Getting my (Mess) Kit together.

[FlaMike]

Seems like I'm always trying to "get my kit together." But this time, its a mess kit.

Looking forward to doing some camping. I suspect most of my camping will be from a boat. But sometimes, I just might want to backpack it. I much prefer DIY over store-bought, so that's the way I'm going with this. Not too concerned with the weight of things when camping with the boat, but if I do decide to hoof it, I would like to keep the weight down.

Some one on southernpaddler said they used a pie tin and/or a cake pan. So I got one of each! The cake pan is steel and had a rolled edge on it. The cake pan is a reasonably thick aluminum model, and non-stick. I wanted to try the non-stick for an easy clean-up. NOT worried about the non-stick as a "health issue," don't think you could get the heat required for that concern from a alcohol stove. I consider it a "non-issue."

This will be very simple. Nothing elaborate, nothing particularly "trick" about it. Just something that will do what it is supposed to.

I cut the rim from the cake pan so it would nest inside the other one. The cake pan is primarily an eating dish, but the pot lid lifter I included in the kit makes the "dish" available for cooking, if needed. The pie pan also had a combination rolled edge and large flange for lifting. Those were also removed, but I did leave a bit of the flange because the pot lid lifter could grab it at a better angle for cooking than without it. The pie pan is now a frying pan.

Here it is, nested:

Opened up, like this:

The plate is in the background, the frying pan in the fore. I've put a couple of small towels in the kit to keep stuff from rattling, and they can also be used to grab hot stuff when cooking, as well as washing and drying afterwards. There is room inside the kit for a small bottle of dish soap, various packets of condiments and spices, and whatever else I want to keep with it. For now, I have the pot lid lifter (for a frying pan handle,) and a small, knife, fork, & spoon set.

The spatula is one that I cut down to fit. Used a belt sander to re-create the sharp edge on it. Not sure what else I'll put in the kit, but for a starter kit, it will do.

Mike S.
Spring Hill, FL

 

[oldsparkey]

You need the alcohol stove , some alcohol and something to hold the pan above the burner , some metal tent steaks would do the trick.
Take 3 or 4 of the metal tent steaks , push them into the ground to the height you want the pan over the burner and then cook away.
A piece of tin foil folded three times to form a solid piece and long enough to go around the pan with about 1/4 inch free space between them makes a good wind break and can be rolled or folded to fit in the cook kit when not being used.

 

[FlaMike]

Chuck,

I'm sure this kit will work fine with any of the twig burners I've built, including the Mountain Ranger wood gas stove that I posted about. But still, I think I'll be using the alcohol stove more than anything else. And I did come up with one that had both a long burn time and a pretty good temperature range, too.

Remember the Turbo Cat II stove I posted about? It's this one: http://www.southernpaddler.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=9430#p92127

All I need to do is to cut a few, shallow scallops in the top edge of the wind screen, and the frying pan will sit right on top, no problem. The scallop cut-outs will allow airflow from the burner to exit under the bottom of the pan. And that modification won't interfere with using the pot as seen in that post.

Now I remember, it was Jack that mentioned using cake pans. I'm not using them the way he did, but that's where I got the idea from.

Mike S.
Spring Hill, FL

 

[oldsparkey]

If you are going to set the alcohol burner on the ground , if the ground is cold then set the burner on something to insulate it from the ground. A small round piece of wood works really well.

I have to agree with you , when it comes to light weight , ease of use , no soot and it's simplicity it is the little alcohol stoves that always win. Heck you can even use them in a tent as long as you have something for them to sit on besides the tent floor , they do heat up.

 

[Kayak Jack]

Mike, I like your kit. You and Joey Dupre' make a good pair.

 

[FlaMike]

Thanks, guys!

Not quite finished with this just yet. I mentioned a while ago that I wanted to make something to put this or any of my other small camps stoves on, to insulate it from the ground, and to contain any fuel spills, thinking that if need be, I could actually cook in a boat. And it would be safer than you might first think.

For use in the boat, I'm thinking it could be as large as a (small) TV tray. Like a small lap tray. A smaller version would be for backpacking.

Pretty simple, just a wood frame, maybe from 3/4" X 1/2" stock, with a light weight sheet metal tray inside the frame. Something along the lines of 1/4" deep. This frame would then sit on some wood spacers that would act as a stand-off from another frame, only without the sheet metal insert. The idea being the metal tray could contain a spill, and being elevated from the ground (or deck) about an inch, should keep heat from being transferred to the ground. Also insulating the bottom of the stove from heat loss.

