What stoves do people prefer? I\'ve been using the screw in canisters but they are not very stable or good in wind.
Theres a Trange (sp?) 1 person stove in a local store here for 65 euro. You pour alcohol into a little canister and light it. No tubes or knobs. Seems primitive. Do they work well? Did I hear that the pots are not too durable?
Cheers,
Ciaran
Stoves
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MikeBuckley
- Posts: 0
- Joined: Sat Oct 26, 2013 9:37 am
Re:Stoves
I have a 30 year old Trangia - is that durable enough for you? Its\' fairly dented, having fallen down a mountain once or twice.Make sure you dry them properly before storage though - I\'ve had a pot corrode through thanks to leaving it damp.
Upsides: simple, efficient (especially in windy conditions), no knobs, valves or tubes to break or block. Resonably safe and cheap to run. Comes with all pots and even a kettle. The design retains heat and provides an integral windshield.
Downsides: pots get heavily covered in soot from the meths flame - some folk suggest adding 10% water will help this a bit, I dont bother. Difficult to control the heat accurately although the simmer-ring will reduce the flame a lot, and turning the entire assembly into or out of the wind helps too. Putting it out requires a little bravery - I use a metal mug to kill the flame. If you buy one, don\'t use the sealing cap to extinguish as the rubber seal ring will block the burner holes when it melts.
Wonderful things. And the small version is just the right size to go thro a standard VCP hatch. You can get a gas conversion, but I\'m not a gas fan, especially not of the number of empty, rusty gas containers I find littering the countryside. Gas doesnt like cold weather btw.
I also use a multi-fuel MSR Whisperlite (mainly run on petrol) which will happily burn water and is easy to service \"in the field\" if necessary. Cheap to run, but very poor flame control. I hear tell that some of the other MSR\'s have better control. They can be a little tricky to light as well. MSR say to preheat with whatever fuel you are using, but I find that messy and potentially dangerous and carry a small bottle of meths to pre-heat with.
By way of comparison, I can get a hot drink from the Trangia quicker than from the MSR - especially in wet, windy conditions. Which is of course when you need it most. Finally, inevitably fuel will get spilt at some point - meths is rather less nasty than petrol, and certainly less than paraffin or diesel in terms of leaving a nasty mess.
Mike
Upsides: simple, efficient (especially in windy conditions), no knobs, valves or tubes to break or block. Resonably safe and cheap to run. Comes with all pots and even a kettle. The design retains heat and provides an integral windshield.
Downsides: pots get heavily covered in soot from the meths flame - some folk suggest adding 10% water will help this a bit, I dont bother. Difficult to control the heat accurately although the simmer-ring will reduce the flame a lot, and turning the entire assembly into or out of the wind helps too. Putting it out requires a little bravery - I use a metal mug to kill the flame. If you buy one, don\'t use the sealing cap to extinguish as the rubber seal ring will block the burner holes when it melts.
Wonderful things. And the small version is just the right size to go thro a standard VCP hatch. You can get a gas conversion, but I\'m not a gas fan, especially not of the number of empty, rusty gas containers I find littering the countryside. Gas doesnt like cold weather btw.
I also use a multi-fuel MSR Whisperlite (mainly run on petrol) which will happily burn water and is easy to service \"in the field\" if necessary. Cheap to run, but very poor flame control. I hear tell that some of the other MSR\'s have better control. They can be a little tricky to light as well. MSR say to preheat with whatever fuel you are using, but I find that messy and potentially dangerous and carry a small bottle of meths to pre-heat with.
By way of comparison, I can get a hot drink from the Trangia quicker than from the MSR - especially in wet, windy conditions. Which is of course when you need it most. Finally, inevitably fuel will get spilt at some point - meths is rather less nasty than petrol, and certainly less than paraffin or diesel in terms of leaving a nasty mess.
Mike
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ciaranclissmann
- Posts: 8
- Joined: Sat Oct 26, 2013 9:37 am
Re:Stoves
I\'d agree largely with Mike.
I\'ve had a trangia forever, and they\'re very much the standard walker stove. A pint or two of meths lasts you for a whole summer, and once they get going they are surprisingly good at cooking. And the pots & stove go together efficiently.
That said, gas-adapted trangias go start faster, leave less mess on the pots and cook quicker too. When in a groups with two or three trangias, you\'ll see the gas lads being used first, in preference to the meths boys. Shame the adaptor is so dear.
From a kayakers perspective, the biggest downside for a trangia is that it takes up quite a lot of space and can\'t be broken down into small units. The smaller one-man units of course have this problem to a lesser degree.
