Stove recommendations

[Crankarm]

Just looked at the Blacks site, none of those items are there at those prices, either under stoves or clearance. You sure it was Blacks?

Errr ................... quite sure .

Blacks store in Cambridge. But the MSR Whisperlite and Primus Express Spider were reduced to clear so was probably a clearance item particular to the store. Couldn't see anything wrong with them except some scrote had nicked the fuel filter tube from the pump of the Whisperlite so the sales guy just took one off a neighbouring MSR Dragonfly pump. The Primus Express Spider is complete. I'm particularly chuffed with this find. But proof will be in the pudding.

The prices on their Trangia stoves are the lowest I have seen. £54.99 for the 25-6 UL non stick pans + kettle is pretty good plus a further 10% off. £84 for the 25-8 UL hard anodised finish pans + kettle plus 10% off. I think the basic Trangia 25-2 UL aluminium finish pans and kettle was about £30-35.

Odd numbers ie 25-1, 25-3, 25-5, 25-7 no kettle.
Even numbers ie 25-2, 25-4, 25-6, 25-8 comes with kettle.

I don't know where your nearest Blacks is, but it might be worth paying them a visit if you need anything.

I will need to go back on saturday as they had run out of MSR bottles yesterday.

Blacks in Peterborough is ok, not as good IMHO as the Cambridge store.

 

[battered]

I'm in Leeds, we have a Blacks iirc, their prices on gas bottles look good too.

TBH I need another camping stove like a hole in the head, but that price for the Whisperlite Inter is sensational. *Used* MSRs go for better than £40 on Fleabay. New the best I can find is £60. What I realy need to do though is service my existing XGK, filthy and unreliable thing as it is. I'll also have a ferret through my other stoves, my old Trangia could do with a run out. I like using the Trangia, the best thing about it is filling the kettle the night before so all you need to do first thing is take the lid off the burner and drop a match in, then have a snooze. The kettle lid rattling will tell you it's tea time.

 

[bigjim]

I've found the cat stove works a treat. But there again I also like the esbit and I have no problem finding a few dry twigs to add to it. Does not take many to boil a pot. Old pine twigs go a treat and they are pretty dry at the base of the tree.

I'm in Leeds, we have a Blacks iirc, their prices on gas bottles look good too.

TBH I need another camping stove like a hole in the head, but that price for the Whisperlite Inter is sensational. *Used* MSRs go for better than £40 on Fleabay. New the best I can find is £60. What I realy need to do though is service my existing XGK, filthy and unreliable thing as it is. I'll also have a ferret through my other stoves, my old Trangia could do with a run out. I like using the Trangia, the best thing about it is filling the kettle the night before so all you need to do first thing is take the lid off the burner and drop a match in, then have a snooze. The kettle lid rattling will tell you it's tea time.

 

[battered]

That's probably fair TBH. I haven't ever tried chucking the odd twig in with hexy stoves, but as you say it can't do any harm. As you suggest unless it is actually raining at the time then a pine twig will probably burn. I suspect I'm coming at this from the wrong angle, I've been a lifelong mountaineer and we generally end up camping away from trees, either at altitde or in mountain areas where it's often wet. Crack out the petrol stove lads, twigs aren't an option.

In lowland areas in the summer it may well be different, I ought to give it a try.

 

[Ticktockmy]

Not really. Re-read what I wrote.

I don't refill the burner if I think that the flame is out.
I use the snuffer to extinguish the flame.
Removing the snuffer gives a tactile indication that the flame is out i.e. no burning sensation.
I refill the burner when I know it is out.

In addition I never have the stove inside my tent's footprint. I consider that practice to be too risky.

The point I was trying to make whilst you are obviously a wise soul, there are others who are not so wise to know that Meths in the right condition whilst alight is invisible. Hence whilst you have had much practice at following your procedure, it can be unwise to pass the information on in writing much better to demonstrate it so people see and understand the pitfalls more the better.


The guy who got burnt was not in his tent, but a few yards away, it was the knee jerk reaction which make him throw away the bottle which then sprayed over the tent, luckily for others around him only the tent got it.

 

[vernon]

The point I was trying to make whilst you are obviously a wise soul, there are others who are not so wise to know that Meths in the right condition whilst alight is invisible. Hence whilst you have had much practice at following your procedure, it can be unwise to pass the information on in writing much better to demonstrate it so people see and understand the pitfalls more the better.

In my guise as a 'firestarter', look up my postings about indoor rockets and burning ping pong balls - you might want to reconsider your assessment of me as a wise soul . I, along with other classmates in the early seventies, used to rely upon the near invisibility of burning alcohol to set fire to unsuspecting victims' exercise books, pencil cases and haversacks and wait for them to spot that things were getting warmer.

A decade later as a science teacher flammable reagents were placed under lock and key and kids no longer had the ability to explore flash points, and ignition temperatures of various materials - it's no wonder that accidents with meths stoves happen - folk haven't come accross it before

 

[Ticktockmy]

In my guise as a 'firestarter', look up my postings about indoor rockets and burning ping pong balls - you might want to reconsider your assessment of me as a wise soul . I, along with other classmates in the early seventies, used to rely upon the near invisibility of burning alcohol to set fire to unsuspecting victims' exercise books, pencil cases and haversacks and wait for them to spot that things were getting warmer.

