Swedish Army Surplus Alcohol Stove: How to Use?

R

Return of the J.D.

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Okay--have bought, and sort of used, one of those Swedish Army-surplus alcohol stove sets. I gather that they're made by Trangia and/or Svea, and the core component is that little brass round burner thing with a screw-on lid.

No prob so far.

What I'm a little more mystified by is how the rest of the kit with which it comes is supposed to be used. It's a nesting set, kind of oval in shape, with a windscreen device with a couple of wire arms inside, a large pot, and a smaller frying-pan-like thing that may be supposed to function as a combo lid and frying-pan.

A simple question, I guess, for those of you who know, but how is this set supposed to be set up? And what do those thick wire arm-like things inside the windscreen do? I've been successful in boiling a potfull of eggs, but I can't help but wonder whether I'm making some kind of suboptimal use of this setup. Any ideas? Pictures of a full set up and running appropriately?

I'd look around more on the 'net for instructions or photos, but time is at a minimum. Thanks, guys!
 
ive got one

got burner filled on wind screen lift wire things and push till they hit the sides
light stove move screen over put pot/pan onto wires with handle sticking out the opening on screen
 
Don't expect butane type results. Denatured alcohol from the hardware store will give the most heat-- rubbing alcohol is isopropyl and usually contains a lot of added water-- upwards of 30%-- and it is sooty. Do be careful with the denatured stuff: it can contain a large percentage of methanol which is poisonous on your skin and the fumes are not good. Marine alcohol stove fuel usually contains less methanol, but don't bet on it. If you want more methanol for more performance, Heet fuel de-icer will do the trick, but don't cook in your shelter with the stuff.

Alcohol stoves need to be protected from the wind and the warmer you can keep them, the better they work-- they won't work well on snow or frozen ground. Let the stove warm up fully too.

If you really want to get into alcohol stoves, check out Mini Bull Designs and Zen Stoves.

If you live in a state that allows Everclear, it is good stove fuel--- if you can bear the cost ---and not half bad mixed with Gatorade for a nightcap :)

I like the simplicity of alcohol stoves. After cussing a Coleman gas stove into life over 20 years, a nice little lightweight stove with no moving parts is a joy. They are good for making a cup of coffee or enough hot water for a dehydrated meal, but they won't crank out enough hot water for several people. They have some strengths for survival gear as the fuel is stable and not as flakey as gasoline. Remember that you won't always see the flame from an alcohol stove in daylight-- the hair disappearing off your arm will remind you!
 
The Swedish mess kit is a fav of mine esp for winter use. Winter here is still above freezing, I have yet to use this kit in sub-freezing weather. I use denatured alcohol from the paint store, seems OK. I love the fact that this cookset is silent. I know some people who love the sound of a roarer burner, I'm just not one of them.

As was stated earlier just open the potstand wires and set the stand over the lit burner and away you go. Last month I taught outdoor cooking to a group of adult Boy Scout leaders and used among other cookers my Swedish cookset. After the class everyone wanted one. I also have a mini Trangia though I may replace the burner with a Vargo Ti alcohol stove I recently bought. I recently bought an old alcohol cookset off ebay for about $6.00 incl s&h. I am not sure of the brand because the stamping of the name wasn't done very well. It could be Tamos or Famos. Under the name is another stamping of (maybe) ?esch. The alcohol burner isn't nearly as efficient as the newer Trangia but since it is the same size I can make this cookset work well with some spare parts I already have.
 
I was issued those when I did my national service back in -91 and later on with the homeguard in -97. For some reason the sw army is issuing the OLD steel stoves, that were manufactured about the same time Hitler invaded Soviet, to the homeguard. Just recently I was told that they are taking the relics back and handing out "jägarkök" ranger stoves that looks like Optimus Tor.
I have loads of them, you can buy them at surplus stores here, never even taken out of the original package for like nothing.
Either the army is counting on a war that will end before lunch or they disbanded the whole thing, which by now is more likely because some schmuck suggested that we drop the whole conscription thing, unless there is a war eleven month away :)

Is this a fancy lightweight kitchen that is fuel efficient? NO!
Is is built like a tank to withstand abuse of generations of conscripts and a relic from the age when the swedish army was transported by a small Volvo tractor pulling a rope with 20 conscripts on bicycles with mauser rifles behind it.? YES!

