What stoves do you campers use?

[Russell Allen]

I just picked up a trangia 27-2 UL (plain alloy with kettle) from Field and Trek for £40.00 which was a bit of a bargain. It seems to work just fine even when there is a frost outside, just tested it and worked a treat. I wouldnt fancy a wood stove, trying to find some dry wood in scotland/wales when the heavens open might be a bit of a problem and I need a cup of tea when out. The only exception to this would maybe be a kelly kettle which I find very appealing.

Russell

 

[Headgardener]

I have an Epigas Alpine propane/butane stove which folds flat and fits into a bag six x four inches by about an inch thick. The gas container is screwed onto a unit which contains the control valve and sits about twenty inches from the actual stove to which it connected by a length of hose. Boils water very quickly and is very stable in both pan size settings.

 

[hubbike]

I'm in the market for a new stove and the honey stove has caught my eye. It's primarily a wood burning stove but can also be used with a trangia burner too.

Anyone got any opinions on it?

I can express an opinion from the look of it. It is pretty.


Not much of a windshield for the alcohol burner or pan so less efficient than trangia I assume.
Also just a bunch of burning twigs in a tray (rather than a down-draft woodgas burner like bushcooker etc...) so wont be a very hot fire and will need lots of fuel. So IMO fairly useless for making a cup of tea. A possibility for slow-cooking (rice or stew say), but very messy.

I like the look of the square set up, but perhaps a trangia mini (or a homemade bodge) would be better. it is cheap and cheerful though so maybe worth a punt.

 

[Kirstie]

A note on using petrol: if you're planning on going outside of Europe just beware of the octane ratings on any petrol you by for your stove. If the octane rating is below that in Europe, your stove won't burn properly. A friend of mine discovered this on a recent tour in Kurgistan (sp) and had to go out of his way to find fuel which worked in his stove.

 

[mark]

A note on using petrol: if you're planning on going outside of Europe just beware of the octane ratings on any petrol you by for your stove. If the octane rating is below that in Europe, your stove won't burn properly. A friend of mine discovered this on a recent tour in Kurgistan (sp) and had to go out of his way to find fuel which worked in his stove.

Are you sure your friend didn't just get stuck with some dirty fuel? That would clog the jet and keep the stove from burning properly. That seems like a much more likely occurrence than any issues with octane ratings.

Most petrol stoves are intended to run on white gas, which has no octane boosting additives whatsoever, so I'm not sure why anyone would would need to worry about octane ratings when buying fuel for a stove.

FWIW, a higher octane fuel is intended to ignite at higher pressures and temperatures, as in a high performance car engine. I can see no benefit to using high octane fuel in a campstove, which do not develop anywhere near the pressures or temperatures that occur in an internal combustion engine.

 

[Ticktockmy]

A note on using petrol: if you're planning on going outside of Europe just beware of the octane ratings on any petrol you by for your stove. If the octane rating is below that in Europe, your stove won't burn properly. A friend of mine discovered this on a recent tour in Kurgistan (sp) and had to go out of his way to find fuel which worked in his stove.

I use a MSR XGKII, that runs great on white spirit, it also runs well any old crap I put into it, But with automotive petrol, because of the additives in the fuel, it does tend to clog up after many hours, just need a quick strip down to clean out the clag then it up and runniing again.

 

[mark]

The literature that came with my MSR Whisperlite Internationale said it would run on automobile fuel, but it would clog faster. The literature for my MSR Dragonfly said that it would run on auto fuel (and other stuff), but this would shorten the life of the stove. Basically, all the additives that go into auto fuel seem designed to burn cleanly at some pretty high pressures and temperatures, not in a stove that burns fuel in the open air.

 

[elduderino]

I can express an opinion from the look of it. It is pretty.


Not much of a windshield for the alcohol burner or pan so less efficient than trangia I assume.
Also just a bunch of burning twigs in a tray (rather than a down-draft woodgas burner like bushcooker etc...) so wont be a very hot fire and will need lots of fuel. So IMO fairly useless for making a cup of tea. A possibility for slow-cooking (rice or stew say), but very messy.

