# Trangia Stoves



## hobienewbie (Jun 2, 2009)

Hi All,
I am looking at buying a Trangia stove and am looking for peoples thoughts on the stove. I read a review that said the aluminium of the pots and pans gives food a metallic taste. Has anyone experienced this?
Also i saw a few different Brands ( the same idea, very similar looks/function ) at Ray's Outdoors for around the $70 to $100 dollar mark, and was wondering if anyone has used these and how they compare. Not sure i want to fork out $200 for something i can get at less than half the price.
Any Ideas?
Adam


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## Astro (Nov 27, 2006)

i have used mine a couple of times without any favour transfer


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## Ranger (May 31, 2008)

missingdna said:


> wasnt aluminium cookware directly link to altzeimers?


I forget! :lol:


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## TheFishinMusician (Feb 5, 2007)

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## ausbass (Feb 15, 2007)

We have two trangia stoves; an old one (dads one) about 20 something years old (still works as well as when it was bought) and my one which is 1 year old. both have aluminium pans, etc. and we havent noticed any 'metal' taste in the food.

Great for kayak camping as they can get wet and still work (just make sure the burner is dry before you fill it with fuel. The best thing I bought for the stove was one of the Trangia fuel bottles(1 litre size), tough as its made of polythene and leak proof.

Personally I would go the reputed brand name, as some of the lesser name brands have problems with the vaporisation of the metho (how it works).



missingdna said:


> wasnt aluminium cookware directly link to altzeimers?


Oxygen also causes our bodies to oxidise (also why we age), therefore we shouldnt be breathing. :lol: Oh well, just remember that using a mobile phone also causes cancer. ;-)


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## TheFishinMusician (Feb 5, 2007)

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## grinner (May 15, 2008)

yeah, top piece of equipment ,will boil the billy on about 2 tablespoons of metho is a raging storm. love em


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## kayaksportsmark (Apr 1, 2009)

missingdna said:


> wasnt aluminium cookware directly link to altzeimers?


Yes it does. I studied this theory at uni. I sat down and successfully completed a memory test. Then I drank a lot of xxxx out of aluminium cans and failed the retest at the end of the night.

On the topic of trangias, they are simple and work well, you can get them wet even saltwater and dont need extra care or maintenance. I have the non stick pans. I add a bit of water to my metho to stop sooting or blackening of the pans. 
Trangias have my vote.

Mark


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## Ranger (May 31, 2008)

I just went away and googled Trangia to see what a trangia stove actually is, and I also watched a utube video on how they are used.

Check this out. These people get right into reviewing it:
http://adunk.ozehosting.com/trangia.html
Their introduction alone was pretty interesting and informative:


> Trangia stoves are quite popular in Australia with about 27% of bushwalkers using them according to my recent survey of aus.bushwalking newsgroup users. The reasons people like them are presumably for their simplicity, robustness, safety and reliability. My personal experience has left no doubt that these stoves are very well designed and engineered. They work well in a wide variety of conditions and are built to last.
> The main features of the stove are a set of nesting pots, a two-piece wind-shield / pot-stand, and a simple, but powerful, methylated spirits (alcohol) burner. The stove is almost silent in operation, and its fuel is a renewable resource produced by fermentation. Metho is cheap (less than $3 per litre) and is widely available at any service station or supermarket. Furthermore, the stove does not require disposable fuel canisters and never needs maintenance.
> 
> The only real disadvantages of Trangia's are their weight, and their slowness when compared to pressurized fuel stoves. Due to the weight of the integral wind-shield, many bushwalkers have tried to find ways to replace it with a light-weight pot support. In fact, Trangia itself sells a light-weight version of the stove which does just this (the "28" model). However without a wind shield, the efficiency of the stove is somewhat reduced in cold or windy conditions - meaning that cooking time is longer and more fuel needs to be carried.


One thing I noticed myself after watching the video, is that there seems to be a lot of little parts to it, which may well be a disadvantage, if ya happen to lose a piece or two around the camp site. Apart from that, as long as ya dont mind waiting a little while for ya hot water it seems quite good for a portable lil unit.


