I purchased my Trangia 30 years ago. Its done some backpacking & fishing trips over the years. It sat in my cupboard for the last 15 years unused. I pulled it out this morning, dusted off the burner, filled it and lit it - off it went doing its thing. I checked all the joints - still good. Gave it a buff up with some braso and its ready to cook for my kids in a few weeks when they have their first wild camp in Scotland. Fully agree with your buy the original branded stove - anyone who has pitched a tent miles from anywhere and then found the stove is duff knows what a cold hungry night feels like. Good vid' enjoyed the honesty. All the best Mat
We’ve been using Trangias for decades. They are definitely the best alcohol stoves. On sub freezing days we carry a small bottle of lighter fluid to prime them. Also both versions fit in standard size cans that work as wind screens. One last trick, roll up some corrugated card board and put it into the center on extremely cold days. Getting alcohol to vaporize in negative temps can be tough and the cardboard helps warm things up but hardly burns. The best stoves in our opinion. It seems there is Less distribution in the US than there used to be.
Thanks for this interesting and informative comparison. I have used Trangia stoves for many years. They are simple, reliable, and can be relied on in Winter weather. I live in Scotland, and have known gas stoves freeze. Another advantage is that they will light quite happily when wet. When kayak camping, your gear is bound to get soaked, despite your best efforts. The only disadvantage is that Trangias are not quick, when you want a brew "on the march". 2 years ago, I tried alcohol jelly fuel, rather than the meths I had used for decades. Trangia do a special burner for this fuel, though I have seen people use it in the traditional burner that you demonstrate here. The jelly is, IMHO, much superior to meths. It is easy to carry in a pouch, rather than requiring a fuel bottle. Small pouches can be refilled from a 1 litre tin or pouch. It will not leak as meths may, and, if you part use a burner full, just put the burner cap on, put it back in your pack, and top up as required next time you use it. I would hesitate to replace a burner unit half full of meths back in my pack. I find a winning combination for Winter trekking in scotland, is a Trangia "Triangle", jelly fuel, and an Optimus pot with heat exchanger. The fuel and stove fit in the pot.
I can get a brand new Trangia a couple of miles down the road from me. I've been looking everywhere for a military one. Not going to bother now after seeing this, I'm going to get the civilian one. Thanks for making my mind up for me. Short, sweet and straight to the point, the sort of videos I like.
Use Denatured Alcohol, no water needed. It burns clean. Been using it for years on my old Trangia 25 that I bought back in the early 80's. P.S. the Snuffer cap for the civilian Trangia burner, works on the military model. I have both burners.
The military model is actually of heavier brass. The crack in the lids comes from screwing the lid down too tight as the threads are all wrong if you want to carry alcohol in the stove. The new Trangia stove will outperform the older ones. Here in the states our denatured alcohol is so pure that we have no issues of suit as you call it so there is no need whatsoever to add water.
Good day to you. I am a senior rider on HONDA Cross Cub from Japan. Enjoying touring ,camping and video uploading. This is so nice camp gear Trangia video
americans who watch these trangia videos don't understand that different countries have different types of alcohol fuels available, they assume yellow bottle heet and denatured alcohol like we get in the states is available worldwide, which is not the case. we are lucky that we can get pure methanol and our denatured alcohol has less contaminants and poisons added to make it undrinkable but many countries are not so fortunate so their fuel burns sooty, or the clean fuels are just too expensive to use.
Burning pure ethanol causes sooting, so it isn't the denaturing that causes it. Ethanol has a higher energy density than methanol. I have burned home made 93% ethanol and it causes sooting if I don't water it down. As I live in an apartment, I can't have a traditional fireplace. I burn ethanol instead and I water it down for that purpose.
The military ones usually come with the pots and the windscreen. The windscreen doubles as a wood stove. Super heavy, but it works well enough to brown a full pound of ground beef, boil some pasta and heat some spaghetti sauce using both pots stacked at the same time.
I love my Trangia stoves, and have been using them since I was a scout in the 70's, I have the one man civvy model and a Swedish army model I picked up in Finland. The army one is a lot more heavy duty than the one you showed. great videos by the way.
