I need to clean some really caked on grease that is on an old engine in a
machine.

I was thinking of taking a tea kettle and shutting the spring-loaded lid,
inserting some 1/4" copper tubing into the lid's hole, setting the thing on
a hot-plate, putting a spring on the tubing where one would hold the tubing
so as to prevent fingers being burned.

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

j/b