How much Meth

[mythste]

...ylated spirit would you take for a Trangia over two weeks? Well, I tend to opt for the bioethanol stuff.

I'm fortunate enough to be heading to the Hebrides for two weeks at the beginning of May, I suspect there will be at least 1 hot meal prepped on the stove each day if not two. I'm aiming for a nice arbitrary Litre of fuel but does anyone have any reason to tell me that's silly?

I suspect I will be able to resupply if needs be but I certainly don't want to rely on it. My knowledge of the shops that will stock that sort of thing is limited and searching doesn't throw up too much.

As always, any and all help appreciated!

 

[classic33]

I've used half a litre over an extended, 4 day, weekend camping.

Have you tried using it at home, cooking what you'll be cooking whilst camping?

 

[Gravity Aided]

I would gauge a couple liters, just off the cuff, but I have the smaller Trangia, and not the big military one. A lot depends on cooking times and efficiency of your cooking set up, pot stand at correct height, etc. A fellow has figured all this out.


View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pvz4SZ9_g10

 

[fossyant]

What, what..

 

[MichaelW2]

Depends a lot on what you are cooking and the strength of the fuel. I would estimate 1 litre per week.
Test out your kit, how long to boil a pan
How long burn time per measured refil.
Burn time on simmer.

 

[mythste]

Ballpark is fine! I'm thinking bacon and or oats most mornings and a pasta or rice boiled dish in the evenings. We should be eating out when we stumble across somewhere which im conservatively estimating at every 4 nights. the odd coffee here and there. I'd estimated a litre and a half which is based loosely on previous experience and even more loosely on the fact thats about what I have left. Just making sure i'm not wildly missing something - It wouldn't be the first time.

I honestly don't think I have the time to do full boil down measured tests. I've only used it for 3-4 day camping trips and know that I come home with less fuel then I took

 

[Brains]

Take the litre bottle.
Ensure it lives on your frame and NOT in the panniers!
I put mine on the underside of the downtube, which means if it leaks and smells it does not matter

You can probably restock on meths.
Over the years I've bought meths from:
Hardware shops, kitchen shops or catering companies (meths powers restaurant bain maries and also fondu sets).
Off an industrial cleaning company in a warehouse, (meths is widely used for cleaning)
From other campers. (Most youth groups, Scouts, Cadets, Schools doing DofE etc. all use meths, and will usually have spare supplies)
There are many sources.

Otherwise you can run a Trangia on:
Gas - You need the gas attachment, well worth the slight weight penalty and can be got off ebay from about £20-£50
Primus omni-fuel stove - Expensive but very nice, will run on any liquid fuel including diesel. The stove fits inside the Trangia base hole
Boot Polish - One tin will run the stove for about 1 hour. Turns pan black (or brown or red !)
Hexamine tablets - (aka 'Esbit' and 'HexiBloc') Available in fishing and camping shops
Firelighters - Get the higher quality wrapped ones
Brazil Nuts - One nut, with shell, broken in two halves, in tin foil lasts about 10 mins
Lighter fuel - Best used when soaked on a medium such as rag, cotton wool, sawdust or similar

 

[samid]

IME, in some small village shops in Scotland, you may not set meths on the shelves but if you ask they might find some.

 

[Crackle]

Litre a week but you should be able to get it relatively easily.

 

[Heltor Chasca]

Slightly OT, but I ran out of eco fuel / meths in Europe and struggled to find any.

Running out is a major PITA. Now I fill my bike frame with the stuff right up to the seat post and have fitted a little home brew tap down by the BB. Works a treat.

 

[mythste]

Slightly OT, but I ran out of eco fuel / meths in Europe and struggled to find any.

Running out is a major PITA. Now I fill my bike frame with the stuff right up to the seat post and have fitted a little home brew tap down by the BB. Works a treat.

Its a neat solution, but until I can fit a second tap and separate off the front triangle from the rear my intention is to use that space for whiskey.

 

[MichaelW2]

Slightly OT, but I ran out of eco fuel / meths in Europe and struggled to find any.

Running out is a major PITA. Now I fill my bike frame with the stuff right up to the seat post and have fitted a little home brew tap down by the BB. Works a treat.

I recall frame tube fuel storage in one of the photos from the book Touring Bikes by Tony Oliver.

 

[mythste]

Incidentally, do any of you Trangia-holics know if there is a reasonable alternative to the non-stick frying pan? I might just be being tight but £13 seems excessive. I bought the basic one and the only thing that's annoying is cleaning that flaming pan!

 

[MichaelW2]

Incidentally, do any of you Trangia-holics know if there is a reasonable alternative to the non-stick frying pan? I might just be being tight but £13 seems excessive. I bought the basic one and the only thing that's annoying is cleaning that flaming pan!

Hard anodised.
Or cast iron!

 

[alicat]

I think you're being tight if it's a good non-stick surface. I'd rather pay the extra than spending hours trying to get a pan clean while camping.