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  #1  
Old 28 Apr 2008
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Trangia - what do people burn
Sorry but I think this has been asked before !!

I have a s/h trangia, the instructions say burn meths, but after a visit to two camping shops I only found colemans fuel...

Before I burn off my eye-brows - can a fellow trangia owner adivse

Many thanks

Matt
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  #2  
Old 28 Apr 2008
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Don't burn Coleman fuel in a TRangia!

Coleman fuel is essentially petrol, it will go up in a flash in a Trangia!

Meths can be bought from most chemists. You could probably try DIY stores too.

Matt
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  #3  
Old 28 Apr 2008
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I've used a trangia for 2 years now, burning nothing but alcohol in N.A. and S.A.

Methylated spirits (a.k.a. denatured alcohol ) can be bought in the paint department of hardware stores in the U.S. and Canada.

In South America, alcohol a quemar (to burn) is bought in super markets - although tougher to find.
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  #4  
Old 28 Apr 2008
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all kind of moonshine will do
yes all type of any crappy alcohol, vodka, moonshine, DIY spirit... any cheap 1Lt alcohol out of any store for £1 or 1,50-Euro or even less in this green plastic bottles dose the job, available every where even in the smallest country shop.

I'm using a Trangia burner, and store the alcohol in a platypus folding bottle in my rucksack. Very small and light set-up, easy and cheap available of supplies every where. And if some of the alcohol leaking in to your rucksack, it dose not smell like a fuel station as it would do with a coleman cocker......

Yes even if you want to fly by plane... just empty the Trangia, let it dry and you can take the cooker in to your hand pack without problems.... replace the alcohol where ever you are landing around the next corner shop if you stock up for food.
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Old 28 Apr 2008
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Trangia
Many thanks ... eye-brows saved !!

I'm must say, I couldn't see how petrol / colemans fuel would work ... now I'm looking for a tasty alcohol / cooker fuel ... now if I can just get the bike to run on it !!!!


Thanks for the quick replies...
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  #6  
Old 28 Apr 2008
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meth,s or turpentine/white spirit . available from any big d.i.y store , hardware , or paint store .
i get mine from B&Q or homebase .
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Old 28 Apr 2008
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I'm going to try this in my alcohol stove on my next trip I've been told it's good and readily available in Wal mart. Do they need fuel line de-icer in Arizona!
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Old 28 Apr 2008
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Mexico VW-Beatles run on RUM
Quote:
Originally Posted by goodwoodweirdo View Post
... now if I can just get the bike to run on it !!!!
what was that about that converted VW-Beatles Taxi run on "alcohol leftover" from the brown sugar or RUM production.... in Mexico-city....... they are not using petrol, may some one know more about it....... ?!

Oh well.. if you want to use the tasty spirit like moonshine Vodka or RUM for cooking as a last option... make sure you get a bottle of at least a Vol.75% .... just look at it as more on high Vol/octane the better it will burn....

Well if you ever do a camping trip to Germany with your Trangia, you can ask for "Brenn-Spiritus" or just called "Spiritus" comes in 1Lt clear or green bottles in any Supermarket usually find near the cleaning chemistry to burn in the cooker, this Brenn-Spiritus taste horrible but burns superb, "drink" the tasty brands of the shelf with Vol45% or less with or after the meal instead........
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Last edited by spooky; 28 Apr 2008 at 18:52.
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Old 28 Apr 2008
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meths- (metholated spirit) basically denatured alcohol. its the purple stuff from DIY stores. very good for cleaning glasses with too.

trangias should work well with any spirit, i know they work good with brandy and vodka(good quality only, not that flavoured absolut rubbish it leaves a sticky fruity mess in the burner). i never tried terpentine but the smell would put me off, and dont burn petrol in it you will make a real sooty mess and probably poison yourself
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Old 29 Apr 2008
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in Denmark where the trangia is a very traditional stove we use 90(ich)% alcohol. But essentially any alcohol with a decent poercentage will work.

A trick is to add a bit of water (5-10%) which will bring down the amount of black soth on the pots and pans.
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Old 30 Apr 2008
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I have a 'Swedish Army' Trangia and I'm interested in the idea of using vodka as fuel in case I can't get meths in Russia. I'll probably try it anyway, just to experiment. I've tried burning white spirit - it was the only thing there was at home when my stove turned up. It works almost as well as meths, but is a little smoky (and stinky), though adding a little water helps. I get the impression these stoves will work with almost anything. Maybe even those big bottles of cheap after-shave left over from Christmas?
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Old 3 May 2008
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Quote:
Originally Posted by teflon View Post
I have a 'Swedish Army' Trangia and I'm interested in the idea of using vodka as fuel in case I can't get meths in Russia. I'll probably try it anyway, just to experiment. I've tried burning white spirit - it was the only thing there was at home when my stove turned up. It works almost as well as meths, but is a little smoky (and stinky), though adding a little water helps. I get the impression these stoves will work with almost anything. Maybe even those big bottles of cheap after-shave left over from Christmas?
I bought myself one a couple of months ago for about £15 from an surplus website. I'd used regular Trangia's on hiking trips at school so I know what to expect from them but I'd don't remember it taking this long to boil a cup full of water. Surely there must be something out there with a bit more kick than meths to speed it up.
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  #13  
Old 3 May 2008
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You need a colemans 533 petrol stove if you're in a hurry. Fierce little bugger that. It'll boil the water for your coffee whilst you're putting the stuff in the mug!
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Old 6 May 2008
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Trangia update
Thanks everyone for the feedback… I used a cheap 85% alcohol and added a little water, the trick works no blackening of the pots at all !

So the important lessons are, remember a full pot of fuel only burns for 25 minutes, about the time to boiling water / cook rice and when using the frying pan don’t have it resting on the main body as the flame goes out !! even with all the air holes below…

Conclusion, the wife was very impressed – (not) rice with courgettes and onion took 1 hour 45 minutes to prepare and cook, I used 2 ltrs of water in the process and 2 trangia fuel containers ….(luckily for me ‘she’ forgot to take the meat !!!)

On a positive note, in 5 minutes, everything had cooled sufficiently to put away. We cooked in a pretty strong wind, without problems and lastly when you spill the fuel, you’ll smell like a drunk and not a petrol pump attendant.. still impressed with the Trangia’s simplicity and what you get packed away in a strong small package..


Cheers
Matt

should add, if you are in a hurry have a sandwich !!!!!
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  #15  
Old 7 May 2008
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My Trangia takes 8 minutes to boil half a litre of water burning methyl hydrate [ meths][ gas line antifreeze ] - it does not turn the pots black .
My Optimus takes 6 minutes to do the same using white gasoline [ coleman fuel ] or unleaded and burns for longer [ it has a bigger tank ] .

The Trangia is less smelly .
Very easy to cook rice , spuds , boil eggs or have a fry up on either .
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