Sterno + Trangia

C

craig anthony

Joined
Aug 20, 2009
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OK, I'll confess I'm very inexperienced with the whole outdoor thing. I'm in my early 40's, married with 2 young boys (6 & 5). We tried camping for the first time last year and fell in love with it (car camping and hiking). So now what, I become a paper expert on the topic, right got it covered. Read everything and anything I can get my hands on, camping, bushcraft, tents, hiking, hunting whatever. Have the opportunity to get out for small hikes every now and then and carry my Mongo bag full of goodies with me so we can all practice new things, firecraft, bushcraft, shelters etc.. I found I wanted to bring a small stove with me as the kids are still small and can only go so far before I hear "Dad I'm hungry." So after much research I opted for a Sterno folding stove for a couple of reasons. Since I'm new at this I didn't want to invest too much and the price was right and it seemed pretty durable. I also liked that I could use both store fuel and natural fuel. I'm going to add a Trangia soon for a fuel burner and think the set up should meet my needs as a new guy. Hey I can always upgrade later right. What do you all think of this setup and my thought process? Am I on the right track or over thinking? Thanks any input would be greatly appreciated.:thumbup:
 
I use a Trangia as a backup for my hurricane cooking...don't have the Sterno stove but, modified (opened up the fuel supply hole) a surplus Swedish Volcano stove so it will work with both the Trangia and Sterno can in addition to twigs.... the Trangia was about $12 on line, and on denatured alcohol will burn considerably hotter than the Sterno, and the simmer ring is helpful....about $6 a quart for denatured alcohol at Home Depot
 
I'd probably use the Sterno more as a backup. I just bought a dual burning cookset similar to the Sterno/Trangia setup you mention.
It's an Esbit MI Spirit cookset that uses both Esbit tablets and alcohol. The alcohol burner will be my primary heat source, with the Esbit tabs as a backup. A few pics...

Packed.
P1030346.jpg


What's in the bag.
P1030348.jpg


Semi-packed.
P1030349.jpg


Set up for Esbit tab.
P1030350.jpg


Set up for alcohol burner.
P1030351.jpg


The burner that came with the set is very much a Trangia look-alike. The only issue is that the burner leaks. Thus the need for the fuel bottle seen in the third pic.
Still, I knew it leaked based on the reviews. The crimp around the top outer lip isn't tightly fitted, so I'm just going to substitute a real $12 Trangia for the burner until I can solder that rim.
I'm still happy with it. It's a well-designed, integrated set, and I got it on sale. The pots alone are worth what I paid.

.
 
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Guyon I have been looking at that Esbit kit with interest for awhile. I did not know that the trangia fit in it. I may have to grab one of those. Have you used the fuel tabs? Just curious how long a burn you can get from 1 tab.
 
Liveitloud, the set comes with an Esbit made Trangia-style burner. However, chances are all the burners leak. The outer rim just isn't press fitted tightly enough. I'm going to run solder all the way around the rim at the crimp joint, and I should be able to stop the leak. That way, I can transport fuel in the burner AND have some spare fuel in the bottle. However, I already ordered a $12 "real" Trangia for it, so this Esbit burner will likely be relegated to back-up duty. The flip-out handle on the simmer ring is nice though. I'll keep that with the kit. It allows you to adjust flame outside the pot stand/wind screen without getting fingers near the flame.

I Googled and found that Esbit fuel tabs burn 13 to 15 minutes, depending on whom you ask. I've never timed one, but I might do a test with this kit today. I can get back to you with a boil time and a burn time. They're kind of messy, thus the little piece of aluminum I stuck in the kit.
 
