Honest mistake
So I bought a Trangia multifuel. I allready had the pans and the pretty much useless alcohol burner, so it was the natural choice for me. I was warned in the shop that I propably shouldn't use it more than a few times before cleaning it, if I intended to use petrol from the tank. Which I did.
So I fired the thing up for the first time, and I must say I was pleased with it. There was quite a bit of flaring in the beginning, but I pressumed it was because it was the first time. No biggie, and my test-water was quickly boiling. The simmer control seemed to work fine and I was generally pleased with my choice. I packed it up and put the success in the back of my mind.
A few days later, my nephew was visiting and I let him play around with the burner. He turned it on and off a couple of times with some hours intermission (I was told this by his mom who was supervising his play). Sometime during the afternoon the system clogged up. Then I remembered the dealers warning. Slapping of foreheads ensued. So, rather lately, I decided to give it a good clean. It seemed simple enough to take apart and the supplied multitool fit where it should. But then disaster. The head of the bottom screw that holds the burner head together and reveals access to the valves, snapped in half. Not the whole screw, just the head. Swearing ensued. And my nephew, eventhough not being at fault, hid behind his mother to watch the fireworks.
"Ok, I messed up" I thought. I had recieved warning that it may clog up when used more than a few times without cleaning it. Had I cleaned it? No. However, this did not account for the breaking of the brass screw head when I did try to clean it. Apparently the dealer was of a different oppinion. He categorily refused to warranty handle the problem since I had misused it and not headed the warnings. So I asked him if snapping the screwhead BEFORE the system had clogged up, would be a situation he would handle. He agreed to this. So I asked him how breaking the screwhead was even remotely related to the clogging. He was unable to account for this, but held firm to his refusal. So much for being honest. So unless I get a realy good idea of how to get the screw out and cleaning the thing, it's 155 Euro's out the window. Ugh!
Needless to say, I'm a bit miffed on the whole situation. I think the dealer has been less than forthcomming, eventhough strictly speaking, he is just sticking by the rules (however rigidly). I could have just lied. You could also take head of my little story here and maybe put your purchase of the trangia multifuel on the back burner (haha). Having excellent simmer control, quick heating of water, and snugly fitting in my cookset, doesnt make up for clogging after a few uses and snapping of screws rendering it totally useless. Reading this thread, there seems to be other and better alternatives.
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