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## Guest (Jul 5, 2009)

I`voe got a Trangi since years. You can get the pots made from a stainless alloy as well as titanium (that's what I've got, together with the cattle and a non stick pan). Pots with anti stick are available too. Because the alcohol is a bit slow I've got 2 conversions. First is a conversion with a gas stove as burner, the second is a MSR Whisperlite conversion- that rocks!
All in all I really like it, it serves me really well, and depending on the circumstances I use gas or the whisperlite. Love it. Cooked in the European Alps in winter at -20°, in the dessert at + 40°, storm, rain strong wind- no probs.


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## Guest (Jul 5, 2009)

One thing I noticed myself after watching the video, is that there seems to be a lot of little parts to it, which may well be a disadvantage, if ya happen to lose a piece or two around the camp site. Apart from that, as long as ya dont mind waiting a little while for ya hot water it seems quite good for a portable lil unit.[/quote]

Not sure where you saw small parts-I would call all of them fairly big...


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## kingfisher111 (Jun 13, 2006)

Have had my trangia for 25 years and only ever replaced the "O" ring under the screw lid on the burner once. Screwed it on whilst the burner was still too hot. A mate got the cheapy non stick one from Anaconda and it works well also.


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## ausbass (Feb 15, 2007)

Oh and by the way if you ever get a Trangia or other similar stove, remember to KEEP THE YELLOW (not sure about the cheapies) BAG the burner comes in. This prevents corrosion between the dissimilar metals (brass and aluminium, etc.).


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## Dodge (Oct 12, 2005)

kayaksportsmark said:


> I add a bit of water to my metho to stop sooting or blackening of the pans.


Like any of the metho stoves including Trangia because they are bullet proof, and on a day walk always carried a little Simon metho stove to make a cuppa.

Good tip on the water/metho mix Mark had not heard that before


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## Duane (Oct 20, 2007)

I've had one for almost 20 years, The only thing I've ever had to replace is the O ring under the lid. After a metho leak over my food supply I'd inspect and replace it regularly.

If you add 10-20% water to your metho it will reduce the amount of soot on the bottom of your pans.

Cheers


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## Raider (Nov 3, 2008)

I have had a trangia for many years. I use it regularly but have only used metho twice. I paid the money and bought the gas burner. It fits in the same hole that the metho burner does and uses the disposable screw on propane/butane mix. It fires up every time and I have never had a problem with it in 8 years of regular use. However, a lifetime of camping has taught me never to trust anything with a gas jet in it fully so I always carry a trangia bottle of metho and the burner in my kit as a backup. It came in handy twice when I ran out of gas on the last day of a trip and forgot the spare. That is when you notice the time difference in boiling the billy. The gas will boil 2 cups of water in 32 seconds if you crank it up.

I bought the non stick one because, being basically lazy, I hate washing up after a cooking disaster and the teflon just wipes clean. You do have to be careful with it though. It doesn't need much heat from the gas and will scratch if you don't use the right utensils. Most of the damage is from the gripping tool. I often do pancakes in it with the gas turned down low and on a long trip I bake bread in it. I find I have a lot of mates early in the morning when the smell of freshly baked bread permeates the camp. I also use a toaster. The primus brand foldable toaster will fit neatly in the top and the gauze spreads the heat nicely for toasting.

Aluminium is not a problem if you have one of the coatings (titanium or teflon) on it. I usually get 3 or 4 overnight trips out of one small gas bottle. That is doing the evening meal and breakfast the next morning as well as a couple of cups of tea or coffee. I have looked at just about everything on the market over the years and haven't seen anything that will do any more for me than my trangia. There are a few imitations that are a lot cheaper but if you intend to use it a lot, spend the money and buy the genuine article and it will serve you and your decendants for generations.


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## murd (Jan 27, 2008)

I reckon they're useless when compared to a good small portable gas unit with the disposable cartridge type fitting. When I was yakking across Tassie, all the backpackers I cruised with had the Trangias and the stove seemed slow and cumbersome, and never seemed to perform as well as advertised on the packet. I had an el cheapo small gas unit which outclassed the Trangias every time. The Swiss girl I was with actually stopped using her Trangia and used my el cheapo gas unit instead.