A decade later as a science teacher flammable reagents were placed under lock and key and kids no longer had the ability to explore flash points, and ignition temperatures of various materials - it's no wonder that accidents with meths stoves happen - folk haven't come accross it before

You missed out on the real fun, during the early 50, one could wander the fields near to where I lived and find all sorts of strange and majicial stuff, which when place in a suitable fire which just suddenly appeared, one had a really large bangs which Pee,d everyone off, so that then nice local policemen had to lecture us about our deeds, we even hit on the idea if we lit said Bonfire placed the cannon shelled we used to pick up down a metal pipe and there would be a whoosh and a large bang. needless we did not understand that the shell would travel about 11 miles to land on the isle of wight. the brown stuff really hit the fan..but it was such jolly fun

 

[Crankarm]

You missed out on the real fun, during the early 50, one could wander the fields near to where I lived and find all sorts of strange and majicial stuff, which when place in a suitable fire which just suddenly appeared, one had a really large bangs which Pee,d everyone off, so that then nice local policemen had to lecture us about our deeds, we even hit on the idea if we lit said Bonfire placed the cannon shelled we used to pick up down a metal pipe and there would be a whoosh and a large bang. needless we did not understand that the shell would travel about 11 miles to land on the isle of wight. the brown stuff really hit the fan..but it was such jolly fun

And kids of today are considered hooligans out of control ..........................

 

[smeg]

You missed out on the real fun, during the early 50, one could wander the fields near to where I lived and find all sorts of strange and majicial stuff, which when place in a suitable fire which just suddenly appeared, one had a really large bangs which Pee,d everyone off, so that then nice local policemen had to lecture us about our deeds, we even hit on the idea if we lit said Bonfire placed the cannon shelled we used to pick up down a metal pipe and there would be a whoosh and a large bang. needless we did not understand that the shell would travel about 11 miles to land on the isle of wight. the brown stuff really hit the fan..but it was such jolly fun

None of that makes any sense to me

 

[Ticktockmy]

None of that makes any sense to me

Sorry this old fart rambled on, in the early 1950, we had not long been out of WWII, and as 10 year old's we used to unlike most kids these day, be allowed to wander where we willed (There was no child molesters around then to rape us boys). also at that time there was alot of unexploded bombs and orndance laying around still in the fields and woods. Which to us kids was great fun. as i said with the help of a few fires we used to have loads of fun making very large bangs and rattling windows, which used to upset the local people. But in those day you just got a slap around the head from the local policeman then he wouild help you light the fire..LOL.

 

[battered]

At the other extreme I'm experimenting with a penny stove. They aren't the easiest to work out but they weigh nothing (I mean NOTHING) and cost, er, 1p.

You need 2 empty soft drinks cans and a larger tin lid, or say a sardine tin, 1p and a spare hour or so. 10 minutes to build, the rest fine tuning and messing about.

There are loads of vids on You Tube, all I'll add is that they don't make it very clear how to use them. You really do need the third shallow tin to stand the thing in and get it hot enough to work. Once started, it gets a bit lively but does eventually settle down to something very similar to a Trangia.

They aren't easy to control (no simmer ring, and you need a damp cloth or a larger tin to snuff them out) They work well though, one has just boiled water for tea in a few minutes, using 2 bent up bike spokes as a pot stand.

Would I want one as my only stove? No. Could I use one on a short ultralight trip? Yes. Are they a useful addition to the kit bag? Certainly, you can do 2 pot cookery with no weight/cost penalty, or knock up a brew while your dinner is on.

 

[vernon]

You missed out on the real fun, during the early 50, one could wander the fields near to where I lived and find all sorts of strange and majicial stuff, which when place in a suitable fire which just suddenly appeared, one had a really large bangs which Pee,d everyone off, so that then nice local policemen had to lecture us about our deeds, we even hit on the idea if we lit said Bonfire placed the cannon shelled we used to pick up down a metal pipe and there would be a whoosh and a large bang. needless we did not understand that the shell would travel about 11 miles to land on the isle of wight. the brown stuff really hit the fan..but it was such jolly fun

You underestimate me.....

Railway detonators made a good substitute for ordnance

 

[Ticktockmy]

You underestimate me.....

Railway detonators made a good substitute for ordnance

And the go on about young people theses days..LOL

 

[zacklaws]

I have the earlier version that I use when fishing, the multifuel, and they are good, but I mainley use my Trangia now for simplicity and being reliable. The problem with Primus's, is that they do clog up eventually and the generator needs cleaning, which is easy to do as they come apart easy and the parts are robust, the occasional tap with a spoon on the generator as you use it will clean it by breaking free carbon deposits, as witness by the shower of sparks you get. To reduce clogging up when using unleaded, you can add Redex to the fuel, but I never found it that succesful. Alternatively, instead of using unleaded, buy Aspen 4T, or use "Panel Wipe" which they use for cleaning cars down before respraying. Aspen 4T is good (Not Aspen 2T as its got 2 stroke oil in), about £13 a gallon last time I bought some, usually from agricultural suppliers as it is a very refined petroleum spirit for lawnmowers, etc. Panel wipe, I have never sourced, but it is based on Naptha and is cheaper than Aspen and is supposed to be the same as Coleman fuel which retails at a ridiculous price, about £5 for £500ml at a guess. When you use Panel Wipe, evidently you never get clogged up as it is so refined and leaves no carbon deposits. If you look for panel wipe, ensure it is naptha based and not cellulose as it is dangerous to use due to the fumes given off when burnt

Do a search on line for both Aspen and Panel Wipe and there is plenty of info on both products on camping and fishing forums etc

As for the noise, walk away a few yards and you can hardly hear them