The biggest plus is the durability, the biggest minus is the bulk. The other plus is cheap, clean fuel, the other minus is the soot and the lesser convenience compared to gas. But probly better environmentally than gas canisters. Gas canisters left littering the place are, of course, inexcusable, and any paddler leaving one behind him needs a good kick in the arse.
On MSRs, I cooked my way around the world on one, burning all kinds of weird shit. But I had to service it every day, simple but fiddly, and the last time I used it, I discovered that lots of seals had perished and that spilt petrol burns very well indeed.
I plan to get a Coleman stove next, I\'ve heard good things about their simplicity. Though Gavan Sheridan\'s super-tiny gas stove also has serious plus points....
Anyway, Ciaran, having a trangia is a basic piece of kit, like owning walking boots and a headtorch. If you don\'t have one, get one, you won\'t be sorry.
Ciaran
MikeBuckley wrote:
I\'ve had a trangia forever, and they\'re very much the standard walker stove. A pint or two of meths lasts you for a whole summer, and once they get going they are surprisingly good at cooking. And the pots & stove go together efficiently.
That said, gas-adapted trangias go start faster, leave less mess on the pots and cook quicker too. When in a groups with two or three trangias, you\'ll see the gas lads being used first, in preference to the meths boys. Shame the adaptor is so dear.
From a kayakers perspective, the biggest downside for a trangia is that it takes up quite a lot of space and can\'t be broken down into small units. The smaller one-man units of course have this problem to a lesser degree.
The biggest plus is the durability, the biggest minus is the bulk. The other plus is cheap, clean fuel, the other minus is the soot and the lesser convenience compared to gas. But probly better environmentally than gas canisters. Gas canisters left littering the place are, of course, inexcusable, and any paddler leaving one behind him needs a good kick in the arse.
On MSRs, I cooked my way around the world on one, burning all kinds of weird shit. But I had to service it every day, simple but fiddly, and the last time I used it, I discovered that lots of seals had perished and that spilt petrol burns very well indeed.
I plan to get a Coleman stove next, I\'ve heard good things about their simplicity. Though Gavan Sheridan\'s super-tiny gas stove also has serious plus points....
Anyway, Ciaran, having a trangia is a basic piece of kit, like owning walking boots and a headtorch. If you don\'t have one, get one, you won\'t be sorry.
Ciaran
MikeBuckley wrote:
I have a 30 year old Trangia - is that durable enough for you? Its\' fairly dented, having fallen down a mountain once or twice.Make sure you dry them properly before storage though - I\'ve had a pot corrode through thanks to leaving it damp.
Upsides: simple, efficient (especially in windy conditions), no knobs, valves or tubes to break or block. Resonably safe and cheap to run. Comes with all pots and even a kettle. The design retains heat and provides an integral windshield.
Downsides: pots get heavily covered in soot from the meths flame - some folk suggest adding 10% water will help this a bit, I dont bother. Difficult to control the heat accurately although the simmer-ring will reduce the flame a lot, and turning the entire assembly into or out of the wind helps too. Putting it out requires a little bravery - I use a metal mug to kill the flame. If you buy one, don\'t use the sealing cap to extinguish as the rubber seal ring will block the burner holes when it melts.
Wonderful things. And the small version is just the right size to go thro a standard VCP hatch. You can get a gas conversion, but I\'m not a gas fan, especially not of the number of empty, rusty gas containers I find littering the countryside. Gas doesnt like cold weather btw.
I also use a multi-fuel MSR Whisperlite (mainly run on petrol) which will happily burn water and is easy to service \"in the field\" if necessary. Cheap to run, but very poor flame control. I hear tell that some of the other MSR\'s have better control. They can be a little tricky to light as well. MSR say to preheat with whatever fuel you are using, but I find that messy and potentially dangerous and carry a small bottle of meths to pre-heat with.
By way of comparison, I can get a hot drink from the Trangia quicker than from the MSR - especially in wet, windy conditions. Which is of course when you need it most. Finally, inevitably fuel will get spilt at some point - meths is rather less nasty than petrol, and certainly less than paraffin or diesel in terms of leaving a nasty mess.
Mike
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MartinHodge
- Posts: 0
- Joined: Sat Oct 26, 2013 9:37 am
Re:Stoves
The Swedish army Trangia is yer only man. 12 euros from an army surplus store (or on ebay)
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ciarancarthy
- Posts: 0
- Joined: Sat Oct 26, 2013 9:37 am
Re:Stoves
Cheers chaps
Im not famililar with the MSR. What is it and does it work in conjunction with the Trangia?
Ciaran
Im not famililar with the MSR. What is it and does it work in conjunction with the Trangia?
Ciaran
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MikeBuckley
- Posts: 0
- Joined: Sat Oct 26, 2013 9:37 am