There are titanim versions of trangias available. They aint brand name trangia. But work exactly the same. Bought one for the hell of it. Works fine. They are exact same same but stronger. Only difference, cool down after use a tiny bit slower
Comments. - I have never put water in the fuel, and I have not had any problems with combustible waste (soot) either. - I notice that your civilian model burner is really sooty. I will never get my own burner in such bad shape. - The Tatonka simmer ring works in moderation with the burner of the military model.
+Humble Trekker I went ahead and picked one up. I have been using soda can stoves for a while, but if there not packed right, they tend to get munched. I'm excited about getting the real thing. Also, thanks for the water tip, I had no idea. As far as the fuel goes, I have used denatured alcohol as well as heat fuel treatment for autos. It burns much cleaner and it's actually cheaper. You can you tube it, though I don't know if they have it in the UK.
I think denatured alcohol is a little different depending on the brand and where in the world you buy, 5% to 20% water is my rule of thumb I never measure it exactly I just add a bit by eye, and sometimes I forget to add it. Happy Cooking! I don't think we have the heet brand but I have heard about it online
+Humble Trekker ya, it's good stuff, though it would come in a smaller container (I guess that would actually be better) if you needed to transport more than just what you have in your stove. I would carry the bottle with me because my soda can stoves didn't have lids. But now, I'll be able to fill the stove and be set for at least a couple of days!
Intersting vid as ever..I'm not sure I agree on the thickness of brass; the SVEA military model is probably more solid than the modernTrangia IMHO (that's the sort that come in original swedish mess kits and are stamped as being made in the sixties)- but it is harder to use without a simmer ring..either way they're both so reliable and trouble free
got every set they sold 6 or so. easy to carry; never failed to cook properly and can be easily modified for wind screen. pure grain alcohol works great in them. I never heard of the soot being a problem, I just wipe my boil pot before stuffing entire kit in it. I will try that water 5%.
Exactly, I'm sick of seeing this wives' tale still circulating the internet.. All water dilution does to any fuel is lower it's flammability and combustion temp until you eventually dilute it to a point where it will no longer ignite.. It does not prevent the bottom of your aluminium or stainless steel pots and pans going black..
@@Funkteon So it lowers the temp? Seems pretty usefull if you're doing anything other than boiling water given how difficult it is to controll the temp normally.
Either way you gonna spend time either scrubbing off soot of your pots and pans, or spend the time waiting for your shit to boil. I rather just sit and wait for what’s in the pot get to boil, while enjoying nature than scrubbing soot.
@@jasip1000 the idea is you clean soot off at home :) Never met a serious Trangia user in the four decades I've used these set that has diluted the fuel.
@@Funkteon it does reduce sooting with some fuels by adding 10% water, the difference is quite substantial. It however depends on the fuel you can get hold of.
I have both the civilian and military Trangias as well as a Chinese knockoff of the civilian burner. Both small burners cracked around the outside edge, so far the larger military Trangia has remained intact. I've applied aluminum muffler tape to the cracked burners, I haven't tested them for durability under heat, but I imagine I've lost the ability to pack them with unburned fuel inside.
Cracks found in the Trangia burner can be soldered, regaining vessel integrity making it good as new. I go one step farther, by soldering the crimp ring when new to prevent leaking from that area. Use lead-free solder, with plenty of flux. I hope this helps.
Thanks for the video but must differ brother. 70% Alcohol soots like hell. 91% Alcohol is too slow and soots as well. More water in the alcohol equates to more soot. Exceptable for my Trangia needs is always Yellow bottle HEET and/or Denatured Alcohol. However, the most economical, superior heat producing and clean Trangia fuel (as well as in my other alcohol stoves) in my trials and experience is without question Methanol Racing fuel. In the great state of Texas I pay $35.00/5 gallons. What I don't us in my collection of alcohol stoves, goes to help clean the arteries in my vehicles from the nasty E85 deposits. Just my humble opinion from Texas...
Damn wish I'd seen this before I bought the military model.. I wrongly assumed that the military model would be more robust etc.. Thanks for the video..
H i Save, not sure if you know or not but the hair line cracks are created by (as you say) doing it up too tight, and the other common problem is putting the lid on when it is NOT completely cold, this causes a vacume in the stove which sucks the lid down even tighter, ( I'm just saying) also have you tried adding surgical spirit to your meths? that cleans even better, use half a bottle of meths with half a bottle of surgical spirit, the closest stove to the Trangia is the Mil-tec, they are a reproduction of the Trangia, I have one and have tested it and found it to be very good, but for £2 more get the real thing.
