If you can boil water in a paper cup, why can't you boil water in nalgene bottle.

The plastic may not transfer the heat fast enough from the flames to the water.

I've never tryed it, so that's just a guess.

BTW I do believe that lexan releases toxic material when heated. Someone please correct me if I'm wrong.

There is a growing group of people who no longer trust the plastic in the Nalgene bottles. Many of these folks are now using metal bottles like Sigg and Klean Kanteen. You may be able to boil water in these.

I know that lexan is heat resistant to a certain point. But, is it heat resistant enough to boil water?

porkchop

from the Swiss Website :

"Can SIGG bottles be used for boiling water?
No. Strong heat can damage the outer coating."

...and they have a inner coating.

At least, that's my opinion. This is another one of those overhyped junk science things that has really gotten out of hand. Note that you aren't completely wrong because ALL materials release toxic substances when heated enough. However, the controversy I can only assume you are referring to doesn't lead me to believe there's any danger to our use of Nalgene bottle. And, note, that the article that has created this irrational and unsupported panic only referenced Lexan/polycarbonbate, which is is only one of a number of materials used by Nalgene. You can do a Google search and find plenty of well-researched articles that refute the original with far better research and without the hype and absurd leaps of unscientific and irrelevant deduction. YMMV, but I see NO reason to toss my Lexan/ polycarbonate water bottles. Remember, all things are poisonous at some level. Even pure water can kill you.

I think paper burns at 411 degrees F. While water boils at 312 degrees.
I am only guessing but I wouldn't put a plastic container of any kind over an open flame. Ruin the bottle at the very least.

Jon

Can someone please explain to me why you lot don't screw your collective nut and bury a tin mug/mess tin or whatever in your kit's? You can, if memory serves me correctly pour boiling water into a Nag Bottle.

When a biologist from the EPA told me to stop cooking in plastic because it releases toxins, that was when I stopped cooking in plastic. Carry a metal mug to boil water -or a little billy pot

TRO

I agree wholeheartedly. I have learned many years ago to take "research papers/articles" with a grain of salt.. Before reading or believing any paper/article, the very first and only question should be: Who funded this paper/article?

Any substantial report will require a bit of financing, and believe me, if the paper/article does not support the entity providing the funding, that paper/article will never see the light of day.

"What TV news covers is dictated by ratings, not importance, and sensational claims get better ratings than straightforward, mundane information, even if the latter is more valuable to the viewing audience."

That's from this article from Snopes relating to this subject:
http://www.snopes.com/medical/toxins/cookplastic.asp

But to tell the truth, I wouldn't expose my one and only water container to a fire, period.

Sue

Strange, I always thought that paper burned at 451 degrees fahrenheit, its kindling temperature.

Hence, the name of the book about book burning and suppression of free thought.

Then again I may be full of it.

porkchop

The whole point in the discussion was to utilize the new nalgene lexan flasks as a boiling container which would fit into a shirt or pant pocket and serve double duty as a robust water contianer.

In winter I carry the lid/frypan to a snowpeak mess kit.

You mean like my olicamp cup? Or maybe my GSI one? Or the titanium pot I'm lusting after? <img src="/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

Boiling water is 212F.

Paper spontanously igites 451F.

Lexan melts at 310F, gets goofy at 285F (leaches out nasties, etc) in the short term (not sure what is ment by that) and 240F for the long term.

All tempuratures are given at one atmosphere of pressure.

It can handle boiling water pretty well. Fire, not so well.

This is only true if you live 43 miles below sea level. <img src="/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

I've been drinking one to two liters of water every day out of the same Nalgene water bottle at work for well over a decade. I don't know what it's made of (not Lexan). It's translucent white in color and softer than Lexan. I'm not dead yet.

I imagine companies who make water bottles test them for toxicity. If they fail, they'd make them out of some other material. I really doubt Nalgene wants a bunch of dead customers laying around causing bad PR, just so they can use Lexan.

Awhile back the "Nalgene Bottles Unsafe" thread came up and according to the "Bisphenol A" website you would have to consume 1,300 pounds of food every day for life to exceed the EPA level...but that is an Uncooked Nalgene bottle.

The claim is not completely inaccurate. They just didn't bother to say that you need high pressure and super heated steam or certain solvents to get the compounds out. Plenty of undisturbed natural places of great peace and tranquility were you can run into those.

