Corn boiler question

[Silex]

Hopefully I won’t be excommunicated due to the following questions”¦
In the process of completing my kit (barest essentials) I found a dealer in country for boilers/muckets. Here comes the question: I know it’s not PC but to what extend are stainless muckets “accepted” in the community (probably depends on the rondy) ”“ the dealer carries even a soldered stainless type.
The other question is ”“ again not PC but induced by local fire law. Does a soldered tin boiler stand the use on a hobo-stove? It is nearly impossible to find a location for open fire in our neck of the woods ”“ simply forbidden between April and October ”“ you don’t want to be caught with an open fire believe me. My idea was to use a hobo-stove to have at least some kind of a fire but I am afraid it might get too hot with the chimney effect and melt the solder.

Your input is appreciated
Silex

 

[Maestro]

The other question is ”“ again not PC but induced by local fire law. Does a soldered tin boiler stand the use on a hobo-stove? It is nearly impossible to find a location for open fire in our neck of the woods ”“ simply forbidden between April and October ”“ you don’t want to be caught with an open fire believe me. My idea was to use a hobo-stove to have at least some kind of a fire but I am afraid it might get too hot with the chimney effect and melt the solder.

Not sure about that kind of heat, but I would think you'd be okay as long as it has something in it. Of course, you wouldn't want to let it boil dry or it'll fall apart. I would probably ask the maker for his opinion, though.

 

[atki]

simple way to deal with a nice bright stainless steel boiler is to paint it with black high heat engine paint. Comes in a spray can. Then you have a nice black boiler.

wb

 

[Black Hand]

Keep liquid in the pot and you should be fine. Use it a couple of times and it will blacken up nicely, hiding the shiny stainless.

Muckets (cup with handle and hinged lid attached) appear to be more of a Civil War era item (1860's). Your best bet is a small tinned pot (with or without lid) or a kettle.

 

[gearheart]

So long as there is water in it you can boil water in a paper cup. The soldered pan won't suffer harm unless you let it run dry.

 

[Muskeg Stomper]

I know several folks with stainless steel "tin" kettles, myself included. Scuff them up well with sandpaper so they are not so shiney. After they've been blackened over the fire, most folks will not even realize that it's stainless steel. Just don't scrub the outside of the kettle. I wash mine on the inside only.

As was mentioned, muckets (little kettles or boilers with handles) are a American Civil War era item. Several vendors are now selling tin kettles or versions made in stainless steel that don't have the mucket handle. It used to be that muckets were all you could find without going to a custom tinware maker. The market has a little more variety now.

 

[tenngun]

I have Cooked in bark and paunch,it wont burn as long as its wet.The hottest a pot can get is the boiling point of water,about 220 degrees at sea leavel and less as you go higher.Our new solders melt at over 400.As long as you have liquid in it it cant melt.I f you use it over a fire the stainless steel will blacken and you cant tell its stainless.You only have to clean the inside.I have some stainless it looks good and works well.After all I bet your gun barrel is steel not iron and your wool is dyed with moderen dyes.You can easly cut the hinged lid off your muket and have a 1 qt pot thats hc or at least as hc as much as our other equipment :wink:

 

[Loyalist Dave]

The mucket among CW reenactors is a cup with a handle, a bail, AND a lid, attached to the top by a hinge similar to a covered tankard or a flaggon.

A tin mug goes way back and was standard issue to soldiers, normally called a drinking cann [scroll down on the link].

The problem when tin or copper smiths add a bale, they usually add the bale perpendicular to the handle [scroll down to second image]. So IF you hold the mug to take a normal drink, you get a mouthful of one of the "ears" where the bale is attached.

BETTER to get one of the canns, and poke two holes for a wire bale, BUT put one hole next to the handle, and the other one opposite, so that it's not in your way when you drink.

OR get a small kettle with a lid, with a bale but no handle.

LD

 

[Silex]

Thank you all!
As always a wealth of information :hatsoff:

Good thinking of the different angle of the bail.
I had pondered the kettle idea already and even found one for reasonable price, here comes the BUT - it's really heavy and patent number 1858 stamped on the bottom...
Actually the weight is the issue as I want to stay on the light side.
LD, buying a "drinking can" and attaching a bail is a very good idea worth pursuing.
Another project for the "bucket" list.

