Silicone Tubing for Pot handles

[DGoggins]

I saw this picture ->

from here ->
http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/forums/thread_display.html?forum_thread_id=92205

And think it would be a really nice addition to my snow peak 700.

I contacted the poster and he said he found it at home depot but didn't remember the make or what section of the store it was at.

I have not been able to find any silicone tubing at Home Depot or Lowes…

I do see tubing online but in like 50' rolls….anybody know a good source for just 1-2 feet? Or maybe a different material?

[jimmy b]

Try McMastercarr.com They have a lot of materials for all kinds of projects. You will like them.

jimmyb

[Manfred]

John,

I got 8 foot Silicone Airline Tubing for $3.49 at my local Petsmart. That diameter worked perfectly on my Snowpeak 600.

Manfred

http://www.petsmart.com/supplies/air-pumps-air-stones/top-fin-8-foot-silicone-airline-tubing-zid36-5098501/cat-36-catid-300087?_t=pfm%3Dsearch

[Franco Darioli]

some of those handles are rather difficult to remove .
If you have not done so already try just leaving the handles apart when boiling/cooking.
They don't get all that hot that way.

(you can use the kitchen stove to test this…)

[Aaron D]

John,

I thought I got it at HD, now I remember..it was Amazon. This is the exact item I purchased for that SP900 pot.

[Jim H]

nvm

[DGoggins]

Thank you very much…either option looks great. (the petco or the amazon).

Though, the petco is 1/8" interior diameter, the amazon is 3/32" (I'm assuming they mean interior diameter).

The petco is cheaper and you get a lot more of it…and its local so I think I'll try that route.

I was able to get the snow peak handles off without too much effort, so that is good.

[DGoggins]

So, I went to my local non-bigbox pet store (zamzows in the Boise area), and they had silicone tubing for fish tanks for 20 cents a foot, cut to order!

I initially was trying to push the tubing using soap/water as a lubricant, but it was too difficult. Then…sprayed some silicone into the tube, and the difference was night and day. Still had to work it on but only took about 30 seconds.

While I was at it I also reversed the handles so the larger section was skyward..not sure why they didn't come like that.

Anyway, I now have heat resistant handles for about a 2-3 gram penalty.

[John Eyles]

Funny, the comments on those Amazon links mostly talk about people using it for just this purpose. Small world.

I wonder if it'd be better to go for the 3/32" or 1/8" I.D. ? My cruddy calipers show the diameter of my pot handles (Evernew 1.3-liter) as somewhere in the 0.100-0110" range. Thoughts on how close I can get the fit, from those who've tried it ?

[Randy Welch]

It's used as fuel line on R/C planes and cars….

[Marshall Uhl]

Thanks to this thread I just did this quickly and easily. Silicone tubing from the aquarium department at PetSmart, $3.50. Additional weight for each pot: less than 2g.

I left the tubing off the bottom of the handles, where they receive the most heat and won't touch your fingers when handling. I think this will be good especially for alcohol stoves that you can't just reach down and turn off when the boil is reached. Nice to grab it off the heat quickly.

The MSR Titan Kettle handles came off easily and when reinstalling they resumed their original shape on their own. The tubing went on very easily with just water as lubricant.

The SnowPeak 450 mug handles were thicker so the tubing took a little more elbow grease but still went on in just a few minutes with only water as a lubricant. The 450 handles needed to be bent a little back into their original shape, but that was easy. I used two sets of pliers and a cloth (so as not to scratch) to bend the original bends in the handles a little more and they went back into their original positions easily.

Another tip for handles that can't be removed: moldable silicone glue called Sugru. Available in many colors, cures in 24 hours into hard rubber that resists heat up to over 300 degrees. Also great for fixes around the house. Excellent stuff!

[Austin]

Hey, I'm gonna try this out! Thanks for the advice.

[michael levi]

I took my handles off my evernew .6L and just grab the top rim above the water a few seconds after the heat is turned off. The Titanium cools off fairly quickly and I save a bit of weight off my cook kit.

I have a cuben stuff sack and a carbon RLocura lid as weight savings so having handles is like an oxymoron to my setup.

[Marshall Uhl]

Not having to think after a long day of walkin and not burning your hands for 2g weight… priceless.

[DGoggins]

And…as I mentioned here ->

http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/forums/thread_display.html?forum_thread_id=103352&skip_to_post=875749

OK… I went ahead and bought 20 feet of silicone aquarium tubing… The same that I used to coat my snow peak 700 that worked fine. If anybody wants 2 feet shipped to them for free to coat their handles… Just PM me.

[Marshall Uhl]

update: not heat resistant enough

oh well…

[Bob Moulder]

That MSR pot grabber is lookin' better all the time, lol!

I tried something today with the Imusa mug, using some fiberglass cloth as insulator and some Teflon tape to hold it in place. it didn't melt, but still too hot to hold.

[Jon Fong / Flat Cat Gear]

The fundamental problem is that the opening for handle is the largest outlet port on the windscreen. Since heat is going to flow out of the least resistance path, the handles are always going to get hot.

My 2 cents.

[Roger Caffin]

I do like my little light-weight MSR pot lifter…

Hum – looking again at that pic of the melted handles – dunno what the tubing is MEANT to be, but the result looks like melted vinyl to me. Silicone does NOT melt like that afaik.
Yes, Top Fin tubing does come in a vinyl form as well as a silicone one. Assuming one can rely on what the package says … does it come from China?

Cheers

[Dale Wambaugh]

"…looks like melted vinyl to me…"

+1 on that. Silicone kind of "bakes". I vote for a bandana. It is {{{{{hot}}}}} right there.

Regarding installing the tubing, a bike mechanic's trick for installing handlebar grips is to use alcohol gel hand cleaner. Of course if you use it with pot handles, you want it to completely evaporate before putting it on the fire.

[Stuart R]

I would suggest polyolefin heat shrink tubing as the most suitable material for pot handles. You can easily get it from an electrical store.

[Roger Caffin]

Hi Stuart

Polyolefins are (usually) either polypropylene or polyethylene. They are good tough stuff, but their MP is a bit low, 160 C and 130 C respectively. Silicone rubber usually is rated to 300 C.

Cheers

[Dan Yeruski]

A 4"X 6" carbon felt will work well as a pot holder/grabber

[Author]

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