I've always found that straight alcohol (methylated spirits in Australia) leaves a sooty deposit on the pot, but adding water (10%) keeps the pot clean. I think what happens is that the water turns to steam and washes off the soot. I can't see how adding water could create soot?
I not sure what you mean by the civilian set up? there are lots of different set ups right? post a link to the one you mean . it s bigger so it might not
The larger (military) version doesn’t fit into the aluminum windscreen pot holder that the smaller version comes with. We use a can with some holes in the bottom. Works well. Use any kind of alcohol including pure ethanol( Everclear) which someone always brought with me mates.
@@verysurvival a bit expensive but not much. I would not have thought it was so expensive that people would bother to get a fake copy. The Trangia spirit burner lasts a life time.
the military Trangia is not inferior because someone tried to save money - that´s rarely the case with military gear. The military Trangia was designed in 60s and is much older design then the "civilian Trangia" you are comparing it to which was designed in 80s. Trangias designed in 50s didn´t even have a screw top btw.
@@verysurvival I can only speculate, but these where originally introduced in the peak of cold war when the Swedish army was at its biggest so they where probably produced in very large numbers and most were kept in mobilization warehouses. It´s possible that there simply was no new orders placed after the original production run. This piece of kit is not exactly easy to break
I have been using Trangia stoves for several decades & use pure denatured alcohol. Never had an issue with suit as you claim. Do not add water to your alcohol.
@@buckshot4428 I'm pretty sure the soot comes from additives like dyes and bitterant so if you can get alchohol without that all adding water will do is make it burn slower and cooler. Which you may want if you're doing something other than boiling water. I'm not convinced it actually does anything for the soot when you are using alcohol with aditives anyway.
@@TheAkashicTraveller I use denatured alcohol which leaves zero soot. If I'm slow cooking something I'll just use the Pathfinder alcohol stove, assuming I can get it to blossom lol.
If your denatured alcohol contain more methanol it will produce less soot. The denatured alcohol we get in Europe usually produce more soot, where 10% water can make a big difference. Methanol is clean burning but also very toxic, and often other substances are added as Akashic wrote which will also produce soot. Different rules, create different fuels.
I purchased my Trangia 30 years ago. Its done some backpacking & fishing trips over the years. It sat in my cupboard for the last 15 years unused. I pulled it out this morning, dusted off the burner, filled it and lit it - off it went doing its thing. I checked all the joints - still good. Gave it a buff up with some braso and its ready to cook for my kids in a few weeks when they have their first wild camp in Scotland. Fully agree with your buy the original branded stove - anyone who has pitched a tent miles from anywhere and then found the stove is duff knows what a cold hungry night feels like. Good vid' enjoyed the honesty. All the best Mat
Same 43 years still going strong grandaughter is going to take it to do her DOE awards
Only bad thing i have to say about Trangia is: Its from Sweden. -Greets from Finland :)
haha
What did the Finnish army use?
@@fintonmainz7845 Professional cooks in a field kitchen
We’ve been using Trangias for decades. They are definitely the best alcohol stoves. On sub freezing days we carry a small bottle of lighter fluid to prime them. Also both versions fit in standard size cans that work as wind screens. One last trick, roll up some corrugated card board and put it into the center on extremely cold days. Getting alcohol to vaporize in negative temps can be tough and the cardboard helps warm things up but hardly burns. The best stoves in our opinion. It seems there is Less distribution in the US than there used to be.
Thanks for this interesting and informative comparison. I have used Trangia stoves for many years. They are simple, reliable, and can be relied on in Winter weather. I live in Scotland, and have known gas stoves freeze. Another advantage is that they will light quite happily when wet. When kayak camping, your gear is bound to get soaked, despite your best efforts. The only disadvantage is that Trangias are not quick, when you want a brew "on the march". 2 years ago, I tried alcohol jelly fuel, rather than the meths I had used for decades. Trangia do a special burner for this fuel, though I have seen people use it in the traditional burner that you demonstrate here. The jelly is, IMHO, much superior to meths. It is easy to carry in a pouch, rather than requiring a fuel bottle. Small pouches can be refilled from a 1 litre tin or pouch. It will not leak as meths may, and, if you part use a burner full, just put the burner cap on, put it back in your pack, and top up as required next time you use it. I would hesitate to replace a burner unit half full of meths back in my pack. I find a winning combination for Winter trekking in scotland, is a Trangia "Triangle", jelly fuel, and an Optimus pot with heat exchanger. The fuel and stove fit in the pot.