Venus. Maybe the sunny side of Mercury, I'm not sure. The gas giants should all do the trick.

Although, if you're in one of those places, you've got bigger worries. Like how to kill your travel agent if you survive. <img src="/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

Yours is HDPE, then. I hope you aren't pouring boiling water into it.

The whole "lexan is bad" thing was caused by some over zealous scientists. You know, the kind that say that "all meat is bad" and "don't cook your veggies" and "gene therapy will kill you".

The answer to your question is no, you should not boil water in nalgene, and if you do, you should certainly not drink it.

The temperatures listed in this thread seem to be forgetting the surface effects of the steam coming from the boiling water. Steam requires much higher btu to generate than does boiling water itself -- in other words, steam has much more energy than boiling water does, even when they are at the same temperature. It will not interact nicely with the nalgene, to put it mildly.

Do yourself a favor and invest in something made of metal for boiling water.

I think that I would put some heavy gauge tin foil in the same pocket. I also think that MP puritabs would be smarter.

I fail to see why you couldn't boil water in a nalgene container. I wouldn't put it over a fire, but wouldn't have a problem dropping hot rocks into a container full of water until it was boiling.

I mean, if you can boil water in a canvas hat, it isn't going to kill a nalgene container. There is no evidence whatsoever that "toxins" will be released in this process.

That said, I carry stainless steel cups on the bottoms of my nalgene bottles, so I don't have to heat rocks.

Greg

OK, OK! So I had the figures wrong........ I too remembered from the book (not accurately). Still the point holds.

Jon

Did we miss our fibre this morning? LOL

Actually, I and I suspect most do as you say, carry a tin for boiling. Yes you can pour boiling water into a Nalgene bottle.

Jon

THANK YOU! Just buy one of those cups that fits on a nalgene bottle... basically no added space and minor added weight (especially if you go with Titanium).

You will be able to boil water quicker and safer! For an extra $6.50 and 150gm for the GSI Glacier Stainless Steel Bottle Mug or 130oz and $35 for the Vargo Titanium Mug which comes with a titanium cover!

I don't do fibre in the morning. Double expresso (2 cups) and a bacon butty with ketchup. - hold the polyunsatuates- thank you very much. Snarl!.
No, I am not Mr Nice Guy untill I have been caffinated and fed. <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

OK, let's review.

When you heat water in paper, the water cools the paper below the waterline, allowing it continue to exist. This is possible not becuase paper is porus (you can, but shouldn't, do this in clayed paper) but becuase it doesn't melt.

Nalgene bottles melt. You have no way of acurately knowing how hot your drop rock is- 310-ish, you have a leaky bottle. Even if you could realiably determine the temperature of the rocks, it would be horribly inefficent. The difference of tempurature between 212 and 280 (safety margin) is relatively small when figured as energy (watts, newtons, whatever makes your hair stand up), and you would only be able to raise the tempurature of a very small mass of water with a stone. Sure, you could keep adding stones, but at that point you are basically pouring a mass of gravel into your water bottle. A comparitively large mass of heated gravel- you'd have more stones than water.

That ignores the long term exposure issues that lexan has to tempuratures over 240, IIRC. Water can not, at normal pressures, get above 212 degrees, so that's safe. But there is no way I can think of the boil water in a lexan vessel safely.

Excellent point. I once was watching someone demonstrate to a group of mechnical engineering students why they wear kevlar gloves when welding. Hit a glove with a torch. Fire deparment shows up five minutes later for the alarm activation.

Burning kevlar really stinks. I swear that the smell soaks into concrete.

ironraven,

Have you ever tried it? I haven't done it with a Nalgene bottle, but I have seen it done with canvas containers that could also not be placed over flame.

I don't think there is any chance in he__ that the rocks are going to melt the nalgene when you drop them into water. Is the process the most efficient? Heck no! But if you are trying to boil water in a Nalgene bottle, chances are your circumstances are far from ideal. Survival is about improvisation.

Tell you what, I have an older bottle that the lid doesn't completely seal on. I'll actually try it and report back. Then we will know, right?

Greg

It's not just that the paper/canvas/leather won't melt, it's that the heat transfer through the container (to the water behind) is fast enough to prevent it from reaching the temperature at which it would be damaged (or at least lose integrity). Porous materials have the added advantage that water soaking through it will also keep the surface close to water's boiling temperature.

