I just thought I'd try a brew from my Trangia kettle after years in storage.... blech it was gopping !

[Silverclaws2]

Any solutions for improving the taste of water boiled in Trangia 27 aluminium kettles?

Yeah after hauling the thing out after a few years of storage I thought I'd better test it in the kitchen than find out in the field to be very glad I did. Not that the kettle was visibly dirty, it wasn't and I did with warm water and soap clean it out as I did with the pans, but that taste was a taste hard to describe ; something between flat and metallic and I don't know what to be a taste I certainly don't remember.

Any ideas on improving the taste or any other solutions?

 

[Watch-keeper]

Give it a good scrub out with scotchbrite and bicarbonate of soda solution to absorb any tastes that may have been left behind, see if that helps.

 

[alphaburner]

Bicarb and vinegar with a little hot water fixes everything. Leave it soak and you'd be amazed at the results.

 

[Glow_worm]

Not at the same time surely? Bicarb = alkaline (cleaning properties), vinegar = acid (cleaning properties) but combined they neutralise and form a pointless sludge?

 

[alphaburner]

Have a google. Common cleaning method. Something to do with the carbon dioxide. Certainly works on frying pans and burnt pots etc. But the bicarb is the main component.

 

[Chris]

I'm afraid the bicarb and vinegar thing is a myth pushed by influencers who think a foaming reaction makes things more effective at cleaning: https://theconversation.com/vinegar-and-baking-soda-a-cleaning-hack-or-just-a-bunch-of-fizz-225177

The mechanical effect of bubbling can be great for some things like cleaning drains, but it doesn't do much for removing smells/alkaline deposits on things.

Using vinegar to clean first, then scrubbing with bicarb afterwards to remove any lingering vinegar and rinsing away with water is supposedly the best way to go.

 

[Glow_worm]

@Chris That's my understanding, one at a time.

Incidentally I don't like eating or drinking out of aluminium, although I admit that a kettle boiling fairly neutral PH water isn't much of a risk.

Even so, there are very smart stainless kettles available straight from China for about the £9 delivered mark which look similar to the Trangia models, fit the Trangia sets and will last forever. My kettle of choice!

 

[Dave Budd]

I had a kelly that wasn't used for a number of years and it tasted a little odd the first time (but it also had spiders living in there, so I was mostly trying to get them out!). I boiled it a few times with changes of water in between and it solved the problem.

I suspect that your problem is two fold: partly any loose aluminium oxides needing to be flushed out from the crevices, but mostly if you are boiling tap water in it. Tap water tastes flat and metallic to me anyway, but it's undrinkable if boiled in aluminium

Try it again with rain water

 

[Foogs]

I'm afraid the bicarb and vinegar thing is a myth pushed by influencers who think a foaming reaction makes things more effective at cleaning: https://theconversation.com/vinegar-and-baking-soda-a-cleaning-hack-or-just-a-bunch-of-fizz-225177

The mechanical effect of bubbling can be great for some things like cleaning drains, but it doesn't do much for removing smells/alkaline deposits on things.

Using vinegar to clean first, then scrubbing with bicarb afterwards to remove any lingering vinegar and rinsing away with water is supposedly the best way to go.

Thank you!

I knew this was tosh but I'd never bothered to find the evidence

 

[Silverclaws2]

Thank you everyone, several washes comprising bicarb of soda and hot water appears to have done most of the job.

Most as in the washes didn't seem to remove a rather neatly shaped crescent of discolouration on the bottom of the kettle to have wondered, what caused that and why are the washes not touching it.

And then it dawned, why that would have been where the plastic bag covered spirit burner rested on the bottom of the kettle, to sort of get this idea the hardy discolouration was likely the result of chemicals leaching out of the plastic bag.

Anyway scrubbing the bottom of the kettle with a paste made up of bicarb and water seemed to have abraded the discolouration out. and yeah and an agreeable test brew seems to have sealed the deal

Was that discolouration the cause of my less than tasty experience, don't know but it's possible as prior to it being stored away it was a new kettle that had not yet been out in the field.

