MSR Titan Kettle – Hot Handles

Russ, you can also pick up tubing at hobby shops. They sell it as fuel line for remote control airplanes.

If you don't feel like hunting for the stuff, I have a roll of it that I could snip a few inches off for you. I don't own a Titan so you'll have to estimate how much you need. Shoot me a PM with the length you need and I'd be happy to send you some.

US Plastics has a variety of silicone tubing at reasonable prices. http://www.usplastic.com/catalog/default.aspx?catid=799&parentcatid=856

Thanks everyone for the info and to Shane for offering to ship me some. I hadn't thought about the hobby store. We have one close by that sells gas engines that should carry it.

I just wanted to second the efficacy of the silicone tubing as well as its availability at hobby shops. If the tubing you get ends up not fitting well, the hobby shops carry several different diameters of it. Just bring your handle in and you'll be able to find some that fits.

Please note though, if your flame is anywhere near the handles, the silicone itself can become too hot to touch. It won't be anywhere near as hard to handle as the bare metal alone, but it could still burn if you aren't careful.

Franco and Marc had the easiest solution. Flip the handles up side down (and swap them over so they still lay flat) so you can lift the full Kettle by the top corner of the handles instead of the bottom where it sits in any flame. Why MSR insists on it's current unstable handle orientation is anyone's guess.

No need to wrestle with silicon tubing!

I am looking to buy a bit of silicone tubing for my mug pot handles and I found thisold thread that mentions the following supplier; http://www.usplastic.com/catalog/default.aspx?catid=799&parentcatid=856

Does anyone know the size for this application? Anyone have some spare you'd like to sell?

Mike

Mike, the handles for the MSR Kettle are about .011" so just make sure the interior dia. of the tubing is close to that.
If it is smaller, it is a bear to get on. I used tubing that was about .014 and it still wasn't easy. But well worth the effort in the long run. I never worry about the hot handles anymore.

edited: I also reversed the handles so the wider side was up.

Michael, I just saw your post. What specific pot are you looking to put silicone handle covers on? I have several diameters of tubing, and I would gladly PIF what you need to solve your problem. Send me a PM, or e-mail me: drzooz(at)aol(dot)com

As Sarah mentioned, lots of stuff is already out there. I bought a silicone coffee cup sleeve from Starbucks and cut it into three pieces to use as a pot gripper…weight per each: ~ .2 oz. Conversely, one can buy the purposed GSI silicone pot gripper which works no hassle, no chocolate mess what-so-ever at only .4 oz. Either way, one doesn't have to tear the pot apart to put on some silicone tubing, which may end up being compromised by the heat in the end.

Happy Trails!