Get one, light it up, put on a damp wool sweater and close your eyes and feel the atmosphere like all those sons that gave a year of their life to protect our great nation against the evil hordes that were to invade from the east. They didnt come then and havent come yet so now we are having the greatest yard sale in the world. Everything must go, get your tanks here, extra special price for you.
 
Hi, Eric--Mike MacIntosh beat me to it: I'd just ordered two from there. I previously got another one for maybe about the same price.

So--the little wire things are just designed to hold the pot up at a certain height in the windscreen?

Agreed about all of the shortcomings of alcohol stoves (well, almost all--I don't get into sub-freezing weather all that often in the desert, though it certainly can happen, and will do so more, as my family and I get back out into the outdoors.

One thing I'm thinking of doing is getting a few extra Trangia/Svea burners, and maybe keeping two in each of those Swedish mess kits, the idea being that that way when one burner runs out of fuel, I can substitute the other.

For newcomers to alcohol stoves, I agree that the invisibility of the flame is deceptive and potentially dangerous. I've found it a good idea to have a long piece of grass or the like nearby, to hold over the burner and see if it's "on".

I've liked using Everclear for stove fuel--only problem is that you're paying (in the U.S.) something like, what, $12 per gallon? of alcoholic beverage tax on the stuff, over and above the actual cost of the alcohol. Thus, I went to Home Depot, got a big gallon can of denatured alcohol for not much, and am saving the Everclear for other uses. (Good one: grate the rinds of 4 oranges. Add to bottle of Everclear. Leave for 3 days. Boil sugar in about a pint of water. Allow to cool to warm temperature. Strain Everclear into bowl; discard (or use for high-powered tinder, before the alcohol evaporates) the orange rind shreds. Pour in the sugar/water solution, mixing, to make about a 50-50 mix. Store for a month or so. Really good when it's stored in the freezer. Drink reponsib . . . reshponshib . . . reeeshponshivly.)

Don't try that with the denatured alcohol from Home Depot!
 
I take the gallon of SLX denatured from the local hardware store and mix it in an old polycarbonate Nalgene with red warning tape all over it in a 95-5 alcohol to water ratio.

The little bit of water doesn't really affect the maximum potential of the fuel, but that little bit of water give the flame a little color.

Alcohol is my favorite in the field. It is no maintenance. It is next to silent. The fuel is not really dangerous compared to petroleum distillates. Alcohol is all over the place and doesn't need to come in any special container.

Downsides are the need for above average wind protection, slow cooking times and difficult simmering. However, if you tailor your menu to its strengths, (chili, soups, and stews), you are way ahead of the game. I have made everything from spaghetti to tuna helper in my Swedish Army stoves.
 
Anyone have any comments on how to store alcohol stove fuel in a hot car trunk? My (and my wife's) car-trunk survival kits could possibly use these stoves, but I'm a little nervous about how the plastic bottles do in holding alcohol at 150 degrees Fahrenheit. Anyone have any experience with this?
 
you can buy a few of those metal fuel bottles available from dif manufacturers IE. MSR :thumbup:
 
I agree. If you are really concerned about heat, just put the alcohol in an MSR fuel bottle designed to handle pressure.

The autoignition temp of alcohol is well above 700 degrees F so it is going to take a bit of doing to have it go off in your car if its container doesn't leak.

I have never had any problem storing mine in a polycarbonate Nalgene bottle.
 
I`ve stored my denatured in a hydrogen peroxide bottle with a sports cap from bottled water and in the contact solution bottle from wallyworld.
 
I don't worry about it. I get good performance using yellow-bottle HEET dry ice. Either that, or bring a can of denatured alcohol from the paint section and don't open it.

Yes, there are health hazards from using methanol. Rule one- don't drink it. Rule two- don't breath the combustion gases. Rule three- don't expose your food to the bare flames. Keep in mind that these rules apply to white gas, butane, triox and esbit/heximine systems as well. Used smart, methanol is cheaper than ethanol and burns hotter- greater stored chemical energy.
 
Boats said:
The fuel is not really dangerous compared to petroleum distillates.
Click to expand...


S-L-X is close to 50% methanol. Be careful about getting it on your skin because methanol is absorbed through the skin much easier than petroleum distillates.
 
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