Only experiments will prove it, but I suspect that the wall thickness and low thermal conductivity of polycarbonate (and the fact that the polycarbonate is not porous) would combine to make it unusable for boiling water over an open flame.

My friend, exactly what are your credentials to make this extraordinary, uninformed claim?

It is statements like this and the "junk science" comment above that prove that old adage, "there are no greater fools than people outside their areas of expertise." You are insulting and dismissing the work of people far more qualified than I'm guessing you are to comment on this topic.

There have been at least 151 studies just in recent years simply on the effects of bisphenol A in animals, including humans. Here's a particularly disturbing one:

• Exposure to bisphenol A is associated with recurrent miscarriage. Human Reproduction 2005 20(8):2325-2329.

If you (or several of the other posters in this thread) think that is junk science, I suggest you try submitting a paper to a major peer-reviewed journal and see if your (no doubt in-depth and scholarly) study of this topic is accepted for publication. If you think a subject affecting much of the population of the planet is unworthy of study, then it is probably for the best that you haven't gone into science as a profession.

If you'd like to examine an academic survey of many of these studies, showing both sides of the issue, check out this report from the Endocrine Disruptors Group.

There is also ample evidence that leaching is increased with temperature in plastics, but I'll leave it to you to explore the literature on that.

That is why this fool asks people who are in their field. It's amazing the people you get to know in a mulit-university/college town.

Everything I've dug up on my own and dug out of people indicates that so long as you keep your tempuratures sane, the amount of bisphenol that leaches out is almost undetectable. Now, I haven't read the report you linked to, so the quantity that has effects is so low as to be right at the detection threshold.

But odds are, something naughty was done with a nalgene bottle. Like the dish washer, with a very strong detergent, which greatly increases the likelyhood of bisphenol getting out of the lexan- I got lost as to the actual mechanism of this, it was over my head. Either that, or it is a contaminant from another source, like industrial waste that was improperly disposed of.

Ways to beat those are: hand wash your lexan bottles by rinsing and not scrubbing (just like a teflon pan) and if they get funky, toss in a denture cleaner tablet (just like a stained coffee cup). And put a carbon filter on your water supply.

I would say good luck, and bring a mop. <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

How are you going to regulate the tempurature of your rocks when you are heating them by fire? Anything you are likely to have you will give you the same results as your fingers- "hot! really hot! OWWWW!" <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> I'm not mocking, I'm just making a point- I can't see how you can keep the tempurature regulated enough that you wouldn't deform the bottle, which would destroy the seam, and that is completely ignoring everything that is published about safe tempuratures and lexan.

Actually, I can see one way. Use wire to suspend a heated rock in the middle of the lexan container. But the rate of heat lost fromt eh rock and the total energy it could hold might be problematic. You'd be better off with something like a 1-3/4" sphere (should fit in a wide mouth nalgene) of iron, heated red hot, on the end of a long steel pole.

I can't see that being practical- it would be probably three or four pounds, and for that weight, you can bring a soda stove and a couple pints of dry gas. It also isn't using a rock. I think you are going to find two things- one, you will deform the polycarb in one manner or another by placing the rocks into the bottle unless they are suspended so they don't come into contact with the bottle, and two, IF you can get it to boil without utterly destroying the bottle, you will have almost as much, if not more, rocks than you do water.

And I've never seen it done in a canvas container, and my origami skills suck so much that I can't even make a paper cup that doesn't need paper clips to stay together. Now, I have done it with paper clips, but the paper is definantly a little more the worst for wear around them if I'm boiling over a fire. Never tried putting a hot rock into a paper container, but I have into hard shelled goards, a cocanut shell and an orange rind with a fair degree of happiness (other than there is a rock in my little goard, which means less soup).

The Great Benzene Scare with Perrier about 20 years ago. Some scientist somewhere must have been bored one day and decided to chemically analyze some Perrier. This scientist made an annoucement that there was benzene ( a carcinogen) found in the Perrier! Millions of bottles were thrown out, because no one wanted to get cancer from drinking snooty water.

Later it was determined that the amount of benzene found was like putting a teaspoon of benzene in all of the oceans on Earth.

