Trusty Trangias

[PTCB]

Hi all, I have been using my trusty Trangia now for over 15 years and as most would attest to varying degrees of success!! It has however taken me on many memorable journeys. I have allways used metho to power the thing and this has worked well for me.
I now have a family of four and we are at an age where we are starting to explore the great Tassie outdoors on overnighters again. However I am starting to struggle to keep the metho up to it when cooking for four over 3 to 4 days.
I have seen other people convert their Trangia over to gas, is this a more economical alternative as far as fuel usage is concerned? Not having any experience with gas powered trangias i was wandering from fellow forum members if you need less gas as a fuel over metho.
I recently one cold morning used nearly 150 to 200 ml of metho to cook porridge for us for breaky and wash up!! So idealy if i can do the same with gas and use less that is the aim or am i off the mark.
Secondly, because i am a fan of Trangia's I am looking at getting another one as a backup cooker for my trusty 25. I'm after a 27-5, anyone know any good internet sites where i could order one and what people think of international postage?
Cheers Phil.

[doogs]

I have a gas conversion for my trangia and love it. As you would expect with gas the lighting is much easier! I haven't worked out how long a cannister lasts. Being an avid tea drinker and food lover I never seem to use as much gas as I expect to! I can recommend this, and I am sure others would be less vague on how longer the gas lasts.

[Son of a Beach]

I'm another gas Trangia convert. I haven't really compared the fuel usage but it is well worth it for the easier management and more controlable temperature. I would never to back to metho.

[PTCB]

I'm another gas Trangia convert. I haven't really compared the fuel usage but it is well worth it for the easier management and more controlable temperature. I would never to back to metho.

I have noticed Nick in your photo's that you do indeed use gas with your trangia and infamous wok!! What I was wandering is just how much you get out of a gas canister as you also have a young family like myself. I understand usage affects it alot but does it last two meals, two days at two meals or even longer? Just how for can a gas cannister last and even if organising a trip how many do you take? Phil.

[Son of a Beach]

I find this very difficult to provide any useful answer for, Phil, as my usage has been fairly sporadic over the couple of years since I went to gas, and I've been using an inconsistent size of gas canister, as well as a lot of half empty canisters that were given to me in a large batch by some walkers who had to catch a plane and couldn't take them with them.

I've finally finished the half empty batch, and have settled on using the smaller 227 gram canisters rather than the huge ones (mostly for the sake of my other stove which is too unstable when screwed onto the top of a very tall canister). So I will hopefully be able to get a better idea over the next few walks.

It also varies a lot depending on what you actually cook and other camp habits. I noticed that you heat water for washing up too. I occasionally do that (depending on how messy the pots are), but usually not. But I do cook a lot of real food (hence the wok) on short trips, rather than just add-boiling-water meals, and I also have cups of tea, and cups of soup sometimes. These can of course use up a lot of fuel.

I think I would allow 3 days for one 227 gram canister, but would take a second one with me to be on the safe side. They don't weight that much, so I always take extra to err on the side of caution.

No, I think that's wrong. I think I would get two days out of a full 227 gram canister if doing a moderate amount of real cooking on a short walk. For longer walks where I'm doing simpler rehydrating cooking, I'd expect a 227 gram canister to last longer - maybe 4 days.

[shazcol]

PTCB we have just moved from a metho trangia to gas. We have found the gas much more convenient and lighter overall. Our Trangia was simple and did the job but gas is for us I think for now. As for usage I have been measuring my first gas canisters weight after each trip to get an idea of gas usage. I did a basic test when I first got it in the kitchen and to boil 600ml of very cold water took aprox. 5 minutes on a very low setting and used 6g of gas, aprox. 3 minutes and 8g of gas on a higher setting (not the highest it would go). Seems the gas usage is reasonably linear as you turn it up.

