MLD Ti Pot Smells

Anyone had any experience with the pot smell? Is it normal?

I don't have the MLD pot, but I have owned 3 Ti pots (Snow Peak Trek 700, Evernew Ultralight 600ml Short, BPL Firelite 550) and didn't notice a smell with any of them. The MLD pot may be made by the same company as the BPL pot, but I am not 100% sure.

I had got one also when MLD had there sale. I haven't used mine yet so I went to smell it. Mine smells fine.

odd

Thanks for the info Bradford.

And Andy, thanks for checking yours. That's discouraging. I'm in Australia so shipping two ways again wouldn't be cheap.

Has anyone else had one that does smell, and did it ever leave the pot after repeat use? Thanks for all responses so far.

"Anyone had any experience with the pot smell? Is it normal?"

MT- my MLD Ti mug has the same odor that you described. I didn't notice it until this week when I used it for the first time, the odor was still present after two uses on the trail. I only boil water for cooking and didn't notice any transfer taste in my food. I have other Ti pots and no metallic odor with them.

I can't remember whether mine smelled when it was new, but it doesn't smell now. Perfect little pot.

Thanks JJ, glad to hear it doesn't transfer to the food. I'll be using mine just for water also. Makes me feel better knowing I'm not the only one. Thanks for response

Would anyone be concerned about this, or should it be safe?

I would suggest washing any utensil or pot well before first use.

I'm sure they have to use some surface lubricant in the manufacturing process for any Ti pots as it gets pressed into shape for it to release from forms + the name gets lazer etched.

It's also a 'fresh" product and has not sat on a shelf for a long time.

Peace,
Ron

I also just got one from the MLD year-end sale, and just went to check it. I notice the smell also. I'm going to wash it several times before I put it to use on the trail, for sure. As for the coating scraping off like you describe, I haven't washed mine yet, but I'd be interested to hear anyone else's experience with this.

"I can't remember whether mine smelled when it was new, but it doesn't smell now. Perfect little pot."

I agree, it's the "perfect little pot" enough water for my FBC and a hot drink w/o having to do a second boil

Ron, are you back from vacation early? I'm anxiously awaiting my MLD 850 mug (smell or no smell).

In fact, if anyone wants to sell their smelly pot, I'm looking for one for my son's kit…

Thanks everyone for their feedback. And thanks Ron – always nice to get info from the source. Lubrication from the manufacturing process sounds right – that is the kind of smell I am detecting. I washed it in an environmentally friendly dishes detergent, which isn't very tough on fats and oils, so that could very well be it.

I'll try washing it a few times in a heavier duty detergent right now, and post back my results.

No chance on me selling it – it is perfect in all respects bar the odor, which hopefully will shortly be eradicated. Thanks for all the responses people, great responses as always!

When they deep draw sheet metal into forms cups, they will use a lubricant. Try sticking it in your oven for 1 hr at 200F or higher for awhile.
Tom

Michael
I have a smaller pot from the same manufacturer and it doesn't smell, just like all the other Ti bits I have.
So yes,give it a good wash a couple of times and you will be fine.
Nice set up, BTW..
Franco

I washed mine in the dishwasher prior to using, and again after my trip this week. This morning i used a SOS pad and throughly scrubbed the pot.

Odor is gone!

An old veteran once told me that there was nothing better than smelly Ti pot.

Try boiling a quartered potato or potato skins for 30 minutes in the pot.

It's an old timer's trick for cleaning cast iron pots to remove any oils or other residue before seasoning.

The odor is due to manufacturing lubricant. It disappears with use and washing. The MLD 850 and the Caldera UL-1 is my "near perfect" cooking kit. It is light, compact, and efficient. Only 5.5 oz. for the kit including 2 ti stakes, Bic lighter and stuff sack.

Happy Trails.

Mark

Thanks for all the feedback. I tried some of the suggestions.

First thing, I tried washing it in stronger detergent. Thoroughly. This helped maybe 5-10%. Not as much as I had hoped.

Next I tried baking it in the oven for an hour. I had it fairly hot, hotter than suggested – I am in Australia, so it was at 200c. This helped a lot – I could smell the odor while it was "cooking" which I thought was a good sign. After taking it out, and washing it again with detergent, I tested it. I would say this helped around 50% I could still smell the lubricant, but it was a lot better.

Next I tried the boiling a potato trick. I put an oldish potato on with the pot full of water and boiled for about 2 hours, maybe a little more, checking the water level periodically. After I removed the water and washed the pot with detergent once again, I dried and tested. I think this was a great method, the smell was pretty much all gone – I could detect the faintest traces, but it was hard to discern. So for those out there, try this one first. I reckon I was 95% there with this method.

Next on a suggestion from my girlfriend, I rubbed the pot in bicarb of soda, on the presumption that it may just draw out any oils left, and freshen up the pot. I left this overnight, and rinsed it off and dried this morning.

The chemical/lubricant smell is gone. The pot smells clean and fresh. I can still detect some metal smell, but no chemical overtones to it.

So I am declaring my pot safe to eat from. I have been pretty dogged in getting it smelling ok to me, I doubt this is completely necessary on a safety level. Its just important to me that I don't worry about that sort of thing. Thanks again for all your help, I'll be out using this great pot shortly,
regards, MT

This is good news. I haven't used mine yet, but I think I'll cook up some potatoes soon…. Thanks for the research!

I had more or less the same issue with mine.

But I was pretty sure straight away that it was release lubricant.

My guess as to why it seems hard to remove is that it's on the surface on the inside of the rolled edges of the cup and lid, which means you can't mechanically scrub it out; it can only be slowly cooked and/or leached out, which would explain why one scrub and and boil don't do the trick.

You may also notice a very fine oily film on top of the water at first.

FWIW, as soon as I got mine, I scrubbed it hard with detergent and the green scrub sponges, and boiled two full pots of water back to back, and fed the plants with it (cooled of course). Since then, yesterday morning, I've made two cups of coffee and boiled water for oatmeal in Joshua Tree and everything tasted fine.

BTW, I love the pot. The BPL shorty spoon, a small 110 gram canister, and the Ti Trango burner all tuck nicely inside with room to spare to boot!

Mike:

That took a lot of work! Wonder if Ron of MLD would give us his thoughts regarding this smell? He should be back either today (1/4) or tomorrow.

"Wonder if Ron of MLD would give us his thoughts regarding this smell? He should be back either today (1/4) or tomorrow."

Hi Ben,

He did, earlier in the thread.

Oh, I see now. My bad. Thanks.