Stove recommendations

[willem]

A few last comments. Indeed do not buy a second meths burner. You will not need it, and it will be useless. You will burn your fingers trying to replace it. And really do not refill until it has cooled down. Accidents have happened. It will cool down very quickly, however. As for surface treatment, the HA is pretty non stick, and should solve your (I believe imagined) issue with bare alluminium. The hard anodized is much stronger than the teflon non stick. You can scrape it and it will not budge. You could buy the version with the non stick frying pan and the rest in hard anodized (look at the Trangia website for the many versions).
As for multifuel burners, most that I see on UK sites are still the older Optimus Nova burner rather than the new Primus one that also burns cannisters. However, enough people have succeeded in fitting other burners such as from MSR in a Trangia 25. You may need the special Trangia cup to fit them into (will look for the part number if you are interested). Google to find other people's experiences with this.
As for the gas burner, I have asked both Trangia and Primus (who make it) and they have no plans to introduce a dual valve version. So if you go to France, take an Edelrid adapter.
Bon appetit,
Willem

 

[battered]

There is as you say no perfect stove. I have a collection. I bought my first, a small Trangia, in 1982 (I think). I still have it and use the pans now and again, though I have others. I last used the kettle for it on Sunday, so I can't agree with the advice not to buy the one with the kettle. Sure you can boil water for tea in a pan but not when the pan is full of food.

Modern Trangias have a gas onversion. You can also cut a hole for a Petrol stove (MSR type), I have and it's great, but the smaller Trangia is too small and the whole thing gets very hot.

Trangias are simple, reliable, nice to use and safe but s-l-o-o-o-w. Imitation Trangias are worse still,if you get one of these you are paying for the stand/heatshield and pans, dump the burner. Meths isn't cheap.

Petrol stoves are fastest, fuel is cheap, you can get it anywhere but the disadvantages are that things like MSRs are too dangerous to use in a tent unless you are VERY careful, they are a shoot to control, they stink and are filthy. They need servicing, I have one (an Internationale, will burn petrol, paraffin, diesel, you name it) that I need to service, it hasn't worked properly for about 2 years now. For melting snow they are the business, but I've seen a Trangia boil water in the time taken for an MSR to get cleaned out and running properly. I think they are suited to remote trekking where their robustness and high heat capacity is a winner. More complex petrol stoves are more controllable but a bit more choosy about fuel.

Gas stoves are great, I have a couple, clean, reliable, easy, fuel a bit pricey and not available otside Europe. As regards French idiosyncrasies, the Camping Gaz bleuet (with the pierce top) came first, Epigaz type screw valves are a recent thing. They are better though as when they are half empty you can change them for a new one and extra heat. Butane doesn't like cold weather, you need a pro/bu mix.

Don't try taking ANY liquid fuel on a flight, you'll get shot. Any liquid fuel stove or bottle must be spotless and dry before flying.

I travel with a solid fuel stove as a backup. They weigh very little, they are dirt cheap and bulletproof. The Army use them as even the thickest squaddie can work out how to get one lit and boil up water for a hot meal or a tea. For an extended trek they are near useless, the fuel doesn't last long and works out expensive. That said, when you've just got off a plane, you have no petrol or meths and you want a brew, they do a job.

I wouldn't want to use any camp stove that relied on twigs as fuel in the UK. It's just too wet. Spain, California, sure. Dry sticks in every hedge bottom. England? Yeah, right.

Enough of the blather, what do I *use*? An Epigas Alpine gas stove with an MSR ally heat shield. Trangia pans and kettle. Petrol stove when I'm in the sticks and/or need serious heat to melt snow. Crappy solid fuel job when all else fails or to light the BBQ.

 

[andrew_s]

There's no need for a second burner. When there's any sgn of the fuel running out in the burner; remove the pan, extinguish the flame with snuffer lid, remove the snuffer lid, carefully refill the burner then relight and replace the pan. The evaporation of some of the meths combined with the conduction of heat from the burner by the colder liquid meths renders the operation safe.

Bad practice that, I saw someone do that, thought the flame was out as he could not see it, in went the new fuel and up he went and his tent also, a very nasty experiance for him and the rest of us.

It's probably safest to remove the burner from the windshield/support before refilling it.
That way, if it's still alight you'll burn your fingers rather than set the tent on fire.

 

[zacklaws]

Bad practice that, I saw someone do that, thought the flame was out as he could not see it, in went the new fuel and up he went and his tent also, a very nasty experiance for him and the rest of us.

Its one of the problems with using meth's, it burns with a blue flame and at times, especially in bright light, it can be hard to see if the Trangia is lit, and if you spill some and it evapourates and the vapour stays close to the ground, you may not notice that it too has ignited.

 

[Crankarm]

I now have new appliances to play with .

A Trangia 25-6 UL stove with non stick pans and kettle £42 plus Trangia gas burner £34, 1.4kg, (Fuel - Meths, spirits and butane/propane gas canisters), total £76 reduced from £100 (£55 + £45).

