Removing baked on tar from your billy cans.

[mountainm]

My woodgas stove leaves a thick sticky residue of tar on my cooking pots. No amount of scrubbing will remove it. And it has a tendency to mark anything it touches.

The solution is simple. A quick rub with ethanol brings it back to almost new. Guessing meths or nail varnish remover will also work.

An hour of scrubbing evaporates into a five minute wipe.

 

[Bucephalas]

Good tip. I use methanol to clean lots of things. Our windows at home have never been so clea!

Just remember to use rubber gloves. Methanol is absorbed through the skin and causes many issues including blindness.

Edit: re-read it and noted ethanol not methanol but the same safety protection wouldnt go amiss.

 

[ozzy1977]

Good tip, .

 

[British Red]

Caustic soda removes soot, fat, skin and most other things!

 

[mountainm]

Caustic soda removes soot, fat, skin and most other things!

Aye. Evidence too...But I tend to carry some ethanol in my brew kit.

 

[Jared]

Isn't there a trick of coating the outside of your pot with soap before using it?

 

[Chilliphil]

Yep, a trick we use all the time on Scout camps. Coat the pans liberally in fairy liquid before putting them over the fire and they will easily come clean after. Even the kettle we have on all week will come up shiny at the end of the week!!

Might try the ethanol trick sometime.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 4

 

[Tomcoles]

Where do you get your ethanol from??

 

[Teepee]

Good tip Mike

I've been using Aldi barbecue cleaner that's got some caustic soda in it.

 

[Midnitehound]

Good tip. I use methanol to clean lots of things. Our windows at home have never been so clea!

Just remember to use rubber gloves. Methanol is absorbed through the skin and causes many issues including blindness.

Edit: re-read it and noted ethanol not methanol but the same safety protection wouldnt go amiss.

Why, does it absorb through your skin and cause inebriation? Problem? IPA is also cheap and good for cleaning stuff of course.

The price has just dropped on this listing and I believe I have used this seller before.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=280963193813&ssPageName=ADME:X:PROI:GB:3160

It is a bit of an art to burn it cleanly for cooking with.

 

[Midnitehound]

Caustic soda removes soot, fat, skin and most other things!

Does it get rid of illegal dirt bikers? "The ground is soft and we have shovels"

 

[Midnitehound]

Aye. Evidence too...But I tend to carry some ethanol in my brew kit.

I bet you do, are you legal to drive after a coffee? It is also good for rubbing on Dyneema.

 

[mountainm]

Where do you get your ethanol from??

B&Q bio ethanol.

 

[mountainm]

Does it get rid of illegal dirt bikers? "The ground is soft and we have shovels"

I feel I'm missing an "in joke"?

 

[Midnitehound]

I feel I'm missing an "in joke"?

A plague on all your houses!

http://www.bushcraftuk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=115184

 

[tombear]

Since I don't stack them, for my over burning wood kettle and copper frying pan (they are tinned so even if I had nesting sized pans they couldn't go in each other bare) I simply made thick linen sacks to fit them in and leave the residue on the outside of the pans. If the tar starts to come though ill just chuck the bags in the washer. Saves the extra work.

ATB

Tom

 

[mountainm]

Since I don't stack them, for my over burning wood kettle and copper frying pan (they are tinned so even if I had nesting sized pans they couldn't go in each other bare) I simply made thick linen sacks to fit them in and leave the residue on the outside of the pans. If the tar starts to come though ill just chuck the bags in the washer. Saves the extra work.

ATB

Tom

That's more or less what I used to do, however this stuff was a thick sticky paste. With ethanol it really is no work at all.

 

[Dave]

You wanna be careful if using caustic soda on pans, especially if its something like an aluminium pan, or kelly kettle, as it will eat through the finish in seconds.

I leave a black soot patina on my zebra billy, as this helps it to boil faster.

 

[mountainm]

In summary

If you want to leave it you can
Cleaning products can be dangerous

However

- if you "do" want to clean them (ie. they get very sticky and messy to handle - woodgas stoves seem to exacerbate this) - ethanol is safe and easy plus you may also be carrying some with you. (If you've cottoned on to how cheap it is compared to meths).

 

[Midnitehound]

In summary

If you want to leave it you can
Cleaning products can be dangerous

However

- if you "do" want to clean them (ie. they get very sticky and messy to handle - woodgas stoves seem to exacerbate this) - ethanol is safe and easy plus you may also be carrying some with you. (If you've cottoned on to how cheap it is compared to meths).

I can get Meths at £2/litre, can you get ethanol cheaper?