Bail for Titan Kettle

[Steven Evans]

First time caller, long time listener.

I want to add a bail to my MSR titan Kettle, but other then the obvious drill a hole in each side and loop a wire, does anyone have another(less destructive) way that they have done this. I guess it could be any pot really, not just the Titan Kettle.

Thanks!
Steve

[Russell Swanson]

Doesn't the Titan kettle have handles? Anyway, another BPL poster, David Lewis fashioned a pot grabber, weighing 3 grams, for his Heineken keg can cookpot from a titanium rod (which you can buy from BPL). His original was made from a coat hanger, which should also work for you. You can check it out in this thread: http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/forums/thread_display.html?forum_thread_id=6459

And see details on his site here: http://davidlewis.ca/stove/

[Steven Evans]

"Doesn't the Titan kettle have handles?"

Yes it does, I should have been more specific. I like to hang my pot over the fire (usualy with a stick in the ground) in the evening to boil water/melt snow without using up my fuel. Any creative ideas out there for performing this. I thought that the mechanism was called a bail, I could be mistaken.

[Michael Martin]

Hi Steven-

Here's my setup. I started with a Base Designs 1L pot and removed the handles by breaking the welds. Then I shaped a bail out of a BPL Ti Ultrarod. I punched the holes in the pot with a sheet metal punch, but a small drill bit would work if you don't have a punch. The bail stands up by itself and folds down for storage. It's also easily removable, but I usually just leave it attached. Here's the kicker: The pot+bail+foil lid weights only 2.1 ounces for a 1L pot!

[Sam Haraldson]

Michael – That's some good clean design there. The handle welds appear to come off quite easily. I had to take a Dremel tool to my Snowpeak 900mL!

[D G]

Looks great Michael,

How did you break the welds?

[Michael Martin]

>> How did you break the welds?

Well, I'd like to say it was a highly technical process involving a plasma torch and dental floss…

But the truth of the matter is I pulled hard on the handles and the handle plate just popped off. (From Sam's post, it looks like Snowpeak takes their welding more seriously.)

Cheers,

-Mike

[Sam Haraldson]

Yeah, you can see from the photo that the welds were VERY difficult. I decided to break the last one rather than grind it with the Dremel and I ended up putting a hole in the wall of the pot. A dab of JB Weld fixed this right up however.

[Michael Martin]

Hi Guys. Take a look at Bill Fornshell's thread here. It looks like many of us are thinking along the same lines. (Now if I could only get close to Bill's level of craftsmanship…)

Cheers,

-Mike

[George Matthews]

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What keeps the bail up?

[Lance M]

Steve-
Here are concept pics of a bail added to a pot without drilling holes. It looks like it should work. You might use a small, stiff spring to connect the ends of the ‘girth’ wire, so that it would be easily removable. This pot is a K-Mart Grease Pot (same lid and strainer as Wal-Mart pot but the rim rolls out) but should work on any pot with a rim.

[Steven Evans]

Thanks Guys! Great feedback.

I'm going to give Lances' style try, and if I like it alot, I'll go with a more permanent solution a.k.a. drilling/punching the holes.

Steve

[Michael Martin]

>> What keeps the bail up?

The Ti bail is bent to a larger radius than the pot. So, when installed in the pot holes, there is some spring tension that increases friction in the hole to keep it in place. The shape of the ends of the bail also help this effect.

Cheers,

-Mike

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