That sounds good. Would love to hear your assessment. Just picked up an Emberlit and a Trangia and like them both. That Esbit is a nice looking piece of kit!
 
craig anthony said:
Hey I can always upgrade later right. What do you all think of this setup and my thought process? Am I on the right track or over thinking? Thanks any input would be greatly appreciated.:thumbup:
Click to expand...

craig, I don't want you to think I'm trying to hijack your thread with the Esbit kit. I just wanted you to see that I'm going to experiment with a very similar kind of set-up--one that has alternate fuels. The Trangia is going to burn cleaner (especially with HEET), but it never hurts to have a backup if you run out of fuel. And you're right on the money as far as starting simply. Try out your set in a variety of scenarios, see what works for you, and adjust from there.

I have a bunch of stoves, cooksets, etc., but I'm finding more and more that I like simple. My little White Box Solo is one of my favorite stoves because it just plain works with a minimum of fuss. The Trangia is the same. It's a proven design, and you will get your money out of it for sure.

Liveitloud, those Emberlits are speaking to me too. :p
 
In low or no wind conditions the M3 is my favorite stove. CLICK HERE

In high wind conditions nothing beats the Caldera cone. I like the Sidewinder series because everything fits into the pot. CLICK HERE

Lou
 
It never hurts to have alternate fuels. I'm waiting on the Backcountry Boiler from Devin Montgomery.
It is a twig/limb stove in terms of primary design. But Devin also is offering a non-flammable wick that allows you to convert the Boiler into an efficient alcohol burner when no wood is available.
 
I like having the option of using multi-fuels. Right now I carry a Swiss volcano stove modified to accept a Trangia burner. It also burns wood and the Trangia can be used as a stand alone stove too. So I have options. I like options!
 
Guyon,
Thanks for the info, it's greatly appreciated. I would never think of additional info as a highjack. I like hearing others thoughts and opinions. Like you said I'm going to give my kit a go and try several different senarios. I've even got a few Esbit fuel tabs to try with it as well.
 
ElectrikHellfire said:
I like having the option of using multi-fuels. Right now I carry a Swiss volcano stove modified to accept a Trangia burner. It also burns wood and the Trangia can be used as a stand alone stove too. So I have options. I like options!
Click to expand...

That's a good plan too. ;) :D

P1010345.jpg


P1010369.jpg


P1010362.jpg
 
If you're starting out, a Trangia burner is pretty simple and durable (that's how I started), but they do take a comparatively long time to get water up to boil if you're making instant noodles or want to cook pasta.
Once I started taking more short walks with the kids, I found a gas cannister stove with piezo ignition to be heavier overall, but greater heat output and easily simmer for something like instant pasta meals.

The main things I've found is try to find stove that is low to the ground... don't want kids knocking things over. But your best investment regardless of stove will be to get a windshield (anything from heavy foil to fold out) and a good pot with a lid. Since you're not ultralighting, you can get away with a nice Zebra stainless pot.

Right now, I use the www.whiteboxstoves.com which is another alcohol burner... great for simple boiling water, and super light, and I don't mind 10 minutes (versus say 4-5 mins on gas.)
 
One word of warning about denatured alcohol since you are going to have some little guys around. Unless it is dark, the flame is completely invisible. You can put a twig in the flame for a bit of coloring, it will soot your cooking vessel, but I like an orange flame when I have people unfamiliar with alcohol stoves with me.
 
I have a Whitebox stove. I like it. But it's very limited. Because there is no adjustment on the flame setting it's always on "high." It's relatively fast for boiling water but you can't simmer with it at all. Most alcohol stoves take some tinkering to learn to make them work well. You have to learn to estimate how much alcohol it's going to take to bring something to a boil or how long to simmer something (for those few that can simmer) and put that much alcohol into the stove when you start cooking. If it runs out of fuel you have to wait for the stove to cool before you can refill it.

The M3 that I recommended earlier will boil two cups of water (a standard measure of heat output for camping stoves) in about 5−6 minutes. It will simmer indefinitely because it has a silicone tube that you screw onto a bottle of alcohol. When it runs low you just give the bottle a squeeze. If you need to go back to a boil you just squeeze until the entire wick is burning.

Here's a video of it in use.

Standard disclaimer goes here. I have no interest blah, blah, blah.


Lou
 
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