Heating Port Tongs

[Alex Bridgeman]

It's a well known frustration that while induction hobs look beautiful and sleek in a kitchen, they don't heat Port tongs. For that you need a gas burner or an open fire. Someone experiencing this frustration recently asked me how I manage to use tongs without a hob on which to heat them.

Normally I use a small butane-burning camping stove such as this one. This is quick, easy and convenient to use inside but suffers from the problem that the upper side of the tongs can cool a little while the underneath is being heated so I might also supplement the heating with a kitchen blowtorch blasting down from above.

But if the weather is nice, it's entirely possible that we'll be sitting outside by a fire when I decide it's time to tong a bottle of Port open. Although you get best results by heating tongs over a charcoal or coal fire, it's still pretty easy to heat them hot enough with a wood fire if you can get the tongs into the embers for a few minutes. We use a wood-burning fireplace for the tongs at the Christmas tastings. At home I use something a bit like this.

Chiminea in full swing

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[mosesbotbol]

Kitchen gas burner is not up to the job of heating tongs IMO. Fireplace does it for sure.

[jdaw1]

Do people have opinions about Alex’s Dellonda Outdoor Conical Chiminea, H127cm, Black Steel versus a Harrier Steel Chiminea Large Outdoor Log Burner, for ordinary being-sociable purposes (very mysterious) and tong-heating purposes (very important)?

[jdaw1]

@Alex: do you light top-down or bottom-up?

For tong purposes, do lava stones help or hurt?

[akzy]

What are the port tongs metal? Is it some iron derivative? Steel, cast iron, etc.

[Alex Bridgeman]

@Alex: do you light top-down or bottom-up?

For tong purposes, do lava stones help or hurt?

I’ve never had lava stones as part of my heater, so can’t say for sure but would guess these would help if they are glowing hot.

[Alex Bridgeman]

What are the port tongs metal? Is it some iron derivative? Steel, cast iron, etc.

I’m guessing probably either iron or a mild steel. They often need to be bent or hammered back into shape after a lot of use since they’re soft enough, when red hot, for the circle at the end of them to be forced open by the pressure of squeezing the tongs around the neck of a bottle.

[akzy]

Could you post a clear top down and side view here of them? I have some ideas that I want to test...

[Alex Bridgeman]

Could you post a clear top down and side view here of them? I have some ideas that I want to test...

I’ll try to remember to do so when back home this afternoon.

[Alex Bridgeman]

@Alex: do you light top-down or bottom-up?

I was taught to light bottom-up. Paper under thin kindling under larger kindling under proper wood. Never a firelighter! My grandmother would be very upset if I had to resort to one of those.

It’s also entirely satisfying that all of the wood we burn is sourced from our garden and is air-dried for at least 2 years before being burnt. With 3 silver birch trees, there’s never a shortage of quick-to-catch-fire tiny twigs that work as natural fire lighters.

[Alex Bridgeman]

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Do these work for you Zak?

[Andy Velebil]

What are the port tongs metal? Is it some iron derivative? Steel, cast iron, etc.

It depends on who makes them. I have a stainless steel pair as well as iron and I presume regular steel.

One does need to be careful buying them. A lot of the ones you find in stores around Porto are more decorative than anything else. They tend to fall apart when heated a couple times.

[akzy]

So I was considering, what fun methods could you use to heat this? I was thinking initially use a bbq chimney starter as it gets hot quick, good heat flow and then you can start a bbq after.
I thought this was too sensible so onto the reason I asked for the picture and material. It was to see if it would be comptabile with an inductive heater like so as we have something like this in the labs. Would very happily get them to the required temperature, it's perfect for indoor usage as its smoke free and also very good possibility to go terribly wrong.

[jdaw1]

I have two at home — used to have three, don’t know, maybe given to somebody — which I’d be very willing to bring to an event for inspection and perhaps subsequent experimentation.

terribly wrong

Bowerick Wowbagger? Not a good idea — your cellar too small. Possible destruction of tongs? Risk accepted.

[jdaw1]

@Alex: do you light top-down or bottom-up?

I was taught to light bottom-up.

So was I. But there is comment on the internets, e.g. HomeFire.co.uk, preferring top-down: “But when you’re setting a fire in your wood-burning stove, a top-down approach is a much better option”.

[jdaw1]

Never a firelighter!

Modern firelighters, e.g. e.g., seem — this new learning amazes me — to be made of wood and wool and no chemicals.

[mcoulson]

I wonder how effective and induction oven would be ....

https://amzn.eu/d/00AXuZ6D

[Glenn E.]

Never a firelighter!

Modern firelighters, e.g. e.g., seem — this new learning amazes me — to be made of wood and wool and no chemicals.

When I need to light my smoker, I use a chimney and light that with rubbing alcohol. Easy to light, burns clean, and leaves no aftertaste/residue that I have ever noticed. It doesn't take very much, either, which when combined with the long burn for smoking is probably why there's no aftertaste or residue.

[PhilW]

Kitchen gas burner is not up to the job of heating tongs IMO. Fireplace does it for sure.

Kitchen gas burner can be fine, provided the end ring on your port tongs is not too thick, and you wait long enough for the heat-up; it does take a while, patience is key to avoiding frustration. Can be attested to by the row of dozen+ bottles each tonged in turn with no issue on multiple occasions at the Heritage and elsewhere.

At home our hob is now induction, so I use a tiny campingaz burner (just a small valve and single burner unit that clips to top of the small domed cartridge) which heats the tongs quickly and easily.

[mosesbotbol]

MAP gas is my go-to, but even that takes to long for me.

[jdaw1]

I used to have three sets of tongs, but now there seem to be only two. Maybe one was given away.

[Glenn E.]

MAP gas is my go-to, but even that takes to long for me.

That might be because the MAP-Pro you can get today is not the same thing as the old MAPP gas.

The old stuff burned at over 5,000 degrees F. MAP-Pro burns only slightly hotter than propane or natural gas. (3,700 degrees F.)

So if you're used to the old stuff, then yeah the new stuff won't seem like it's nearly hot enough.

[jdaw1]

That might be because the MAP-Pro you can get today is not the same thing as the old MAPP gas.

If we were parodying ourselves, that parody would look like this.

[Prtwine]

Hi,

today I've send a newsletter to my subscribers at prtwine.com and one of your members thought it might be helpful to share here, so here goes.

https://nhxf0.r.ag.d.sendibm3.com/mk/mr ... 4s-qZsuIzk

It might be useful. Ps: I love the electrical variant. perhaps something to develop someday.. [attachment=0]heat-tong-electric.png[/attachment]

[jdaw1]

Pls say more about the “heat-tong-electric”.

[Prtwine]

Pls say more about the “heat-tong-electric”.

It's an idea that I have and am slowly building on. The simpel version - An electrical tong to open up Vintage Port bottles

Mayor questions are - Is there a big enough market for that?
How much are people willing to spend on it?
Is it save to use/develop so it can be sold worldwide.

and not the least important part - how to get this product funded as it needs a lot of R&D + pre-ordering