It would be easier to build than to explain! (Which I will do.) It's been on my list.

As for Joey Dupre', I do admire the way his mind works.

Mike S.
Spring Hill, FL

 

[Kayak Jack]

An aluminum dish pan would work as a backup.

The way Joey's mind works? We've been wondering about that for a while now. :roll:

 

[jdupre']

Yeah, Jack, I do have an active mind. Just think ....Jonathan Winters and Robin Williams ........just not as funny and not NEARLY the money. You ought to see the stuff I think about that I DON"t do!! Scarey indeed!

Nice kit, Mike. I have a big plastic tote in the shed that is my mess kit "home base". Like Jack, I hardly ever take the same stuff twice. I tend to mix and match components according to my whims when I go camping. There's almost allways a small beer can alcohol stove that comes along. But the last few years, the flat-packing fold up grill has been my preferred cooking tool.

I like your idea of the tray for cooking in the boat. That should work great. When boat camping, you don't have to be as concerned about weight and space as when backpacking. Now, our very own Piper can pack some stuff into a pirogue! And he can cook some fantastic meals in his dutch oven, too............usually about 7-10 meals on a slow day. :mrgreen:

Joey

 

[Kayak Jack]

I have a "dinner plate and soup bowl" - that was originally a Frisbee. It is flat on top, not curved. When you tip it over - it's a dinner plate, or a soup bowl. And, I suppose, that some juvenile-acting campers could actually play with it after supper. But, they'd have to be pretty immature, I guess.

 

[FlaMike]

Did a little test run and I've decided the frying pan part of this kit just won't cut it!

I mean, I suppose it is usable in a limited way, but it's just too limited for my cooking. I'll be replacing it with another skillet that has a better heat transfer to it. Just won't do to cook around a pan that has a hot spot in the center, only 1/4th the surface area of the pan.

That sort of thing is no problem for boiling water, but for just about anything else, it just won't do.

Guess I'll be looking around for a small iron or steel pan that will nest with the rest of the kit. Guess I should start working out so I'll be able to carry the thing! Or, try to avoid the carrying part by insisting that "camping" is something done by truck or boat!

Oh, I tried out a theory I had about a way to cook a classic French omelet with the kit and camp stove. Wound up with a nice plate of creamy, delicious scrambled eggs. But that omelet. . . Not so much.

So much for the theory.

Mike S.
Spring Hill, FL

 

[Kayak Jack]

My Svea 123 stove has a fire ring about 1 1/2" in diameter. I use the top of a tin can as a heat spreader on top of it, then set the skillet on that.

I caution you to not copy my too closely, as this is a patented process :roll: , and I will sue you if you use a tin can top on your stove. :wink:

 

[FlaMike]

Uh. . . But Jack . . . My stove IS a tin can! :roll:

You know, for a minute there, you had me thinking that just maybe I need to see about using some sort of flame spreader or heat diffuser plate instead of the easy solution of going to a different cooking pan with better heat conducting properties. Going the "easy" way makes more sense.

Then again, I'm not exactly known for homing in on the sensible approach. 8)

Good! It's a done deal. I'll follow both approaches at the same time. Only need one to work, but I could end up with two!

Got some ideas ready to try out. And they will cost nothing but a little time. . .

Mike S.
Spring Hill, FL

 

[Kayak Jack]

Another solution is to carry your cell phone, and just order pizza. :wink:

 

[FlaMike]

I'll keep the pizza order in the back of my mind, but I did another little test today and have found what I think the optimum size flame spreader I'll need on this stove.

Just looking at the heat pattern showing up in the pan as I heated a little water in it, it's a marked improvement over the last test. I think it will let me use the current frying pan for a lot of things. I'll still be getting a small cast iron pan, but probably will use it mostly when boat camping.

When I went to the park today to take a look at Crews Lake Park, where I'll be launching the Glades Skiff for the first time, I got a look at the park's camp sites. Not too bad. In fact, I can camp there to try out quite a few DIY projects related to camping, and the place is "hammock friendly."

Mike S.
Spring Hill, FL

 

[Kayak Jack]

Looks like I'm going to have to sue you for using a tin can lid. :wink: Cast iron is the original - and as yet, unsurpassed - non-stick pan.