I will look out for the gel and try it
will do
I can get a brand new Trangia a couple of miles down the road from me. I've been looking everywhere for a military one. Not going to bother now after seeing this, I'm going to get the civilian one. Thanks for making my mind up for me. Short, sweet and straight to the point, the sort of videos I like.
absolutley, the civilian one is better.
mine was my mother-in-laws she got it in the 80's so a warrant they will last...
Military quality just means the lowest of standard available.
Use Denatured Alcohol, no water needed. It burns clean. Been using it for years on my old Trangia 25 that I bought back in the early 80's. P.S. the Snuffer cap for the civilian Trangia burner, works on the military model. I have both burners.
David your videos are quickly become my favorite time killer, thanks
+Squanto 99 that is nice to hear! thanks for watching!
BEST video on youtube I have seen on these burners, straight to the point no faffing on and on like most of them, well done .
The military model is actually of heavier brass. The crack in the lids comes from screwing the lid down too tight as the threads are all wrong if you want to carry alcohol in the stove. The new Trangia stove will outperform the older ones. Here in the states our denatured alcohol is so pure that we have no issues of suit as you call it so there is no need whatsoever to add water.
Good day to you.
I am a senior rider on HONDA Cross Cub from Japan.
Enjoying touring ,camping and video uploading.
This is so nice camp gear Trangia video
Sounds great!
americans who watch these trangia videos don't understand that different countries have different types of alcohol fuels available, they assume yellow bottle heet and denatured alcohol like we get in the states is available worldwide, which is not the case. we are lucky that we can get pure methanol and our denatured alcohol has less contaminants and poisons added to make it undrinkable but many countries are not so fortunate so their fuel burns sooty, or the clean fuels are just too expensive to use.
Burning pure ethanol causes sooting, so it isn't the denaturing that causes it. Ethanol has a higher energy density than methanol. I have burned home made 93% ethanol and it causes sooting if I don't water it down. As I live in an apartment, I can't have a traditional fireplace. I burn ethanol instead and I water it down for that purpose.
The military ones usually come with the pots and the windscreen. The windscreen doubles as a wood stove. Super heavy, but it works well enough to brown a full pound of ground beef, boil some pasta and heat some spaghetti sauce using both pots stacked at the same time.
I love my Trangia stoves, and have been using them since I was a scout in the 70's, I have the one man civvy model and a Swedish army model I picked up in Finland. The army one is a lot more heavy duty than the one you showed. great videos by the way.
other guys have told me about those heavier military models. cheers
I also have both models, but I haven't done burn efficiency comparisons. What have you found?
Great advice, thanks for sharing with us all. I am thinking of replacing my old Bluet 200 gas stove and old aluminium set for Trangia 27 set. 👍🇬🇧
Glad it was helpful!
Great, punchy review. I've been using an original Trangia 25 kit since 1986, it's still my favourite stove!
Good to hear!
Hi Dave.
I like your videos. Looking forward to a few more. Subscribed.
Cheers mate I’m not that active anymore
I've never diluted my alcohol my stainless steel pots have never had soot on them
The soot probably comes from using alchohol with dyes and bitterant in it. Which they often do with dentatured alchohol where I live.
There are titanim versions of trangias available. They aint brand name trangia. But work exactly the same. Bought one for the hell of it. Works fine. They are exact same same but stronger. Only difference, cool down after use a tiny bit slower
Comments.
- I have never put water in the fuel, and I have not had any problems with combustible waste (soot) either.
- I notice that your civilian model burner is really sooty. I will never get my own burner in such bad shape.
- The Tatonka simmer ring works in moderation with the burner of the military model.
- kiitos
Nice info Mark! Been wanting to pick up a Trangia for some time now, but didn't know what to get; now I know!!
+The Wandering Parson Mine is from the ´80s that is one of reasons I believe in them so much.