I have no expertise in these things, so I'm not jumping into the lexan debate, but the Perrier example just goes to show that one needs to scrutinize information and then make as informed a decision as possible.

And yes, I have some of that snooty water in the fridge at this moment...they're making it in plastic bottles now! Can't find lime though <img src="/images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" />

In the produce section, next to the lemons. *hands Ors a knife*

Not sure that's such a good idea...my last laceration is just healing up <img src="/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

at least you could boil water in a glass perrier bottle.....

If someone has an old bottle they aren't worried about destroying, I think the heated rock boiling method it is worth a try. A thin film of water/steam between the rock and the plastic may be enough to prevent it from melting. OR, put a layer of pebbles on the bottom to support the hot rock.

As for "toxic chemicals" in everyday items, this is quite OT, but:
Excerpted and heavily snipped from http://www.junkscience.com/foxnews/fn081800.htm
<snip>
As I was enjoying some Ben & Jerry’s ice cream at one of their “scoop shops” last summer, I noticed a Ben & Jerry’s marketing brochure titled “Our Thoughts on Dioxin.” The brochure stated, “Dioxin is known to cause cancer, genetic and reproductive defects and learning disabilities... The only safe level of dioxin exposure is no exposure at all.”
<snip>
We measured the level of dioxin in a sample of Ben & Jerry’s “World’s Best Vanilla” ice cream.
<snip>
Two independent laboratories using different methodologies reported a single serving of the ice cream contained about 200 times the level of dioxin the EPA says is safe
<snip>
The story gets better.
<snip>
...based on our testing, a single serving of Ben & Jerry’s contains about 2,285 times more dioxin than an 8-ounce “serving” of gasoline refinery wastewater at the permitted level.
<snip>

ironraven,

I'm not saying that your wrong, because I don't think that any of us know for sure until we try it.

I do think you are right in that is isn't ideal, and I certainly wouldn't recommend carrying a lexan bottle expecting to use it to boil water. But if you have no other water containers at all, and feel that you need to boil water for some reason, then it would be nice to know if it was possible.

I'll try it this weekend and we'll see how it goes. I don't really have any idea if it will work or not, but we will at least have a better idea hopefully. I'm not going to try to regulate the heat, since as you said I don't believe there will be a practicle way to do it in the field, other than maybe a rough idea of how long I perform the heating. Should be an adventure! And I won't need a mop, because I am going to do it outside! <img src="/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

As for me not being an expert in biochemistry, that is true. However, I have submitted papers to several scientific journals, and I know how it works. I also know how often data is manipulated to support the particular scientists agenda. How many examples should I list on all of the carcinogens that have been "discovered" over the years? Saccarine? DDT? Aspartame? Please. One study finds caffine is bad for you, the next says it isn't.

Upon review of the studies posted, it appears that there is definately evidence of bias (and if one side exhibits it, why should we believe the other doesn't?). Also, the studies seem to indicate that effects are for fairly significant doses over several days, which is unlikely to be the case in any situation that this techinique would be used. Also, I suppose if you are pregnant, you may wish to choose another option (although dying of dehydration isn't a terribly good one either, IMHO).

As a radiation physicist, I see all kinds of nonsense written about radiation physics and biology (on this list even). Perhaps I am incorrect and the water that I boil in my Nalgene water bottle will be the deadliest thing since ebola. I am also not suggesting that everyone make a habit of drinking such water daily by the gallon as a tonic.

If I am ever in the situation where I have to try something like this, the last thing on my mind is going to be what the potential hazards of the nalgene are.

Greg

While we're on the subject, www.karstsports.com is having a huge sale, part of which is Nalgene bottles for as little as $4.25. Many of them are unusual colors or themes (raspberry musn't have been a popular color).

To quote a favorite line of mine from a good movie, "Everyone gotta die sometime, Red."

There is nothing we consume, not even the air we breathe, which doesn't put us at risk in some way or another. Yes, at some point risk becomes unnecessary, which is one reason why I quit smoking cigarettes years ago. I dare say that working in Manhattan, and previously in Baghdad, I was and probably still am exposing myself to a relatively similar hazard. You do what you gotta do. If I am out in the boonies and I need to boil water, I will use whatever I have available to do it with. If that is a Nalgene bottle, I will take care, but I will do what I gotta do. Given enough time, I could turn a piece of wood into a suitable bowl to put my hot rocks in to boil water.

