Anonymous wrote:

Hi all,

I was just curious to know how performs the Trangia so I made a boiling water test with her. 
Boiling 500ml water with a starting temperature of 20 degrees in an open pot of the Trangia set, takes 6:10 minutes and 18,7 ml 100% ethanol.  
Boiling the same quantity of water at same starting temperature with the Trangia kettle, takes 5:42 mins and 18 ml of 100% ethanol.
 
I poured 20 ml fuel into the burner with a pipette. Before starting, I let the burner warm up for 30sec. After boiling the water I let the burner cool down and measured with the same pipette the remaining liquid. I waited until the burner and the stove were completely cooled down before filling the burner up and starting the next try. 

I was able to take the burner in the hand 1:30 min after extinguishing the flame. One minute later I could refill the burner.

The flame was always yellow. 

cheers Mauro 

Hi Mauro, I've never seen a Trangia make a yellow flame like that. Ethanol is obviously much hotter than the brandspiritus I bought in a Dutch supermarket. It boiled enough water, about 300ml, to make a mug of tea in 5 minutes. Does pure ethanol coat your kettle with soot?

You may be interested to know a 1½ litre Hawkins pressure cooker fits perfectly in a Trangia size 25.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Trangia stoves can be fitted with a butane gas burner, available as an accessory. Boils water  in less than half the time. The gas is supplied by a reinforced hose, from a disposable cartridge. I've only had one explosion, a small one, which has taught me not to change gas cartridges down below.

I'd forgotten about this gas burner, I'd had the multi fuel burner in the back of my mind but they always seem to be out of stock. The multi fuel burner can run a Trangia on a gas canister or liquid fuels like alkylated petrol which some of us have on our boats now since Arne introduced us all to the merits of this fuel for outboards. Asmat, what was your experience of being able to turn the flame up and down with the gas burner, does it work well? Flame control is one of the dark arts of the Trangia alcohol burner. 

I must say, I have a genuine Origo 1500 and I do not think the build quality is poor. It's very solidly built from 316 stainless. It is simple and well made although some of it's features might be called quirky.

It is expensive for what it is but that is probably a by product of being made in small quantises and in Sweden, a country where people are paid a living wage unlike China.

At the end of the day, it is a stove that you likely would only buy once and it will last you a lifetime.

As for junks, they are some of the most efficient rigs around. They may not get you first to the windward mark but it terms of reward for effort and bang for the buck, are downright unbeatable. Yes, even when you have my expensive sails!

Thank you Jan!

We went for a Trangia because an Origo was not available, but also because we wanted something removable (with four in boat like mine space is an issue) and we thought that with a Trangia we could switch from alcohol to gas if not satisfied with the fuel type (you are right Asmat).  
I find too that refilling a lit burner is quite a stupid idea and cannot imagine someone just thinking about it. When we run out of fuel we remove the wind shield, wait till the burner cools and refill using the Trangia bottle. This has a very smart dispenser which makes very difficult to pour fuel out of the burner!
About speed, well when we cook in our 6,58 m boat we tend to make something easy and quick. The temperatures during the Italian summertime, even in the norten Adriatic see, are well above 30 degree at 19:00. This helps by boiling water but doesn’t make attractive spending much time down below with the stove lit. Anyway when cooking in holiday we don’t look at the clock.  

The two IKEA L bolts fit perfectly into the two fissures on the basement that are built in for passing the webbing that holds the Trangia together when packed. I just needed to drill two holes in the table to fix the stove…cheap and easy.

Cheers Mauro 

That's great Jan - a comparison of the two stoves by someone who owns and uses both.

Not looking for "hair-splitting" comparisons - just that there is such a massive difference in price, it was natural to wonder if there was much difference in performance.

(Come on Jan - surely you are not suggesting that efficiency is "un-junklike" ? These days? Very junklike, if you ask me. Anyway, both stoves are evidently very simple to operate and I am sure we all agree that is very junklike.)

I don't think anyone came up with the idea to try filling a liquid fuel stove while it is alight - that was really just part of a general comment that even ethanol needs to be treated with respect.

Actually, I did not know the stove comprised a simple open bowl of liquid which would spill if tipped over. Perhaps the clunky Origo with its big flat body footprint is much the safer option. Still, if one is careful I am sure the Trangia has its place, as you say. Mauro seems to have a clever way of clamping the stove to make it secure when in use, and easily removable for filling when not in use. It would be small enough too, to fit comfortably into a swung housing, which would be my preferred type of installation.

By the way - thanks for the more realistic performance figures Arne - the figures quoted by the agent here amount to false advertising. It's got me curious now - I've decided to buy one and see for myself how the two compare. 

I want to be "chilled out" Jan, but sometimes I get impatient, like when I want a quick cup of coffee, "chilled" just isn't the word for it - I want hot! hot!    now!