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## Guest (Jul 5, 2009)

murd said:


> I reckon they're useless when compared to a good small portable gas unit with the disposable cartridge type fitting. When I was yakking across Tassie, all the backpackers I cruised with had the Trangias and the stove seemed slow and cumbersome, and never seemed to perform as well as advertised on the packet. I had an el cheapo small gas unit which outclassed the Trangias every time. The Swiss girl I was with actually stopped using her Trangia and used my el cheapo gas unit instead.


Covert it to gas( clean and hassle free), or even better Petrol (hot & fast -original trangia or MSR Whisperlite like mine) and you won't find mutch faster stoves on the market. But yeah- with metho it can be a little slow, especially when it is relly cold.


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## Kevlar (Nov 7, 2008)

hollgi said:


> Covert it to gas( clean and hassle free), or even better Petrol (hot & fast -original trangia or MSR Whisperlite like mine) and you won't find mutch faster stoves on the market. But yeah- with metho it can be a little slow, especially when it is relly cold.


Yep, well worth the investment to get the gas conversion as others have said. My mate and I had the gas conversions and our other mate had his whisperlite - how they get the term whisper to that thing is beyond me. Sounded like a jet plane warming up each morning ! LOL !


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## TheFishinMusician (Feb 5, 2007)

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## Raider (Nov 3, 2008)

G'day Mark.

I used to use the coffee pot on the toaster frame without the gauze but have the gas burner. It works well but now I use an Aeropress and it is as good or better than the pot and no aluminium. All you need is hot water and the same ground coffee. 
http://www.aeropress.com.au/

I take mine on a day paddle with a flask of hot water. Beautiful coffee hwerever you go.

Cheers


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## rawprawn (Aug 31, 2005)

I use Coleman Dual Fuel stoves. They run on Shelite or ULP. Bullet proof, they are easy to light in most conditions, great heat and last for ages. Maybe a big for what you are intending.

http://www.coleman.com/coleman/ColemanC ... oryID=2020


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## susieq (Oct 16, 2008)

Haven't used my old Trangia for a while now but I don't remember any metal taste in the food problems...have on the oocasion had some metho flavours/smells (as The Fishin' Musician mentioned) but nothing bad enough to put me off eating the food. Haven't used any other brands.


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## Guest (Jul 10, 2009)

Just a couple of pictures about the conversions I use.


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## ausbass (Feb 15, 2007)

Hollgi; thats not the standard Trangia gas conversion kit is it?


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## Dodge (Oct 12, 2005)

While not knocking the obvious benefits of gas in any way.

All gas conversions seem to take away some of the simple benefits and compactness of the original metho operated Trangia


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## Ado (Mar 31, 2008)

You can find more than enough raving from me on the subject here. I won't subject you to more drivel. Trangia great, ugh!

http://www.akff.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=56&t=17542&hilit=MSR


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## Guest (Jul 11, 2009)

Dodge said:


> While not knocking the obvious benefits of gas in any way.
> 
> All gas conversions seem to take away some of the simple benefits and compactness of the original metho operated Trangia


Well I don't know? Compactness: We are talking about trangia and fuel bottle, or trangia and gasbottle. Not mutch of a difference. Both burners store away in the kettle.

No not the original gas-convertion. It is a selfmade conversion of the times before trangia offered their own.


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## avayak (May 23, 2007)

Ive used Trangia's bushwalking and x-country skiiing and they have always been reliable, safe and simple.
Because they use metho they don't put out nasty fumes so you can cook in a tent when the weather is bad. If you spill the fuel it's not as bad as petrol and even if it ignites its not hard to extinguish. The advantage of the metho is that it is readily available anywhere. They are slow because the calorific value of the metho is much lower than petrol, shellite or gas. Still, you can cook a meal in freezing conditions. When it's cold they can be harder to light so I use a jet lighter and direct the flame across the surface of the metho. They weigh a bit but you get the whole package (burner pots and shroud) that nests together.


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## Rose (Jan 30, 2006)

xxxxxxxxxx


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## SgtWilson (Oct 6, 2008)

I recently bought a Trangia with the non stick pans and kettle.

Nice bit of kit. Very pleased with the quality, simplicity (and compact size and light weight which is important in kayak camping).

Thumbs up from me.


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