quite an art is finding a pot that is compatible with your choice of fire. I have the trangia stoves in size 25 and 27, which I use with frying pans, zebra billies and a dutchie, I can fry, boil or bake anything using that combo.

If I'm tripping with my oppo and his firebox, I'll just take a Jetboil to keep him adequately beveraged between curries, so I suppose it also largely depends on what your menu looks like?

One thing that always strikes me when tripping is when I see the hardened professional outdoor types (mountain men, soldiers, river guides, etc) and they use a battered old frying pan and kettle with an equally battered old hexi or twig burner, i.e. cheap, nothing fancy and can be used to cook whatever is available in that environment!

Tim

 

[Macaroon]

Stainless Steel will always be the worst possible conductor of heat - Ali is much better but as usual the trade-off is strength and durability. I went to a decent high-st cookshop and bought the smallest de Buyer Blue Steel
frying pan and cut the handle off, just use a pot gripper, and I've never had a moment's trouble.

If you can easily do it and you don't mind the weight, then braze some copper to the bottom as you say and you'll have even dispersal of the heat.........................atb mac