+Humble Trekker I went ahead and picked one up. I have been using soda can stoves for a while, but if there not packed right, they tend to get munched. I'm excited about getting the real thing. Also, thanks for the water tip, I had no idea. As far as the fuel goes, I have used denatured alcohol as well as heat fuel treatment for autos. It burns much cleaner and it's actually cheaper. You can you tube it, though I don't know if they have it in the UK.
I think denatured alcohol is a little different depending on the brand and where in the world you buy, 5% to 20% water is my rule of thumb I never measure it exactly I just add a bit by eye, and sometimes I forget to add it. Happy Cooking! I don't think we have the heet brand but I have heard about it online
I am trying to find our variant of heet to test it
+Humble Trekker ya, it's good stuff, though it would come in a smaller container (I guess that would actually be better) if you needed to transport more than just what you have in your stove. I would carry the bottle with me because my soda can stoves didn't have lids. But now, I'll be able to fill the stove and be set for at least a couple of days!
Intersting vid as ever..I'm not sure I agree on the thickness of brass; the SVEA military model is probably more solid than the modernTrangia IMHO (that's the sort that come in original swedish mess kits and are stamped as being made in the sixties)- but it is harder to use without a simmer ring..either way they're both so reliable and trouble free
+Simon Hill maybe the older ones are thicker
good tip about the water thanks
Excellent demonstration
Glad it was helpful!
Thanks! Everything I wanted to know!
got every set they sold 6 or so. easy to carry; never failed to cook properly and can be easily modified for wind screen. pure grain alcohol works great in them. I never heard of the soot being a problem, I just wipe my boil pot before stuffing entire kit in it. I will try that water 5%.
Try it see if you notice a difference . Can’t hurt
All adding water does is slow down cooking time, not worth doing.
Exactly, I'm sick of seeing this wives' tale still circulating the internet.. All water dilution does to any fuel is lower it's flammability and combustion temp until you eventually dilute it to a point where it will no longer ignite.. It does not prevent the bottom of your aluminium or stainless steel pots and pans going black..
@@Funkteon So it lowers the temp? Seems pretty usefull if you're doing anything other than boiling water given how difficult it is to controll the temp normally.
Either way you gonna spend time either scrubbing off soot of your pots and pans, or spend the time waiting for your shit to boil.
I rather just sit and wait for what’s in the pot get to boil, while enjoying nature than scrubbing soot.
@@jasip1000 the idea is you clean soot off at home :) Never met a serious Trangia user in the four decades I've used these set that has diluted the fuel.
@@Funkteon it does reduce sooting with some fuels by adding 10% water, the difference is quite substantial. It however depends on the fuel you can get hold of.
Great vid! Quality as always.Mark
+Kram Rentip Thanks Mark!
I have both the civilian and military Trangias as well as a Chinese knockoff of the civilian burner. Both small burners cracked around the outside edge, so far the larger military Trangia has remained intact. I've applied aluminum muffler tape to the cracked burners, I haven't tested them for durability under heat, but I imagine I've lost the ability to pack them with unburned fuel inside.
Good luck
Cracks found in the Trangia burner can be soldered, regaining vessel integrity making it good as new. I go one step farther, by soldering the crimp ring when new to prevent leaking from that area. Use lead-free solder, with plenty of flux. I hope this helps.
Thanks for the video but must differ brother. 70% Alcohol soots like hell. 91% Alcohol is too slow and soots as well. More water in the alcohol equates to more soot. Exceptable for my Trangia needs is always Yellow bottle HEET and/or Denatured Alcohol. However, the most economical, superior heat producing and clean Trangia fuel (as well as in my other alcohol stoves) in my trials and experience is without question Methanol Racing fuel. In the great state of Texas I pay $35.00/5 gallons. What I don't us in my collection of alcohol stoves, goes to help clean the arteries in my vehicles from the nasty E85 deposits. Just my humble opinion from Texas...
Here in Australia, we just use 95% (minimum) methylated spirits. It burns completely clean and has never left any soot on my pots or pans..
I'd like to see you do a video of the different types of fuel you can use with these stoves, heet, moonshine, and (what I use) de-natured alcohol
+Squanto 99 yep that could be interesting thanks for the suggestion.