Regards,
Silex

 

[Loyalist Dave]

I have two "canns", one with the bail added. I poked the holes as I suggested, only to keep the bail out of the way when I drink. What I found was that the bail will also "stand" up, if it's propped against the handle of the mug, and you put the mug (with liquid of course) on the edge of the fire to heat if you are not hanging it over the fire. That makes it easier to remove from the heat by simply slipping a stick under the bail and lifting the can out of the fire. I tell folks that was the plan from the beginning, but in truth..., I got lucky. :haha:

A pair of cans, with one having a bale gives you a very minimalist cooking set. I also have a very small brass trade kettle.

LD

 

[Silex]

but in truth..., I got lucky. :haha:

A pair of cans, with one having a bale gives you a very minimalist cooking set.

LD

:grin: One needs to get lucky once in a while.
Just like the story of the first stag my friend bagged. We were sitting in the same stand and after a while I told him. Now I am gonna light my pipe and the red deer will show up. Of course he gave me a funny look. After about 6 minutes into my pipe he nudges me with the elbow and says: " I'm going crazy"... still can't believe it to the day ...

As for the minimalist approach - that is what I am after. One small cooking "pot" and one drinking cup, wood spoon.

So much for the planning, now I only need to get it. I fuond a couple of mailorder sites in the U.S. and am pondering to order there, there is no tin stuff to be had over here, at least not in the way of historical trekking.

Silex

 

[Many Klatch]

Silex, the tin that was used back in the day was hot dipped. The tin coating was a lot thicker. The new "tinned" sheet metal is electro coated and the tin is very thin. New tin won't last like the old original tin. So folks have gone to stainless steel because it works.

As long as you have water in your pot you don't have to worry about the solder. As an experiment try boiling water in a paper cup. Simply fill a paper cup with water and set it on a rock in the middle of a fire.

Many Klatch

 

[Bear Rider]

I'm having Bob at Backwoods Tin make what he calls a bean boiler for me, from stainless.

It should be here in another couple of weeks. I already have the small nesting boiler, and this little 2 cup pot will nest in that 5 cup pot. His work is excellent, and the finish on the stainless looks like tin.

 

[Silex]

Thank you again!
Pondering all the good replies I questioned the mailorder keeper whether he could have me a pot fashioned with the lid not attached to the handle.
That would come close to a drinking cup with an additional lid and bail.

I checked the Backwoods page and I like the work.
Well, I don't know whether there are Dutch, Scottish or Swabian ancestors in my line but the shipping kills me.

I'll keep you posted,
Silex

 

[Poor Private]

I tried the mucket only idea but there is a problem there. Yu can only heat 1 thing at a time. I make coffee at the same time as I cook so my solution was to buy a cup with folding handles tht will fit inside my mucket for transport. Most guys tie, or stap their muckets to their haversacks for transport. Also an open topped drinking cup, or a open topped mucket/boiler tied up this way is an open target. Meaning I don't know how many guys I have seen who ended up with, stones, sticks, spit, tobbacco juice, in them while on a march. My whole kitchen includes: 1 small fring pay with wood spatula, 1 covered mucket, 1 folding handle cup, 1 covered small pot( almost the size of a berry pail)that does double duty as a bowl, and a tinned plate. A folding pocket knife, 3 tined fork, and a spoon. Also one of those small spice kits you can get at Jas. Townsend. A small container for my coffee. and some food all this fits in or on my haversack and weighs less than 5lbs. My haversack is always filled and ready to go kinda my civil war to go bag.

 

[mikev]

Click me!

Westminster Forge offers some very nice stuff, albeit expensive.

 

[Bear Rider]

Update on the bean boiler. Bob had some health problems last year and didn't get me the bean boiler until very late in the season. It's his usual excellent work, and is just the right size for one person.

 

[Silex]

Update on the boiler here, too:



Bought this set from Turkey foot traders.
I like it, but unfortunately I couldn't test it so far.

Silex

 

[jferguson]

how much was that nice pair?

 

[Loyalist Dave]

You don't have a stove where you live to test out your stuff? I sometimes use my cooking stuff on the stovetop. Except some of it is so sooty that when I do the house smells of woodsmoke, and the wife don't like that...

LD