On our last overnight trip last weekend we use 56g of gas for the whole trip (two of us). One evening meal of home dehydrated food, breakfast and a few coffee's along the way. The canister we are using for now are the smaller one with 230g of gas in it. By the way you can sit it perfectly under the trangia wind shield as is if you want, well on my clone one you can. I just made a small aluminium wind shield to reduce the weight of my kit some more as my trangia is a clone and quite heavy compared to a genuine one. We purchased a cheap clone one first to get started with as we where unsure what was best for us and now we have moved over to gas. Sharon finds the gas setup much safer and easier to use than the metho trangia as well.

[PTCB]

Thanks Shazcol that is exactly what i was after. I think you have all managed to convince me that moving over to gas is a good idea as i allways suspected you would use less fuel per volume with gas as apposed to metho. This is what I love of this site, being able to discuss and share other peoples experiences. Thank you all, now does anybody know where i can look for a Trangia 27-5?

[Tony]

Hi PTCB,

You might find this old post of mine interesting Alcohol vs Shellite vs Gas stoves.

Tony

[PTCB]

Thanks Tony, a lot of effort went into that. I believe i may be going shopping now!

[Tony]

Hi PTCB,

Sorry about not posting this info last night I had just arrived back from a hard three day walk and was a bit tired.

You will also be interested in this thread Stoves systems weight comparisons If you go down the thread a bit I have done the weight comparisons with the Trangia gas conversion.

While the Trangia stoves are great stoves, they are heavy, I am not sure what Trangia 25 system you have but most are around a kilo +, plus then you need to add the weight of the gas canister. I note that the Trangia gas conversion is the same weight as the alcohol burner.

There are many much lighter stove, pot, windshield systems around and cheaper too, I will put some stove pot system figures together tonight and post.

Tony

Last edited by Tony on Mon 30 May, 2011 11:13 am, edited 1 time in total.

[Nuts]

Tony, do you have any thoughts on the various Caldera systems? I am wondering about performance/efficiency below 0c ?

[Tony]

Hi Nuts,

Tony, do you have any thoughts on the various Caldera systems? I am wondering about performance/efficiency below 0c ?

A good question, I do have a Caldera Cone stove system (CC) for a little BPL 550 ml pot, its performance is very good, I have done some tests with it in windy conditions (controlled fan in my lab) and it is the best windshield system that I have tested but I have not used or tested the CC in very cold conditions. I think around 0ºC they are OK but much below that they struggle.

That said I have read that a few US CC users do use them in winter and are happy with them.

The reason I stopped using my Trangia 25 was that it struggled in winter in the Australian Alps, last time I used it it took over 30 minutes to boil enough water for two cups of tea.

For me in very cold conditions I just prefer the simplicity of a liquid feed Coleman Extreme canister stove.

Tony

[Nuts]

Thanks Tony (sorry, related, though a bit off topic i guess). I have recently bought the U/L model for a 750ml pot, whilst it has been ok in summer far i wasnt sure about planning to use it in mid winter. 10mins is fine but 20/30 is a bit much. Doesnt sound very efficient either. Ive only tried shellite/gas in winter, just thoughts. Thanks

[ninjapuppet]

Yeh, I wouldnt use alohol for below zero.

We had 3 caldera systems going at once to melt & boil snow: took us nearly 1L of metho to boil 1L of snow!
It think it was just hovering around 0C at this time and also roughly took half an hour.

If we had known about Tony's experiment BEFORE the trip, we wouldnt have suffered this fate. luckily calderas can burn wood too otherwise we would have been in abit of strife and had to build a campfire.

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[Son of a Beach]

While the Trangia stoves are great stoves, they are heavy, I am not sure what Trangia 25 system you have but most are around a kilo +, plus then you need to add the weight of the gas canister. I note that the Trangia gas conversion is the same weight as the alcohol burner.

