Do you have a black bottom??

[taijidave]

Good day,
A small issue that I find is spit about 50 / 50 with my friends.
Do you clean the bottom of your pans?
I have always left my black for years for heat absorption, some however clean the bottom of their pans until they are shiny as new.
What is your opinion does it make any difference on reducing fuel or time??
Would appreciate your comments or experience,
Cheers
Dave.

 

[petrochemicals]

I should say it would deteriorate in efficiency, due to the thermal resistance of carbon, the thermal conductivity of carbon etc. But as for the difference it actually makes I can't be bothered, mine are the colour they are, the flame is 1000 degrees and the water is 25, so there is a hell of a difference and the thermal absorption is massive, only when the carbon gets thick or the temperatures more even will it really show.

IMHO

 

[cheapeats]

I rub off what I can and leave the rest, Cleaning it back to shiny every 2 or 3 years.

 

[Imagedude]

Never cleaned the base of my pots ever!

 

[John Fenna]

It all depends on how enthusiastic the kitchen fairies are when I dump my pots and pans by the sink when I get home.....
The state of the fire on camp determines how fast the billies boil much more than the colour of the pot

 

[treadlightly]

I leave mine black

 

[Joonsy]

Do you clean the bottom of your pans?
What is your opinion does it make any difference on reducing fuel or time?

Yeah, not cleaning takes zero fuel and time, which is how I like it ATB

 

[DocG]

I tend to keep my gear clean to reduce the transfer of mess when carrying it in my pack.

 

[spandit]

My cast iron starts off black...

 

[Angry Pirate]

I should say it would deteriorate in efficiency, due to the thermal resistance of carbon, the thermal conductivity of carbon etc. But as for the difference it actually makes I can't be bothered, mine are the colour they are, the flame is 1000 degrees and the water is 25, so there is a hell of a difference and the thermal absorption is massive, only when the carbon gets thick or the temperatures more even will it really show.

IMHO

Back in the dim distant, MSR used to recommend leaving the bottom of their pans black to improve heat transfer. I'd always asssumed they'd tested this but I have no idea if they actually did or just thought it sounded like good science.
I've never bothered testing myself. For what it's worth, my titanium mug only cooks on gas so is pretty clean and my other pan set is black-bottomed anyway so I tend to keep it clean and avoid sooty bergan!

 

[xylaria]

There is a scientific equation between how dirty the bottom and bothered I am abou getting it clean equals if I cleanit or not

 

[Tiley]

Dirty bottom is the new black!

Stick with it and be a leader of bushcraft fashion!

 

[Swallow]

If you have a Dishwasher (machine) try that.

 

[John Fenna]

No can do - I only have a dishwasher (human)....

 

[mountainm]

The black is tar. Ethanol removes it easily. No scriubing required. No sticky mess.

 

[xylaria]

Sticking pot in rough sand in a stream and moving it around cleans the crud off.

 

[petrochemicals]

The black is tar. Ethanol removes it easily. No scriubing required. No sticky mess.

That's a good tip, if it gets too thick!

Back in the dim distant, MSR used to recommend leaving the bottom of their pans black to improve heat transfer. I'd always asssumed they'd tested this but I have no idea if they actually did or just thought it sounded like good science.
I've never bothered testing myself. For what it's worth, my titanium mug only cooks on gas so is pretty clean and my other pan set is black-bottomed anyway so I tend to keep it clean and avoid sooty bergan!

carbon as in coal soot etc, stores heat well and transmits it badly, which is why you can walk on hot coals in the old fire walkers trick, but you couldn't on hot steel of the same temperature!

 

[Bindle]

Clean them. Anything else, efficiency, heat transfer etc is just a cover for being lazy. Buy some Brillo pads and get scrubbing

 

[Quixoticgeek]

I have a set of pans for use with my MSR stoves, and an ali set for use with my meths stove, and a zebra for use on the fire. The MSR pans are pretty much clear, any carbon deposit is burned off by the ferocity of the jet blast that is an MSR stove. The meths stove pans aren't old enough to be black yet. The zebra, I've given up hope of it ever being clean on the outside. I scrub it as well as I can, but I concentrate on the inside, and as long as it's not going to make my pack too dirty, don't worry...

J

 

[lou1661]

Clean them. Anything else, efficiency, heat transfer etc is just a cover for being lazy. Buy some Brillo pads and get scrubbing

Why? I'm not lazy, I'm busy. My pans are never scrubed and polished on the outside, however they are not covered in thick loose deposits either. Inside is always clean and sanitised however. People like different things, does not make anyone wrong.

Louis