You can't hide from it all and expect to enjoy life, but don't go looking for trouble neither.

And people call me a traitor to the State of Vermont becuase I won't eat commie ice cream. <img src="/images/graemlins/tongue.gif" alt="" />

Have you looked to see if Ben & Scary's put out a rebuttal to that?

You whine... *takes two limes from the fridge, cutting on into thin slices, the other into six wedges* You know, you have to get back on that horse sometime.

DDT is really scary, lots of things are. But artifical sweeteners, eh, so long as you don't vaporize them (I don't remember which one it is, but one of them is supposed to turn into a really neat low-end nerve toxin if you do so).

I've said it before here, but who ever said "everything will give you cancer" hit it on the head. By the same token, some things are too scary to play with.

It seems to translate to "We wanted to use a trendy marketing ploy and further our political activism while being hypocritical and doing something that's merely symbolic." I'll betcha the brochure was printed on bleached paper...

http://www.wired.com/news/technology/0,38302-1.html?tw=wn_story_page_next1
<snip>
Heimart says the company is aware of the dangers, and is doing what it can to counter them. "We know that we cannot as a company control the sources of dioxin, certainly not all of the sources," she told ENS. "The question we asked ourselves as a company is how can we make a difference. It’s a small impact, but if we’re not using chlorine to bleach our pint containers, then there’s that much less dioxin in the environment."
<snip>

Ok, the results are in!!! <img src="/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" />

Tonight I decided to put our little debate to the test, and see what in fact we would do to a lexan water bottle by dropping hot stones into it.

I used one of my old Eddie Bauer 1 L specials that I got at Target a few years ago. It's "leak proof cap" isn't very leak proof, so I don't use it anymore, and I figured it would make an excellent test subject.

I added 600 ml of water to allow for displacement. Then I started a fire (which is hot work when it's 99 degrees outside). Whew!

Initially, I decided to try using lava rocks, because I have them in abundance as we use them for mulch in some of our flower beds. I knew that they held heat well, and wouldn't explode on me. Good choice, right? Well....

Once I had some good coals started, I added the rocks then added some more wood to the fire. I probably let them sit 5 to 10 minutes. I have no idea how hot they were of course, as you wouldn't out in the field. I rolled them out of the fire with a stick, and lifted them using a forked stick (this worked even better than I initially thought it would). I should probably mention that the rocks were generally around 2" or so diameter. Basically just about as big as the wide mouth bottle would allow. Initially I added the rocks one at a time and checked for "boiling". Remember that with this method you won't see a traditionally roiling boil off the bottom of the container as you get with a stove. It will boil off of the rocks once it gets hot enough.

So I kept adding one rock at a time. It does require several rocks. Then I realized something. The lava rocks weren't really displacing the water and I was running out of space. DOH!!!

Note that the container was quite hot to the touch. I also wasn't initially replacing the lid between rocks, and I was losing some heat to steam. I dumped the water and rocks and started over, this time using rocks from my driveway (typical white driveway gravel), again looking for 1 to 2 inch diameter rocks that would fit through the bottle.

Same amount of water. This time I replaced the cap after each rock while I scooped up another one. Again, I heated them for 5 to 10 minutes. This time though, these rocks displaced the water, and I didn't experience the same problem. These rocks seemed to hold more heat as well (as would be expected).

The result was that I did manage to boil the water after adding several (10? I forgot to count them). By the last ones there was a roiling, lasting boil around each rock. Total displacement was approximately 200 ml or so.

I was so excited that it had worked, I proceded to do something very stupid. I tilted the bottle to see if there had been any damage to the bottom, and in the process managed to pour boiling water all over my fingers (remember the lid leaks, duh!). I now have a lovely burn on my ring and middle fingers. Note: do not get some impressed with yourself in a survival situation that when something works you immediately do something stupid that could be catastrophic!

Ok, so after I soaked my hand in cold water and applied some aloe gel, I head back out to check status. Water isn't boiling, but continues to steam quite well. Container quite hot to the touch. I dumped it all out and check the bottle for damage. There is no visible damage to the bottle. I refilled the bottle, and there are no leaks. The seam looks unchanged as well.

So in conclusion...

