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Graham_S

Squirrely!
Feb 27, 2005
4,041
65
50
Saudi Arabia
Strange question, but just to save weight
Does anyone think that a sicone collapsible pot, like these


Could be used to boil water in an emergency?

i got given a camo one for xmas, just wondering because of weight of a trangia mess tin....
While the silicone would take the heat of the boiling water, I suspect that the heat source might do some damage. You could certainly boil by putting heated rocks into it though.
I know you can boil water in a paper bag, but I don't think the silicone would transfer heat fast enough to prevent damage to the pot.
 

Jared

Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
Sep 8, 2005
3,389
640
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Wales
Strange question, but just to save weight
Does anyone think that a sicone collapsible pot, like these


Could be used to boil water in an emergency?

i got given a camo one for xmas, just wondering because of weight of a trangia mess tin....

Seen some carry a smashed flat disposable foil baking pan. Though imagine even the aluminium will melt if boils dry.
 

neoaliphant

Settler
Aug 24, 2009
735
225
Somerset
While the silicone would take the heat of the boiling water, I suspect that the heat source might do some damage. You could certainly boil by putting heated rocks into it though.
I know you can boil water in a paper bag, but I don't think the silicone would transfer heat fast enough to prevent damage to the pot.

Thaks for the reply
Ive currently got a poundland tiffin pot for munchie/skittles storage, and was thinking about swopping it for the silicone collapsible pot, might stick with tiffin pot in this case, so can use as emergency billy pot/mug, saw articles on naturalbushcraft about this. I do love poundland camping section.

@Jared I do have foil in kit,

might use tiffin pot, nails as pot stand and vaseline+tampon/hexamine with foil windscreen as my ultra lightweight last resort stove kit......

Thanks folks.
 
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neoaliphant

Settler
Aug 24, 2009
735
225
Somerset
Going to use @Jared idea of foil, did some testing with poundland tiffin, while it makes a good mini bowl, the enamel bubbles off alarmingly

made a little monkeyboy stove out of a metal nivea pot and did some testing
with same water/pot ( the tiffin), all with fuel filling the nivea pot including roof insulation

Roof insulation + petroleum jelly, good, lasted about 18mins, lots of soot on pot, brought water to boil in 10

Roof insulation + Meths, ran dry after 7, luke warm water, cant see why people like meths, expensive and large volumes need

Roof insulation + hand sanitiser, think ive got the wrong sort, only vaguely flamable and kept going out

Roof insulation +parafin and inferno then went out after 10 mins, slighlt hotter than petroleum jelly but vast black smoke clouds, looked very post apocalyptic.

going to try pot + waxed soaked makedup pad biscuits
and also hexamine powder in the tin,

conclusion so far: meths sucks, but is stealthy
Petroleum jelly gets on everything.
some hand sanitisers are more equal than others
 

Minotaur

Native
Apr 27, 2005
1,600
232
Birmingham
made a little monkeyboy stove out of a metal nivea pot and did some testing with same water/pot ( the tiffin), all with fuel filling the nivea pot including roof insulation

That a clever idea. Not seen that kind of stove before done in that way. Which tin did you use? Any chance of some pictures?

Roof insulation + petroleum jelly, good, lasted about 18mins, lots of soot on pot, brought water to boil in 10
You could not use that in the wild repeatedly it would drive you nuts.

Roof insulation + Meths, ran dry after 7, luke warm water, cant see why people like meths, expensive and large volumes need
Meths is £9.99 for 2 litres. Petroleum Jelly at 284g is £3.50 not sure the price comparison works. We like meths because you use to be able to get it anywhere and it a cheap fuel. Also most of us actually use BIOETHANOL Fuel which might be worth trying.

Roof insulation + hand sanitiser, think ive got the wrong sort, only vaguely flamable and kept going out
Hand sanitiser is 70% alcohol and I think the rest might be water. Try the Bioethanol fuel which I think is pure alcohol.
 

neoaliphant

Settler
Aug 24, 2009
735
225
Somerset
I got 284g pot for 79p i think of petroleum jelly
and it seemed a tiny amount, perhaps 3 or 4 sucarcube volume lasted 18mins

im guessing about 10ml of meths used which didnt last 8 mins,

did it all as a test mostly as i had some meths left over from when i had an alcahol stove in my alocs, never really got one with it, like the trangia stoves, was a bit bulky.

aim for current exercise was to find a tiny stove, but even better for the fuel to be multipupose item.
hence petroleum jelly as i use that in my tinder anyway,
also its only for emergency use, so soot/smoke isnt really an issue...

the next kit size up has a small esbit and ive got quite a lot of hexamine left
i could warrant some hexamine in my survival pouch kit, as featured above, as its dual pupose being a flame extender etc.

