trangia

[Ausseknifeknut]

I've bought myself a trangia , but I've never used one before , is it as simple as setting it up , filling the burner with metho and away I go ?

 

[druid189]

yep, pretty much.

All alcohol stoves should have an internal "chimney" in the center [not all do though] that goes from the top of the fill port to the bottom...and have cutouts at the bottom of that chimney to let alcohol filter to the outer chamber [the area between the chimney and the outer wall of the stove]. When you fill it, you light it and the center has flame. That raises the temperature in the outer chamber so the alcohol begins to vaporize and then the fumes catch fire and provide the "jet."

Fill it about half way with denatured alcohol or any vodka/everclear of more than 150 proof. Light it and watch how it works. You can do it at the dining room table, put it on a marble hot plate/trivet [or a hot pad?] and see how it works.

 

[neeman]

Trangia is designed to burn Methalated Spirits (Industrial methanol) or Heet
That gives its optimal burn and performance

Rubbing Alcohol will not work well to give a hot burn

Here we only have "Spirit' which is a methanol used in carpentry for wood finish prep (raises the grain for finishing)
But it is not pure enough to burn well

 

[Ausseknifeknut]

I've got a bottle of methylated spirits , it even says it's good to use in burners. This post makes me seem like a noob , but hey everyone was a noob once . Thanks for your input

 

[leghog]

I just make my own for pennies, if any cost at all. Works just as well. No reason to spend 10+ dollars.

 

[baldtaco-II]

There's only two things to watch for with a Trangia.

1] They have a really crap heat output. That means unless you are a fine weather weekender you really have to figure out how to conserve that measly output. Getting your wind blocking right is #1 priority. Failure to do that means you'll end up carrying so much weight of liquid fuel to power the thing any returns from the diminutive size of the brute will quickly become dwarfed.

2] I wasn't the first, and definitely won't be the last, to snuff the thing out with wrong cap in the heat of the moment. You need to use the regulator cap on closed not just bung the lid over it 'cos it burns the rubber seal ring.

I like them a lot for a specific niche, but you've got to address that awful inefficiency problem to make them worth the effort.

 

[Mannlicher]

I find the Trangia heats water as quickly as about anything else. I get a number of boils out of a full stove. The fuel you use is important to how well the stove works. Yellow Bottle HEET, a FRESH bottle, seems to be the best. Any water added to the fuel, as in rubbing alcohol or Vodka, will cut the heat output, and make for sooty, dirty burns.
I have used the regular cap to put out the flame a thousand times, with no bad effect on the rubber seal.

 

[kvaughn]

Everclear or Graves 190 proof grain alcohol works best in mine. You can also use it for antiseptic purposes and diluted with something, you can drink it.--KV

 

[pinnah]

I've bought myself a trangia , but I've never used one before , is it as simple as setting it up , filling the burner with metho and away I go ?

IMO, no stove is "simple".

My standard recommendation is to make tea on your new stove once a day for a month, no matter what the weather is like.

IME, there is no substitute for experience to learn how the stove reacts to wind and cold. And, one needs to become familiar with how stove reacts so that it becomes second nature and you avoid "gotchas".

Couple of things I've observed with the Trangia. I'll try to post some pictures to illuminate later this week.

WINDSCREENS - As others have mentioned, with any alcohol stove, you must have your windscreen system sorted. These stoves are not pressurized so the flames are very susceptible to being blown about. Windscreens must work with the stand and pot. The Trangia burner is sold by Trangia either alone or with a wide variety of stands and/or windscreens set ups. Some are great (but heavy) and the lighter ones are awful and offer horrible performance. If you have a bare burner and no windscreen or if you have the Westwind stand or the No 25 mini, you might just replace with a Clickstand and be done with it.


STANDS AND HEADSPACE - The trangia burner produces the best boil times with the pot a certain distance above the burner. This depends on the windscreen and other factors, but usually around 1.25 inches or 30mm. At this point, I pretty much only use my Trangia burner for cooking for 3 or 4 people with a 2 qt pot, so I like a bigger more stable stand. I currently use the Mojo Stand (google search) and a re-purposed MRS aluminum windscreen cut down to size. If I had to replace it (no need) I would consider the Clickstand.


COLD GROUND AND PRIMING - Like the Svea 123 or other Optimus white gas stoves, alcohol stoves require priming to vaporize the fuel. Putting them directly on cold ground or snow sucks the heat out of the stove and will produce horrible cook times. I carry a thin disk of very thin plywood that I use as a base in cold or snowy conditions.

OVER HEATING & SAFETY - Like the Svea 123, if you over heat an alcohol stove bad things happen. While they won't go !BANG!, they can boil over, spilling burning fuel on the ground. For this reason, they aren't the best bet for use in a dry forest fire type environment (unless you clear the burn area well) and if you use them on a wooden surface like a picnic table, you run the risk of charring it (done it many times). Knowing how to give just enough wind protection but not too much is key, hence the need for experience.

WEIGHT AND DURABILITY - The Trangia is very durable but a bit heavy. They do offer a bit of control - a lot more than most other alcohol stoves. Leghog's idea of making your own is one way to get a lighter burner, particularly if you primarily use your stove for boiling water. I'm lazy and just buy my UL stoves from Batchstovez. I have both the 1.0 and 2.0FE and just love them. Super light. Very efficient. Very durable. Great for 1 or 2 people. No simmer of any sort though.