Trangia 1 litre red fuel bottle £10.

MSR Whisperlite Multifuel Stove, 440g, (Fuel - white gas, parafin, kerosene, petrol, NOT diesel). £40.50 reduced from £79.99.

Primus Express Spider, 240g, (Fuel - butane/propane gas canisters), £13.50 reduced from £41.99.

4 butane/propane canisters - Primus and MSR £11.

Sharp Oven/Combi Microwave 18kg, £115.


I'm looking forward to my first bowl of porridge, fry up and spag bog .

The weekend weather is set fine so they might all get used.

 

[battered]

Great prices there Crankarm, where from?

I fancy the combi microvawe, if I can get it in the pannier and run it off a dynamo, it might be eaier and cleaner than my old MSR.

 

[Ticktockmy]

Good prices, I though the MSR Whisperlite Multifuel Stove used to have a speicial extra nozzle so you could use Diesel, maybe they have dropped it, as maybe burning modern Diesel with all it's additives, produce cancerous emmisions. The best bit of kit I have from the Trangia stable is the Kettle, the stove got junked years ago, but the kettle lives on.

May I recommend Wayfares boil in the bag meals, No I dont have shares in the company, but for conveniance they are hard to beat. Being a lazy or as some say a wise old bugger, I like nothing better in the morning than to fester in my maggot, looking at people struggling to cook breakfast, more so when its peeing down with rain or snow.

All I have is a billy of water on the stove the boil in the bag breakfast (Of which there are a few choices) in the water let it boil for a few minutes , bag out, tea brewing. just slit open the bag and eat the contents, maybe add some pepper (900 Kcal worth of energy).
Net result only 1 billy of water required to make both tea or coffee and cook the meal, no washing up, and just one small pouch to bin and one spoon to lick clean, all done and dusted in less than 10 minutes or less.

 

[Arch]

I'm looking forward to my first bowl of porridge, fry up and spag bog .

That's quite an interesting combination in one bowl!

I did once mix mashed banana into my Christmas dinner as a baby though, so I'll try anything...

 

[Llama]

I've got an MSR pocket rocket - its great really light come in a strong plactic box. got it for £30 from decathlon

now i havent got one of these but I am thinking about getting one:
Honey Stove

it looks great, you can just take three bits,or all five, it will run on anything that burns! You can even put a meths burner in the bottom. seems liek a great idea to me. and its £35

want one of these to - bit heavy for hiking though!
Optimus hiker

 

[Arch]

That honey stove looks neat....

 

[Crankarm]

Great prices there Crankarm, where from?

I fancy the combi microvawe, if I can get it in the pannier and run it off a dynamo, it might be eaier and cleaner than my old MSR.

Blacks.

See my recommendation in the similar tents thread for an uber bargain - Vaude Taurus Ultralight tent, 2 man, 1.95kg, £135.00 down from £275. Get a further 10% off with their discount card. It's on their website. Not sure if price applies in store. Yesterday the Cambridge store had two in stock at £199.00 IIRC but maybe they have now been reduced to £135 or you may have to haggle to get the price in store that's on their web site. They said all tents have to go by end of this weekend.

 

[battered]

The honey stove does indeed look neat but it's just a folding tin. You could manufacture something to do the same job for nothing using a food can of the right size and a tin opener. The difficulty in the UK is finding something that you can persuade to burn without leaving it under a roof for 6 months first!

I think I'm going to build a cat stove or a penny stove from a few old tins and see what it's like.

Re the MSR, you need a bigger jet for heavier fuels like kero and diesel. Kero's OK. I never tried diesel in mine, it would take great care and skill to avoid contaminating your food and everything in your bag with the stuff. Once it's on your clothes, it's there to stay and the odour will remain until you put them in the bin. Foul stuff. That said I don't think the fumes from it when used in a stove are any more harmful than any other petroleum fuel.

 

[Crankarm]

The honey stove does indeed look neat but it's just a folding tin. You could manufacture something to do the same job for nothing using a food can of the right size and a tin opener. The difficulty in the UK is finding something that you can persuade to burn without leaving it under a roof for 6 months first!

I think I'm going to build a cat stove or a penny stove from a few old tins and see what it's like.

Re the MSR, you need a bigger jet for heavier fuels like kero and diesel. Kero's OK. I never tried diesel in mine, it would take great care and skill to avoid contaminating your food and everything in your bag with the stuff. Once it's on your clothes, it's there to stay and the odour will remain until you put them in the bin. Foul stuff. That said I don't think the fumes from it when used in a stove are any more harmful than any other petroleum fuel.

Indeed, that's why I have no interest in using it as a fuel to cook with.

 

[battered]

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?

 

[vernon]

Bad practice that, I saw someone do that, thought the flame was out as he could not see it, in went the new fuel and up he went and his tent also, a very nasty experiance for him and the rest of us.

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.