Super Charged Trangia Mini

P

pinnah

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Jul 28, 2011
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I dig the light weight of Trangia Mini but have been unimpressed with the boil times. So, the goal was to squeeze as much extra performance from the system as possible.

One of the key problems is that the base of the Mini is too short to lift the pot high enough above the burner. So, one of the goals of the modification is to lift the pot higher while still having a base that will fit in the small solo pot.

Here is the resulting new base.

Supercharged Trangia Mini Base by Pinnah, on Flickr

Using this, I've been able to drop boil time for 2 cups of water by 2 minutes on average, from approximately 7:15 to 5:15.

Another key component is adding a foil windscreen. I've also gotten this work with a 1.9L pot (for 2-3 people) and a large pot (for 4 people).


1.9 Liter Pot and Windscreen by Pinnah, on Flickr

The full details is probably too much for a single post, so I created a Flickr photo set. The details are documented in the descriptions of the photos.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/pinnah/sets/72157638127024523/

I hope this is helpful. Comments and suggestions welcome
 
Very cool mod, thanks for sharing. :thumbup:

People might also be interested in the trangia triangle stand.
http://www.songofthepaddle.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?26940-Trangia-Triangle-Stove-Review

OIMGP2689.jpg

A picture from the above review places the unmodified trangia mini beside the trangia triangle stand.
 
If you really want to improve the performance of a Trangia you need to add pressure.

I've meddled about with Trangias a bit and the bottom line is alcohol is rubbish for producing heat. Compared to other systems the BTUs are way down. You can play about with peripherals, stick it in a better wind shield, stand it on a bit of foam wrapped in foil, adjust the height of the flame, but in my experience none of these this addresses the elephant in the room. It's a bit like overclocking a 10yr old computer rather than buying a new one.

There are numerous 'tube vids on how to make them work much faster though. The essentials are as follows: Grab a replacement Trangia lid for £2ish, and make a couple of holes in it. Get 6' of thin copper / brass tube and fill it full of sand [stops it crushing when you bend it]. Bend a loop into the middle of the tube. Tip sand out of tube and JB Weld the free end into holes in lid. Drill a couple of pin holes into the top of the loop you made. FINNI.

Look for the videos. Some are simple like that and make a little roarer burner. Some are very artsy with a few small tubes, and look rather like a flower. They burn like the clappers compared to the leisurely waft from a Trangia in its natural state.
 
baldtaco-II said:
If you really want to improve the performance of a Trangia you need to add pressure.
(snip...)
They burn like the clappers compared to the leisurely waft from a Trangia in its natural state.
Click to expand...

Heh. That's sort of interesting.

I think you're spot on with the comparison of overclocking a 10 yo computer. While interesting, if I want to cook with pressure, I'll just use this.


Svea 123 by Pinnah, on Flickr

For the places I camp and hike Oct/Nov and May are about the change over spots. From Nov through May, I carry the Svea.

I should maybe emphasize that burn time and alcohol is, as you suggest, something of an oxymoron. If the point is short burn time only, the answer is petroleum or gas fuel of some sort. With alcohol, the issue of concern is fuel efficiency, as the weight of the fuel (per BTU) really adds up. Here, burn time is a heuristic for fuel efficiency (which isn't totally accurate but close enough).

With this noted, in mild camping conditions and short trips (2 or 3 nights), then alcohol makes sense in the grand scheme of things for a variety of pros and cons and trade-offs. They're stable, light and relight easily, quiet and don't need constant attention and focus to operate safely. I find that if you can deal with longer boil times, using an alcohol stove ends up being a more convenient and less "intense" affair. Light it up, listen for birds and relax.

But if I'm going to listen to a roaring stove, I'm going to take a ROARING stove like the Svea!!:D
 
P, I like seeing posts like this where people tinker and hack to improve things. This one isn't useful to me in particular, but I still enjoy reading and seeing it. I expect that some of the gain you noticed, beyond the height adjustment, is due to heat scavenging, making use of more of those BTUs that are normally lost in the process. Generally, you can burn more fuel faster, or make more complete use of the BTUs produced by the fuel you do burn. Cool. Thanks. :thumbup:
 
pinnah said:
Heh. That's sort of interesting.

I think you're spot on with the comparison of overclocking a 10 yo computer. While interesting, if I want to cook with pressure, I'll just use this.


Svea 123 by Pinnah, on Flickr

For the places I camp and hike Oct/Nov and May are about the change over spots. From Nov through May, I carry the Svea.

I should maybe emphasize that burn time and alcohol is, as you suggest, something of an oxymoron. If the point is short burn time only, the answer is petroleum or gas fuel of some sort. With alcohol, the issue of concern is fuel efficiency, as the weight of the fuel (per BTU) really adds up. Here, burn time is a heuristic for fuel efficiency (which isn't totally accurate but close enough).

With this noted, in mild camping conditions and short trips (2 or 3 nights), then alcohol makes sense in the grand scheme of things for a variety of pros and cons and trade-offs. They're stable, light and relight easily, quiet and don't need constant attention and focus to operate safely. I find that if you can deal with longer boil times, using an alcohol stove ends up being a more convenient and less "intense" affair. Light it up, listen for birds and relax.

But if I'm going to listen to a roaring stove, I'm going to take a ROARING stove like the Svea!!:D
Click to expand...

My niche for the Trangia is based on it being compact and nothing more. If I couldn't store fuel in it I'd undoubtedly replace it with a Supercat.

Below is most of my smallest compact stove set up. It's not all there because those photos were taken on the proof of concept run. The thing the Trangia is in is a cut down Sigg bottle. In the cup there's just enough room to squeeze a little insulation platform that weighs about the same as a couple of doobies. I also squeeze in the major wind shield, which is made from a heavy duty disposable foil roasting dish. And I have made an aluminium lid for the cup. Without recourse to the jet mod I don't see that I can make it more efficient. Inside the wind shield it engulfs the cup in a blue ball of flame very nicely. If I tried to make it boil faster I'd have to violate the primary rule, smallest packed size. As many people mention boiling times though it is worth noting the jet mod is the way to go if the smallest packed size isn't the prime goal.

SIGG5756b_Nn5xz_A.jpg

I much prefer other stoves for a lot of reasons but I'll always have a place for this because it is so compact. Mostly I prefer a canister stove. Mine works well from a few degrees below freezing, and as a chunk, for me, most episodes fall in that range. For maximum performance though, if I can excuse the weight of the stove, Aspen 4T is my stove fuel of choice. I don't know if you have it over there. Amongst other things it's lawn mover fuel and a brilliant alternative to that Coleman stuff.
 
Interesting thread. I have found the Trangia Mini to be a great warm weather stove also . And pretty slow in wind and cold. Compact tho.
 
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