Camping pot hanger modification

 

This is a simple camping pot hanger modification I made to a new pot I recently acquired. The pot came with a sturdy metal hanger but I prefer to use flexible steel cables as they are flexible, making it easy to be tucked away and tidy.  I always prefer a big pot as it cooks and boils more. It is also useful to keep fragile items like eggs inside. This pot hanger modification is necessary to make the entire setup easier to pack inside the rucksack.

The new pot is possibly twice the size of my existing Zebra pot

This new stainless steel camping pot is about 22cm (diameter) and 12cm deep. It is much bigger than my old trusty modified zebra pot which I have had for more than 8 years. Surprisingly it is way cheaper (and weighs less too) than the Zebra pot. I can see myself stewing a pot of 'bak kut teh' or 'tong sui' in it over campfire.

The protruding and sharp metal catch is not good for packing in a backpack

The pot came with its own metal hanging handle attached to the pot with rivets. It is well made and sturdy but the fact that its protruding as it is, it is not ideal for packing in a backpack. I foresee it snagging and ripping on other items inside the pack. The metal hanger makes packing a bit awkward as well. 

Removing the hanger attachment to the pot

Once the rivets on both sides have been removed, I thread a length of 3mm steel wire cable through the holes. The steel wire is about 3mm thick and can be purchased at most hardware shops. The challenge is to get the shops to cut the wires neatly, otherwise the tiny steel wires will begin to unravel itself. They become really sharp curly 'needle's waiting to bite into the skin.

The rivet holes are perfect for the steel wires!

The one item required for this modification that can be difficult to find is the aluminium ferrule. The ferrule is the best way to join ends of wire cables neatly and securely. Construction and heavy industry lifting cables use similar (just way way bigger) ferrule 'concepts' to connect, make a loop etc on steel wires. For this project, I ordered some small ones on Shopee and they arrived from China in a few weeks, 

All these for less than RM10 shipped to my doorstep from China!

I used a hammer to 'crimp' the ferrules. The idea is to keep the wire ends within the ferrule and squeeze them in as hard as possible. 

Position the ferrules carefully- before

Position the ferrules carefully- before

The final result, It is stable and strong!

This is a simple camping pot hanger modification using steel wires and aluminium ferrules. Most of my hanging camping pots have similar system and they work well so far. The only thing left to do now is to plan a camping trip and put this to use!