Good to know the differences
Thanks for sharing
Cheers
+Saskbushcrafter Leis Thanks for watching!
Try some denatured alcohol or yellow bottle heet. They have no soot. :)
Damn wish I'd seen this before I bought the military model.. I wrongly assumed that the military model would be more robust etc.. Thanks for the video..
It’s all relative. I bet it does the job just fine
H i Save, not sure if you know or not but the hair line cracks are created by (as you say) doing it up too tight, and the other common problem is putting the lid on when it is NOT completely cold, this causes a vacume in the stove which sucks the lid down even tighter, ( I'm just saying) also have you tried adding surgical spirit to your meths? that cleans even better, use half a bottle of meths with half a bottle of surgical spirit, the closest stove to the Trangia is the Mil-tec, they are a reproduction of the Trangia, I have one and have tested it and found it to be very good, but for £2 more get the real thing.
Thanks that’s interesting
Hi my civilian size one only last for 25mins burning time…
They may last a lifetime, or until it cracks at the seams!
My bad
Never had any soot from denatured alcohol, adding water however does create soot. You must not get pure denatred alcohol
It's written on the bottle. add water.
I've always found that straight alcohol (methylated spirits in Australia) leaves a sooty deposit on the pot, but adding water (10%) keeps the pot clean. I think what happens is that the water turns to steam and washes off the soot. I can't see how adding water could create soot?
Does the military model fit in the civilian setup?
I not sure what you mean by the civilian set up? there are lots of different set ups right? post a link to the one you mean . it s bigger so it might not
The larger (military) version doesn’t fit into the aluminum windscreen pot holder that the smaller version comes with. We use a can with some holes in the bottom. Works well. Use any kind of alcohol including pure ethanol( Everclear) which someone always brought with me mates.
Are original Trangia burners expensive in the UK? Here in Sweden they are less than £10.
11.99 on Amazon
@@verysurvival a bit expensive but not much. I would not have thought it was so expensive that people would bother to get a fake copy. The Trangia spirit burner lasts a life time.
the military Trangia is not inferior because someone tried to save money - that´s rarely the case with military gear. The military Trangia was designed in 60s and is much older design then the "civilian Trangia" you are comparing it to which was designed in 80s. Trangias designed in 50s didn´t even have a screw top btw.
so why didn’t they just change the design of the military Trangia in the 80s when they invented a better design?
@@verysurvival I can only speculate, but these where originally introduced in the peak of cold war when the Swedish army was at its biggest so they where probably produced in very large numbers and most were kept in mobilization warehouses. It´s possible that there simply was no new orders placed after the original production run. This piece of kit is not exactly easy to break
@@s4ss trangias have been made since 1923, much earlier than the military versions..
If you burn denatured ethyl alcohol, there will be no soot at all even without adding water.
thats brill
Would you still put water in a 95% grain alcohol mixture?
No
I'd keep it neat
@@verysurvival Thanks!
thank you
the sound volume on this is very poor
So, How much do we have to pay for a new Tranger. Over.
Around £10
I have been using Trangia stoves for several decades & use pure denatured alcohol. Never had an issue with suit as you claim. Do not add water to your alcohol.
Soot
I must have had a senior moment. Take care.@@verysurvival
@@buckshot4428 I'm pretty sure the soot comes from additives like dyes and bitterant so if you can get alchohol without that all adding water will do is make it burn slower and cooler. Which you may want if you're doing something other than boiling water. I'm not convinced it actually does anything for the soot when you are using alcohol with aditives anyway.
@@TheAkashicTraveller I use denatured alcohol which leaves zero soot. If I'm slow cooking something I'll just use the Pathfinder alcohol stove, assuming I can get it to blossom lol.
If your denatured alcohol contain more methanol it will produce less soot. The denatured alcohol we get in Europe usually produce more soot, where 10% water can make a big difference. Methanol is clean burning but also very toxic, and often other substances are added as Akashic wrote which will also produce soot. Different rules, create different fuels.
10% not more than 15%
Vilken är bäst ?
båda är lika
Jag tror militär är bäst !!!!
Take the tatonka rvs burner,
British accent
Adding water to alcohol fuel? Hilarious .
Have you ever heard of alcohol water mix injection for high performance engines? Because it gives more power? I guess not. Turn in your man card.