1. If you absolutely need to, you can boil water in a Lexan water bottle, by adding hot rocks to the water (DON'T PUT THE BOTTLE IN CONTACT WITH FLAME).

2. Your results will depend on the type of rock you choose. Remember that those round smooth river rocks may explode on you when heating.

3. Dropping rocks from a fire into water will get your water full of dirt and ash. You will probably want to filter it with at least a handkerchief before drinking.

4. The container transfers heat pretty well and will get quite hot. I also recommend using the lid to reduce heat loss between rocks, but be careful with pressure buildup (don't seal the lid tight!)

5. You won't be able to boil much water at a time due to the displacement. If the water level is getting too close to the opening you will get splashed when you drop rocks in.

6. Don't do something extremely stupid because you weren't thinking. Don't get in a hurry when in a critical situation. You will pay for it. <img src="/images/graemlins/crazy.gif" alt="" />

So now you know. It isn't terribly efficient, I still wouldn't recommend it, but in a pinch, this knowledge might come in handy. I did get probably 550 ml of boiled water in under 30 minutes (counting fire building), and could probably add another 550 ml in another 15 to 20 minutes (assuming another container).

Good luck! That was fun (except for the burned fingers part). More than one lesson learned!

Greg

Thanks Greg! While us ivory tower types sat around debating the academic merits of the idea, you went out and did the dirty work, got your fingers burned, and answered the question once and for all.

"In theory, therory is the same as practice, but in practice, there's usually a difference."

I gotta get more "dirt time".

Well I'll be hung, the bottle held. I fully expected the rocks in contact with the bottle to deform it along the seam at the very least. *bows, lifting my boonie to you*

Still, I'm not sure I'd want to trust the water. But if I someplace like New Jersey, I'm not sure anyone would notice. :P

Not trust it because of how it was boiled or because of the container in which it was boiled ironraven? I think in an emergency situation, especially if you lined the bottom with fired (and then cooled) rocks and kept them from sitting against the sides (maybe by gently rolling without spilling?) that the amount of Bad Things (TM) should be minimal... certainly for a few days until you get rescued. I don't think anyone is entertaining the idea of doing this on a regular basis. Is anyone? If so, then I agree, that I'd try to find something more suited to boiling, especially directly over flame.

The live test was very interesting and informative Greg. Thanks for sharing! I had a rager going this evening to clear some brush, and the 15 ft. flames actually caught the edge of a live tree on fire. <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> It's a hateful nasty mulberry tree that I hate, so no biggy. But I'm right there with you with HOT FIRE and 100 degree F weather. The balmy humidity didn't help. Alas, it simply slipped my mind to do any testing this evening. And I had some fire making tools ready to go too...

The container boiled in. I will conceed it has been done, but how many times can it be done with the typical container, and how many of them will fail the first time, are my primary concerns.

And yeah, I'm not sure how keen I am on drinking/eating something cooked in lexan in general. I also don't nuke things in tupperware, I put them on real plates or on paper. It's only been in the last year that I will grudingly admit that teflon pans might rival enamel and properly seasoned cast iron ones, and I've only used plastic spatulas for three years. :P Sure, using plastic plates and nalgene bottles I can do, the heat is relatively low and for a relatively short period of time, but I'm still leery of doing actual cooking on/in them.

Snow Peak Solo cookset fits around a Nag. bottle, and also fits the bottle and into a Maxpedition Jumbo bottle holder.

"Lightweight and durable, Snow Peak's Mini Solo Cookset can accompany you anywhere. Titanium is more corrosion resistant than stainless steel, and more heat resistant than aluminum.

Set includes:
One 4 1/4in. x 4 3/4in Pot. Vol. 28oz.
One 10 ounce cup.
Nylon stuff sack.
Weight: 5.5oz.
"

I agree that I am not sure how often you can use a nalgene in this fashion before it fails. I would certainly not recommend using this method as a common practice, but in a pinch, I'd drink the water. The amount of bad stuff coming out of the lexan should be low enough for brief exposure.

It is interesting that the same container that I used has written on it that it is microwave safe, which would imply that it can be used to boil water in a microwave. I haven't tried that, but I am sure it would work. I'm not sure why anyone would need to do that though, since if you have a microwave you probably have access to better cooking container choices.

Try and stay cool out there!

Greg