There are many much lighter stove, pot, windshield systems around and cheaper too

Tony makes a good point. As much as I love my large Trangia kit with the gas conversion, I only use it when sharing with a large group, these days (eg, 3 or more people). The rest of the time, I use a 60g gas burner (Kovea Supalite) that screws onto the top of the canister, and a home-made alfoil windshield. There are even lighter ones available now too.

[whiskeylover]

I have the Shellite-multi fuel conversion as opposed to the gas conversion. Very happy with it. Heat is very controllable and adjustable by small amounts, It puts out a lot of heat and can sear steaks and cook scallops and prawns without poaching them if the need arises. I love the trangia set up and the weight is not an issue with me as I have the cooking system that I like and now with the multi fuel burner have a better set up and don't have to wait too long for water to boil and don't need to carry as much fuel. When 3 of us did the south coast track we used about 1.6 litres of fuel over the 7 days, that was with cooking breakfast, cups of coffee and tea for morning tea, dinner and hot desserts. It will use more fuel in winter when cooking Peking duck or thick eye fillet steak and melting snow for fuel, but on the whole is efficient and easy to use, albeit a bit noisy compared to the metho burner

[Nuts]

We had 3 caldera systems going at once to melt & boil snow: took us nearly 1L of metho to boil 1L of snow!

Wow! Ive used the caldera a few times but got a few boils from 100ml, that (1:1) doesnt sound promising.

[corvus]

Hi all, I have been using my trusty Trangia now for over 15 years and as most would attest to varying degrees of success!! It has however taken me on many memorable journeys. I have allways used metho to power the thing and this has worked well for me.
I now have a family of four and we are at an age where we are starting to explore the great Tassie outdoors on overnighters again. However I am starting to struggle to keep the metho up to it when cooking for four over 3 to 4 days.
I have seen other people convert their Trangia over to gas, is this a more economical alternative as far as fuel usage is concerned? Not having any experience with gas powered trangias i was wandering from fellow forum members if you need less gas as a fuel over metho.
I recently one cold morning used nearly 150 to 200 ml of metho to cook porridge for us for breaky and wash up!! So idealy if i can do the same with gas and use less that is the aim or am i off the mark.
Secondly, because i am a fan of Trangia's I am looking at getting another one as a backup cooker for my trusty 25. I'm after a 27-5, anyone know any good internet sites where i could order one and what people think of international postage?
Cheers Phil.

Phil,
Check out this site.
http://www.getprice.com.au/Trangia-Outd ... rangia.htm
corvus

[ninjapuppet]

Wow! Ive used the caldera a few times but got a few boils from 100ml, that (1:1) doesnt sound promising.

That was an extreme case where no water was available. The melting of the snow to water took nearly as long as turning of water to boiling water.
The majority of most my camping isnt done below zero, and wind is probally more a problem than cold subzero temps. In those conditions, calderas rock!

[rucksack]

I converted my Trangia 25 series to gas with a Primus burner about 15 years ago and it's still going strong. No complaints. LPG is a very clean fuel and the weight of the set up is not really an issue for me. I picked up a new model Trangia Multifuel X2 burner (also made by Primus) in Hong Kong earlier this year. It has been designed for use with the larger Trangia 25 series (but is not recommended for the smaller Trangia 27 series as it can put out a serious amount of heat). The X2 burns LPG gas and Shellite/white gas, kerosene, diesel and various other liquid fuels, which makes it a very useful stove for me. The original Trangia Multifuel burner was made by Optimus (and based on their Nova multifuel stove, so only burns liquid fuels); I assume this is the one that you have, whiskeylover. I bought an X2 because I want to be able to use both LPG gas canisters and liquid fuels without changing my stove set up. As I often walk in remote parts of China, where temperatures can plummet as the altitude increases, I am usually restricted to kerosene as a default fuel. When I am outside China and return to Shellite/white gas 'territory', I can swap back to the cleaner fuel and when the temperatures are milder, I can enjoy the convenience of LPG. But yes, the Trangia Multifuel X2 is louder than the methylated spirit option ... considerably actually, but the noise doesn't really bother me. I have owned and used an Optimus 123R stove for a very long time, so I am used to the sound. And, as many others have commented here and elsewhere, when the weather is bad and conditions are deteriorating rapidly, that sound can be a very reassuring one. I have found it so myself, and on more than one occasion.