i was wondering for the future about getting dragon gel, i see its also a hand sanitizer

i think if i bought some more hand sanitizer, when we have litres of it already, just to burn things with by my shed, my wife might raise eyebrows....

will report back after more experiments....
might try the foil pot idea as well

im using 3 long nails as a pot stand over the stove, that seems to be working great

the nails are also multipurpose- frog gig, shelter, trident, pitons for climbing, just need a 10ft pole...goes with the grappling hook....
 

neoaliphant

Settler
Aug 24, 2009
735
225
Somerset

Here is the nivea pot
its 5cm wide

picture shown is just normal cotton wool and vaseline

using loft insulation, it doesnt char and burn up so easily, still easy to light, seems to wick various fuels well.

did a test today using makeup cotton pads soaked in wax, very hot and big flame but only lasted 5 mins, i reckon 2 could fit in nivea pot, , remove one light the other then swop over when it goes out...

so wax/cottonpad similar to petroleum jelly, less likely to leak when hot.

next up is the cardboard spiral and wax in tealight holder......

while interesting to compare, im thinking gratuitous for survival kit, perhas for survival pouch instead of hexamine/esbit stove....perhaps...

i do like the idea of getting dragon gel in the future tho...


ive just made a mini fire kit for survival kit, its basically some matches stuff in to a lngth of straw, candle, straws of vaseline ends sealed, straw of hexamine, a tampon, ferro rod, all bundled together in a long ranger band so keyring of ferro rod could be used to atach it all
if anyones interested can upload photos....
 
Last edited:

moocher

Full Member
Mar 26, 2006
642
97
49
Dorset
On subject of small stoves won’t fit into a tin but it’s small
 

Minotaur

Native
Apr 27, 2005
1,600
232
Birmingham
Neoaliphant,
Some links that may be of interest. I am going tin shopping I think as I have an idea for a stove however not sure it will work. The really interesting comment is in Making a stove on the trail in which he uses what he carries to make a stove and he gets different burn times from meths in the same stove, the difference is how close the stove is to the pot.

Stove Build Part 1
Stove Build Part 2
Making a stove on trail

I do wonder if you could make a version of the Cat Can Stove from a tin like you have used keeping all the holes in the lid area.

BCB FIREDRAGON MINI COOKER looked interesting however it also look a pain to carry.
 

neoaliphant

Settler
Aug 24, 2009
735
225
Somerset
On subject of small stoves won’t fit into a tin but it’s small
i saw that not long ago, got me thinking about diying something
my esbit is 39 years old now and going strong so didnt want to replace, might use nivea pot with dragon gel in the future once my hexamine is used up. just had the urge recently to compare fuels.....
 
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Jared

Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
Sep 8, 2005
3,389
640
50
Wales
On subject of small stoves won’t fit into a tin but it’s small

BCB make a mini version of their tabs that would. Comes in aluminium foil tin which can apparently use as the stove. Though whilst can see use as a fire starter, not sure about heating food/water with them.

 
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neoaliphant

Settler
Aug 24, 2009
735
225
Somerset
Neoaliphant,
Some links that may be of interest. I am going tin shopping I think as I have an idea for a stove however not sure it will work. The really interesting comment is in Making a stove on the trail in which he uses what he carries to make a stove and he gets different burn times from meths in the same stove, the difference is how close the stove is to the pot.

Stove Build Part 1
Stove Build Part 2
Making a stove on trail

I do wonder if you could make a version of the Cat Can Stove from a tin like you have used keeping all the holes in the lid area.

BCB FIREDRAGON MINI COOKER looked interesting however it also look a pain to carry.

Thanks for the links
I saw something similar which is where i got my idea from
i didnt have the mesh, which could be one problem, and i could raise the stove up higher as you say.

main thing is wanted to see the smokyness and output for similar volumes.

tempted to get a large container of dragon gel, decant it in to small squeeze tubes like this

and use it as combi hand sanitizer and fuel for nivea stove, and when have larger pack on my, nivea can go inside normal esbit...

nice set of tubes for sunblock, witchhazel etc....


looks like blacks have 1L of dragon gel for £4....
 
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MikeeMiracle

Full Member
Aug 2, 2019
315
166
47
Northampton
Mrs has been buying baby food packs for our little one like the ones in the link below. Was looking at it and thought "It's resealable, foil on the inside, folds up small like a piece of paper....im having that as an emergency water carrier for the survival kit." Each one holds about 1/2 a pint but the fact it weighs and folds down next to nothing makes it a no brainer as we are just throwing them away anyway.

 

neoaliphant

Settler
Aug 24, 2009
735
225
Somerset

just done a test using tealight, rolled up cardboard soaked in wax

took a while to get lit and get burning but then did very well, no excess soke round the sides, much hotter bubbling boil after 10 mins than the otehrs, and only half used up by that point.

remarkably well....
 
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