Zebra Billy can problem

[R3XXY]

Anyone else had this problem with their Zebra billy ?

I've only used it twice !

 

[forrestdweller]

what happened to it?!
i have mine since dec. 2009-it once fell of my bikehandle onto the road(and has a dent to show for it....)-it has seen many miles and god-knows-how-many campfires but it still goes strong....

 

[R3XXY]

Nothing happened to it, it just seems to have warped from heat I suppose. it can't have got damaged in my pack because I always pack it with the metal bowl in the top and the lid on, both of which are fine.

Maybe it didn't like the extra heat from the Wild Stove, if I had kept the receipt I would be sending it back.

 

[Ecoman]

Looks like it has been sat on. I have the same billy can and it is in my rucksack on every outing I do, currently 3 - 4 per week. Mine is stuffed in my rucksack, in a bag with its lid on with a tea towel stuffed inside it. My rucksack is not empty as I'm trying to shed some flab and I have the thing full to the top with kit to make me work harder. It has never so much as distorted. How did yours get like that?

 

[PeterH]

Just my opinion but I am afraid that whether you packed it with bowl in or not it came out when that appears have been severely crushed. Heat would expand it not tear through the rolled rim.

 

[Ecoman]

I agree peter, that's crushing damage, not heat distortion.

 

[R3XXY]

As far as I know i haven't sat on it, but I suppose that's the nature of mistakes and accidents, if we knew we were making them they wouldn't be mistakes or accidents.

Thing is the crack started out small, and only on one side, then spread, and the distortion got worse too.

Guess I'll just have to get another one, does anyone make a non stick billy ?

 

[Ecoman]

Personally I would stick with the Zebra as it by far the best I have found so far. They are tough and solid and can take direct heat from the embers of a fire. I like the fact they are not coated as there is less chance of it being scraped off with a metal utensil. You can soon bring them back to a good shine with a green scouring pad.

 

[British Red]

Try the Tatonka kettle range (they are billies), more useful lids, wider base....generally better

 

[Midnitehound]

Try the Tatonka kettle range (they are billies), more useful lids, wider base....generally better

+1 for the Tatonka, great bit of kit. I have the 2.5 litre. It is big enough for two and wide so makes for easy cooking. Easy to stir, less likely to burn at the bottom, the lid can be used to fry, the bail locks upright, excellent. The 1.6 litre is good for solo.

Cheapest I have found is Amazon: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Tatonka-Sta...e=UTF8&qid=1387423755&sr=1-3&keywords=tatonka

 

[Fin]

+2 for the Tatonka kettles. I never really got on with the zebras - limited frying options and too much burnt on food at the bottom of the pot. I've not tried the 2.5L but I have a 1L nested inside a 1.6L and this covers all bases - bake, fry, boil, braise - for up to two people. I like how my entire 'kitchen' (cleaning gear, fire gear, stove, utensils, condiments and brew kit) all nest in the 1.6L.

 

[rik_uk3]

+3 for the Tatonka range. http://www.amazon.co.uk/Tatonka-Sta...e=UTF8&qid=1387455608&sr=8-3&keywords=tatonka

 

[garethw]

Yes me too for the Tatonka 1.6L... I can get my little kettle in it and it fits in the side pocket of my pack. Since I got it I've hardly used the Zebra, which I find too tall and narrow. The Tatonka is better for cooking especially if I have my son with me. Add a couple of Crusader cups and the Zebra is pretty redundant.
cheers
Gareth

 

[woof]

I have i think the iltr tatonka one ,but do find it to small & to me anyway awkward to use compared to the 12cm zebra, maybe i "need" to get a 1.6 one...

Rob

 

[John Fenna]

I use charity shop seamless stainless steel coffee or biscuit tins with wire coat-hanger bails....

 

[Fin]

I have i think the iltr tatonka one ,but do find it to small & to me anyway awkward to use compared to the 12cm zebra, maybe i "need" to get a 1.6 one...

Rob

Yep! I do find that the two together increase the versatility of each - if that makes sense. For example you can bake bannock/ bread/ muffins in the 1L placed inside the 1.6L which becomes a mini dutch oven. Aside from that, my 1L tends to be for liquids (brews, soups etc) or the sauce pot for rice/pasta dishes, whilst the 1.6L is used for pretty much everything else - 'real food', washing/ shaving, storage canister, frying pan, oven. I wouldn't be without either now.

 

[decorum]

Had a stainless steel cup go like that a couple of years back, not heated by more than boiling water and was protected by the bottle it easily, but snuggly, fit under ~ rather than being crushed, the distortion's likely caused by the rolled lip trying to straighten out .

I noticed a _very_ slight distortion in my cup and then watched the crack form in the lip and watched, over a period of 24hrs or so, the crack develope and split ~ but for it killing a nice bit of kit it was quite cool to watch the process

Have you been in contact with the retailer and, if so, what have they said?

 

[R3XXY]

I was at the retailer today buying a 1L and a 1.6 L Tatonka pot so I'm glad to see so much praise for them.

I haven't got a receipt for it so I don't know if they'd give me a refund.

I got mine from Pro Adventure in Llangollen, awesome little shop, I highly recommend it, nice people and they have loads of proper kit, also the biggest selection of Grandfors Bruks axes you'll see anywhere.


Glad to see someone else has seen the same phenomenon. The crack definitely got bigger with time, I think I will very likely have kept mine over the heat for much longer than other people who have posted in this thread, both times I was making a hot pot and had a fierce rolling boil going for at least an hour each time.

 

[Macaroon]

You do NOT need a reciept to get a refund/replacement according to the law............you can take it to the retailer and get your rights without one, as people who, e.g., have to return a present have to for the most part.

 

[PeterH]

Actually you do need "proof of purchase" and the contract of sale is with the purchaser not the recipient of the gift.

http://sogahub.tradingstandards.gov.uk