 

[Paul_B]

Not at the same time surely? Bicarb = alkaline (cleaning properties), vinegar = acid (cleaning properties) but combined they neutralise and form a pointless sludge?

You are probably right but that tv programme with the cleaning ladies used to use things like bicarb and lemon juice (jif lemon). Personally I just use Bicarb and water seems good enough for me.

Although nothing gets rid of drinking bladder tube black gunk of death!! I have thrown away a fair few bladders from good brands like platypus and source because I realised there was a feather of black gunk move backwards and forwards in the tube as I drank, despite bicarb and even proper bought cleaning stuff. That was of course until I learnt the trick of keeping bladders in the freezer between use.

 

[Paul_B]

@Chris That's my understanding, one at a time.

Incidentally I don't like eating or drinking out of aluminium, although I admit that a kettle boiling fairly neutral PH water isn't much of a risk.

Even so, there are very smart stainless kettles available straight from China for about the £9 delivered mark which look similar to the Trangia models, fit the Trangia sets and will last forever. My kettle of choice!

Is it likely that the water from a fellside stream is going to be neutral if it is in a peat area? No idea but am curious.

 

[TLM]

Water from a peat bog is going to be slightly acidic and it contains quite a lot of leached brown stuff. If one boils it and waits a bit most of the brown stuff settles at the bottom and the taste gets slightly better too, nowadays I seldom bother. In my teens I spent a lot of time on bogs counting birds and the water did not kill me, in fact I don't remember that any of us got any stomach trouble either.

 

[Tengu]

No, probably acidic.

I favour bicarb...good in old Mango chutney barrels with rotting chutney in them.

 

[Toddy]

Water from a peat bog is going to be slightly acidic and it contains quite a lot of leached brown stuff. If one boils it and waits a bit most of the brown stuff settles at the bottom and the taste gets slightly better too, nowadays I seldom bother. In my teens I spent a lot of time on bogs counting birds and the water did not kill me, in fact I don't remember that any of us got any stomach trouble either.

Sphagnum moss is mildly anti-biotic, anti-bacterial, etc., It's essentially free of pathogens.

 

[Glow_worm]

Is it likely that the water from a fellside stream is going to be neutral if it is in a peat area? No idea but am curious.

As others have said, slightly acidic. Acidic enough to leach aluminium from a kettle into your cuppa during a few minutes of boiling? Probably not. I just don't trust aluminium, it's a bit too reactive for my liking, although I wouldn't have a problem with intact hard anodised.

I'd rather stick with a small stainless kettle which fits the Trangia and doesn't look out of place. Won't melt if it runs dry, won't leach nasties into the water (or food, could cook in it at a pinch...) and will last forever. Unlike aluminium one can remove limescale with brutal methods if needs be. At £8-9 delivered it seems worth it to me.

A tad heavier than aluminium, but if I was worried about weight I wouldn't take a kettle and boil water in the food pan. If I was worried about weight I wouldn't take a Trangia for that matter...

 

[alphaburner]

Well, there you go...every day's a school day.

I do agree with not being a fan of aluminium. Prefer SS for my cooking and drinking utensils.

 

[Glow_worm]

@alphaburner Another advantage, of course, is you can use a stainless scourer for cleaning if you're easily distracted like I am! Or a wire brush in a power tool when you get home if you get really distracted (ok being a bit silly now). The scourer can of course be boiled now and again to sterilise it too...

 

[alphaburner]

I just remember all the chatter about links to Alzheimer’s from aluminium and other issues caused by PTFE. Never saw anything conclusive one way or the other but it made me go SS for all cookware at home and for bushcrafting.

 

[Glow_worm]

Without getting into too far into that discussion, I'll point out a lot of people feel the same way- you'll note most non-budget home cookware is laminated stainless, and ceramic non-stick is replacing older concoctions...