I have made most of the designs as well and you speak the truth about the Trangias. I have an old Swedish Military Trangia and it has never let me down.
It’s heavier, yes, but try accidentally stepping on your superlight Guinness/Redbull stove and see what happens….Snapcracklepopcrunch. Don’t ask how I know.
Then, drive over your Trangia with an ATV and see what happens……stove laughs
The only downside to the Trangia is the restriction on fuel type. Other than that, you can’t beat a little chunk of brass with no moving parts that will cook your food and boil your water in the bush every time.
It works best if you use a 3oz aluminum can - it can be a Fancy Feast cat food can or a Hormel Potted Meat can. I think most tuna cans are steel and steel cans just don't heat up fast enough.
i have looked at that biolite stove a few times. theres also the power pot … though id like to have both, i dont really see it being a needed item. also you know in the next few years, they will have them being more efficient with higher output
It’s no backpacking stove that’s for sure, but it boils a good litre of water in minutes on twigs, comes with a small pan and the bits to let you use it as a cooker and satisfies my inner pyromaniac.
As a day hike solution, it works as you can carry your brewing water in the kettle, and there’s enough water for at least four brews, all you need is some twigs, in England, the wise choice is a dry bag and carry a supply, or as I have done in the past, a few newspaper scrunchies do the job.
In warmer climes, pick your fuel up when you stop.
those kelly kettles are bad ass. such a simple concept, and works awsome
any one done any run times on there alcohol stoves? i got 7 min 19 sec on 1/2 oz of fuel. stove and alcohol were outside since last night and its 37 out right now… so cold start, and that 1/2 oz included the prime fuel. this was my pressure jet beer can stove. ill try it with my open jet beer can stove later see what times that one gets on 1/2 oz fuel.
not sure why, im sure theres a lot of factors in play. but i figured the short one would have heated up and vaporized the alcohol faster. both were made exactly the same, except i reamed out the fill hole too much on the short one and cant use a thumb screw, have to use a coin to block the fill hole
edit: temp is now 32, so maybe thats one factor for the longer run time
I spent almost a month in iceland this summer, cycling and wildcamping most of the time. I wanted to travel ultralight and on a budget, so the homemade stove was a must, and it really paid off. No moving parts, no fancy things, therefore extremely reliable. Mine got a lot of bumps but it survived and still working. It is the model made of heineken cans, but since it’s so light (under 20 grs.), I took a smaller one as backup, made with redbull cans. Another advantage is that they’re so small i could pack them inside the steel mugs we used for eating and drinking. Had i used a wood one, i’d be dead from starvation… I don’t like gas burners either, because they’re bulkier, and have higher fail rates (and it’s not always easy to know calculate how much fuel is left, or to find spare cartridges depending on where you are.
Ethanol is my choice for fuel . less soot than other stuff i used. Plus, you only need to carry a tiny amount of fuel if you’re travelling alone or for a short time. Plus, once you make the first one, you are able to make a new one on the track, using just a multitool, or knife and those cans that lay around. Plus… i love it!
:bigsmile:
just got my trangia mini kit, very slightly used for $25 shipped… this thing burns good. puts all the ones i made to shame.
boiled some water on it already, and think ill heat some beans and fry an egg on it later. know these alcohol stoves are mainly for boiling water… but gotta try it
The homemade pop can stoves are great fun to build for sure (also made several with mixed results) but since they are less fuel efficient than a traniga they will burn off the weight difference rather quickly. You get lowered reliability and have to carry more fuel … thats why I never really saw the point in using them. A titanium version of the trangia stove would be the best of two worlds, but they are a bit too pricy to save 70 or so grams in the backpack
the evernew burner is titanium, and pretty damn close to a trangia clone. doesnt have a cap though. like you said, it is pricey. i think i have seen them on ebay for a bit under $50, for just the burner
Alcohol as a fuel is good all around, and dont forget that they are not limited to denatured camping alcohol. I mainly burn 96% medical alcohol in them, a lot easier to find in off grid countries, and a lot cheaper. Trangias are useful for more than boiling water as well, it is possible to use them as your single means for preparing food.
i dug out my 1975 coleman 425E stove yesterday while i was at my dads. the generator and all was gummed/clogged up. so i drained the years old fuel, filled it with acetone, and pressured it up and ran it through the system. to my surprise it ran on it. i ran it about 10 mins on acetone. it actually ran pretty decent on it, and it actually ran much better afterwards.
but if it will run on acetone, i imagine it will run on alcohol. not sure how the seals, pacing and all will like it, but i may have to try.
Did you get the simmering ring in your kit? I got mine used on ebay minus the ring so I haven’t actually used one. It looks handy and seems to work from everything I’ve heard.