For a few years now, the storage of cook kits, fire making tools,etc
has defaulted , for many, in the use of zip lock , polyethylene containers
that serve both as sturdy protection of mess items and as a bowl to eat the finished
product out of..
But, for the weight conscious, and the belt-and-suspenders crowd.. the option of not taking along an actual boiling pot, or having a backup pot, is seductive, if risky,,,
For those brave souls ,along with their wind up axes, and glow-in-the-dark sundials,
there is another , unexplored, option..
The Plastipot.
Time for 500 ml of 60f water to come to a full "Really Rollin' " boil:
10 min 30 seconds.
Weight:
68 grams.
Original zip/lock container alone:
52 grams.
(Zip lock is misleading, I didn't use that brand here , just a Walmart buy, dollar
stores might carry them also. In fact ziplock brands containers might not work
due to the non cylindrical bottom thirds that they have.. :0( )
Several boils later… no leaks.
I attribute the 10.5 min boil time to the relatively small burner I purposely
mated the Plastipot with;
For the first few tests , I was trying to prevent flame rollover around
the bottom of the flat pot, and up the sides possibly deforming the container.
I need not have bothered;
As long as you don't go crazy hot, with huge flame , pot will survive..
To help prevent warping of the edge (jutting out of the top of pot , just below screw on lid, directly in line with the rising heat/flames), I reinforced it with a thin "hoop" of aluminum ( I'll be adding a bail through it) and covered that with a few wraps of silicone tape .. I easily picked up the Plastipot using bare hands on the silicon-ed edge while it was boiling .. no squishiness…
All the parts can be gotten locally at WMart and newaromatics.ca (I THINK thats the website.. they sell aluminum screw top cans for storage of health and beauty products…) Plastic container probably under two dollars, about 3 bucks for the aluminum can… The silicone wrist band used to seal the bottom of cut ziplock to
the bottom of screw can is luminous (bought 100 of them at a close out) and curiously starts to glow ,(along with the reinforced top lip of pot) as soon as water gets close to boiling , even without exposure to light, couldn't take a picture though, my phone cam wasn't sensitive enough.
The aluminum containers are lined with a plastic coating.(don't now what it is… Probably full of evil BPA.. I'm sure it can be sanded off, I didn't for these tests..)
I'm sure I can cut down the weight. ( less silicone tape, cut the can down somewhat,etc.)
Incidentally , the 750 ml marker on the container now exactly corresponds to 500 ml
so I guess a full pot would hold 750 ml..
The rebuilding has begun…