USABILITY - The trick to controlling or dousing the Trangia requires putting the snuff/simmer ring on. If you toss and pray, you might miss. If the stove is overheated, this might also cause a boil over and flare up fire. I made a magnetic rod to put the simmer ring on reliably without burning my fingers. I consider it essential for using the Trangia.

One thing I love about all alcohol stoves is how quiet they are and how hands off they are. Basically, I light them and do other things with little fear of major problems. When I see steam, I return to the stove. But they definitely require practice and getting the system sorted out.


FUEL - Lastly, whether or not they make sense depends on the availability of fuel. This varies widely so it's very hard to make a recommendation on that front.

 

[panzertroop]

What are you using for a pot stand?

 

[Bobber]

WARNING: Make sure the heater are entirely out and the burner is cool before refueling...!!!!!!!!!
We have had several really bad accidents up here in Norway by people trying to refuel while burner is hot, or even worse still burning..

The absolutely baddest of them was a kindergarten class in a Lavvo (saami tent) burner had'nt cooled enough and exploded in flames.
Severe injuries on all the children and teachers....

But if used right, and after this simple rule, it's a fantastic burner. Totally silent and efficient....

 

[baldtaco-II]

I made a magnetic rod to put the simmer ring on reliably without burning my fingers. I consider it essential for using the Trangia.

Ha. On the left a threaded receiver to accept a short rod.

 

[gadgetgeek]

I'm assuming you've got the full kit and not just the burner?
I've helped quite a few kids feed themselves off a trangia. Once you get used to it, they work well. We use diggers metho, and it works pretty good. A good way to keep the soot down is to drop a little water, 1:10 or less into the burner as well, and don't buy the dyed stuff.

If you are using one in the daytime, you'll notice that in full sun a pure alcohol flame is pretty tough to see, I generally use a bit of grass as an indicator instead of my knuckle hair.

Don't worry about being noob. I took an actual class on using trangias, and most outdoor rec guys I work with have a story or two of a careless moment causing them trouble with a trangia. There is a reason that the base is that wide. lets just say that picnic tables and trangias are not a great mix...

 

[Ausseknifeknut]

G'day gadget geek ! Yes ,I bought the full kit, a27-5UL . The metho I bought is diggers brand , outta woollies and is clear. I also got myself a mess kit , though I dunno how that'll go . It's steel so I'm assuming I can boil water in it

 

[gadgetgeek]

Mess kits are great when other folks are doing the cooking (or when its a cast-iron meal) Eating out of the pot works. You will certainly be able to boil in it if you wanted to though.

One thought, if you do douse the burner instead of burning it out, many folks find that the seal in the lid doesn't last long, so they often leak. I generally let the burners all burn out just for safety.

Trangias take some practice, but for as many little problems as they have, lots of folks use them. practice with it, and figure out the heat levels. Once you do, they are quite useful, especially if you are cooking for two or more. Where I work its generally four people to a single trangia set. Absorption method for pasta and white rice work very well.

 

[neeman]

Trangia works best when used as the enclosed cook set, either the 2 person 27 or the 4 person 25

http://www.trangia.se/english/5614.27_series_ul.html
http://www.trangia.se/english/5612.25_series_ul.html


These sets answer all the doubts aired here about Trangia
They are windproof, and the burner is at the correct height
The flame wraps round the pots and is protected by the windshields
The simmer ring when used reduces the flame to be able to slow cook rice or lentils
And it is perfect for a long slow unattended cook
And you can buy an insulating plate for the cold ground

The two 1 liter pots, frypan, and a kettle of the 27 weights 825 g
And the 1.5 and 1.75 pots, frypan and a kettle weighs 1000 g
These weights are quite acceptable
You can also get larger pots that fit on the outside of the packed kit, but still fit inside the windshield for cooking
So my 27 has a 2.5 lt pot as an addition if I want to extend the kit for 4 or 5 people


My regret is I did not spend the extra money on the anodized or non-stick

 

[neeman]

The Trangia mess tins are not that useful as they are very wide and hard to balance on stove tops and the volume is not that great at less than 600ml
They sit well directly on open fire, but the lid needs a handle

I got from Four Dogs, the Olicamp 24 Oz (800ml) Hard Anodized Aluminum Space Saver Mug and you can get the lid with it
Much better than mess tins

 

[Ausseknifeknut]

My mess kit is an Aussie army one , not the trangia brand one , just to clarify. I hear you about the lid though. I also have two of those steel kidney cups for my canteens.

 

[plumberroy]

The trangia 27 series is my favorite cook set simple with every thing you need to actually cook something (verses just heating water) They are also quiet. A canister stove is faster, but what it lacks in boil times it makes up for in fast set up my friends that are hassling me about my slow old stove are still priming their gas stove while the trangia is all ready cooking

 

[Daniel L]

Since you're in AU, "meths" is the right choice, just make sure you have plenty of ventilation... you will smell it anyway

One little trick in cold weather is to pre heat the top ring by putting a bit of fuel around the top ring (on the outside) after filling. Then you light the outer part and it will help pre heat and ignite the inner well. Windshield (or your kit) is essential.

I like Trangias - they're not the fastest or the lightest alcohol stove but they are very fuel efficient and well constructed. I use mine quite a bit for frying with the simmer cap.

One other tip... it's generally recommended to NOT let the burner run dry and extinguish itself. Apparently this causes a small build up of damage that leads to a cracked burner. I personally haven't had it happen to me but just something to be aware of.