I like the look of the square set up, but perhaps a trangia mini (or a homemade bodge) would be better. it is cheap and cheerful though so maybe worth a punt.

It does look pretty indeed. But it looks a bit of a faff to set up for everyday use. I went for a whitebox stove in the end. Its just over 3 months until my tour so I've still time to change my mind yet.

P.S. I've booked a one way ticket to Argentina with the intentions of cycling to Canada hopefully. So when I get some spare time I may bombard you with questions about South America and I'll give your journal a proper read too.

 

[bigjim]

I had one of these adapter delivered today to see if it would work with the butane canisters that are half the price of the normal overpriced screw gas canisters. I was dubious but it works fine and is very stable. No good for realy cold weather though and I don't know if the canisters are available in Europe.

 

[Andy in Sig]

I've got a Peak II which burns Coleman fuel. It's not the lightest on the market but it burns like the inside of the sun and is built to last. Incidentally, one thing which a lot of people seem to not bother with is covering your cooking vessel with a metal lid: it keeps more heat in and therefore saves fuel and reduces cooking times.

 

[lowrider73]

I have the Trangia 27 UL c/w kettle and gas converter, Trangia Mini, Primus Gravity and MSR Pocket Rocket.

I've mainly used the Pocket Rocket with the MSR Titan kettle, which is good for one pot meals.

The Primus Gravity has never been used as yet, but hoping next year, it will be used for some week-end camping.

The Trangia Mini is another favourite and last used that in November, when I did the Cleveland Way, camping. It was towards to the end of the walk, the snow came and I was sleeping in a hay barn with permission from farmer, that the meths was slow to burn, but soon got going.

The Trangia 27 UL is one I'm taking on my 2011 double Coast to Coast ride, but using the gas converter.

 

[yashicamat]

I use an ancient Primus paraffin stove. It's solid brass and packed in a steel tin, so not exactly a lightweight option, but I can completely dismantle it and rebuild it with the tools that are in the tin so it's almost impossible for it to break down on me. Pretty powerful too, I'd say comparable to my MSR Whisperlite that I use when mountaineering. The only real disadvantage is a lack of wind shielding . . . plus smelly paraffin to deal with.

Realistically, trangias are quite good for touring as the meths can be stored in a third bottle cage, plus they're very windproof and very hard to damage (getting water into the burner is probably the only thing that'll stop them).

 

[Nigel182]

I use a Swedish Army Trangia was Dirt cheap on Ebay.....
Good for boiling water so re-heating ready meals easy as well as Super Noodles.....
Have tried Frankfurter Hod Dog Sausages but found that had to keep an eye out for Dog Walkers as their Mutts seemed very attracted to the smell.

Have found that a small amount of water in with the Meths before lighting stops the bottom of the pans from becoming to dirty.

 

[bigjim]

Yashicamat.
do you take that twin lens camera with you?

 

[Gotte]

Thanks for all the input.
I eventually went for a Clas Ohlson meths stove. It's lighter and smaller (though the frying pan/plate/lid is actually broader than the lid on the Trangia 27. The best bit is the price. £9.99 from the clas Ohlson store (though unfortunately, if you don't live near one, they don;t sell online:

http://www.clasohlson.co.uk/Product/Product.aspx?id=158410255

Here's a rundown on another forum against a trangia:

http://www.bushcraftuk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=53709

My Clas Ohlsen boils water quicker than my Trangia 25, but only by about a minute.

I also made a wood gas stove, just for fun, and it works well, and while not bulky itself is perhaps too much to take with the Clas Ohlsen as well.

I did find this though, which is ideal for burning wood with either a Clas Ohlsen or a Trangia. It's the Trangia version of the clickstand and about £20.

http://www.jackson-sports.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=8112

Being stainless steel, you could burn wood in it without it deforming.