I am making a simple coffee-making kit for daytrips, using a tin can suported by a home-made alcohol burner. Everything fits neatly into the tin and a lid is pushed on. Total weight should be around 4oz.

I am using a tin which contained grapefruit slices, and I've washed it and filed it down etc. But the tin can has started going rusty after leaving water in it overnight. Should I be treating it with something, or would a different type of tin work better?

Steve,
I don't know exactly what size you need for your coffee-maker kit, but I think I would consider using an aluminum can/tin. These can be had in a variety of sizes and can be cut to shape with a pair of regular sissors. It would decrease the wt. of your kit, too. Plus- it won't rust.
-Mark

Edited by markhurd on 12/29/2006 12:33:18 MST.

here is a recent thread about aluminum cans.

Most (all?) "tin cans" will rust unless in an arid climate. Some come with an interior coating that seems to be OK for water boiling temps (they get higher temps than that in the canning process). Dinty Moore beef stew cans are that way and are a decent shape. Use a side cut can opener and the top makes a decent lid.

Edited by jcolten on 12/29/2006 13:21:20 MST.

Thanks - I'll have a look around. We don't have Dinty Moore in the UK, but maybe our beef stew cans will be similar.

For an aluminium can, beer cans are too narrow for what I want. They would be very difficult to clean out properly if I cooked noodles and burnt them. Is there a wider, squatter shape to be had somewhere?

I think anything you treat it with is going to be toxic and you probably don't want that in your water/food. It's probably a better idea to find a can w/ similar dimensions of a different material.