rucksack

[juju]

I just found these two videos, the first shows a trangia triangle with gas fitting. Triangle weighs only 115g and the gas burner is 180g. Set us is not too fiddly, heaps faster boil with gas. Not as stable as the traditional Trangia stand and shield of course - the second video.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aImrkXo7UpI
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ay3MpRKU ... re=related

[juju]

I'm also looking at gas conversion, I wonder though...it's easy to see how much metho you have left. How do you know how much gas there is and do you end up with lots of canisters with a bit in that you don't want to risk taking for fear of not having enough for the trip?

[Maelgwn]

I'm also looking at gas conversion, I wonder though...it's easy to see how much metho you have left. How do you know how much gas there is and do you end up with lots of canisters with a bit in that you don't want to risk taking for fear of not having enough for the trip?

You can just weigh them (and if you have weighed an empty one) so you know how much fuel is remaining.

A few trips to figure out how much fuel you use (ie weigh before and after the trip) and you shouldn't have a big problem with this.

Throw the almost empty ones in the car for use before/after the walk.

[Son of a Beach]

I'm also looking at gas conversion, I wonder though...it's easy to see how much metho you have left. How do you know how much gas there is and do you end up with lots of canisters with a bit in that you don't want to risk taking for fear of not having enough for the trip?

I had this problem for a while after I first converted back to using gas. However, I've changed my strategy to deal with it and no longer have any problem with it. My strategy now is to ALWAYS take the one and only partly used cannister with me, if I have one, and if I'm not very certain of how much is in it, I don't include it in my calculations about how much gas to take, but take enough full cannisters to cater for the trip. Then while out bush, I always use the part-empty cannister first. That way, I only ever have one part used cannister. For me the extra weight/space is negligible and not a bother.

Sometimes if I know a cannister is very near empty, I will leave my stove and pot on the kitchen bench after the post-bushwalk-washing-up, and use them instead of the kitchen kettle for the next few cups of tea at home until it runs out. That way, I never take a very-near-empty cannister bushwalking with me.

[juju]

Thanks guys, I'll have to give is a whirl, the weight savings are most attractive...

[etrangere]

I just found these two videos, the first shows a trangia triangle with gas fitting. Triangle weighs only 115g and the gas burner is 180g. Set us is not too fiddly, heaps faster boil with gas. Not as stable as the traditional Trangia stand and shield of course - the second video.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aImrkXo7UpI
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ay3MpRKU ... re=related

I got sucked into buying the Trangia Triangle. I dont believe its worth getting. It actually weighs MORE that the mini trangia potstand/windsheild plus annoyingly the trangia triangle dimensions wont allow you to fit it inside the mini trangia pot. The only possible advantage the trangia triangle would have is that it can be used with both the gas and multifuel trangia stoves and would be lighter than the trangia 27/25 setups

[juju]

The only possible advantage the trangia triangle would have is that it can be used with both the gas and multifuel trangia stoves and would be lighter than the trangia 27/25 setups

Yep, that's what I'm thinking - I have a 27...

[ULWalkingPhil]

I have a 27 as well. Today I ordered the trangia triangle. Eventually I will purchase the gas burner.

As good the 27 kit is, I just find it takes up to much room and fuel is to heavy.

[ULWalkingPhil]

My trangia triangle has just turned up in the post, so far I like it, takes up hardly any room and light. Going to try it now.

[juju]

My trangia triangle has just turned up in the post, so far I like it, takes up hardly any room and light. Going to try it now.

cool - look forward to hearing how it goes esp with a pot on top. Trangias are so stable - i like that and wonder how stable the triangle will be (I noticed he uses a flattish pot).