Meths Burner Question

[Phaestos]

Howdy y'all,

Right, so in pretty much every kit I see, someone has a meths burner. I have a wonderful little stove thats tiny, but its issue is that the gas canisters are rather bulky. From what I can tell, meths burners are very lightweight and small, but apart from that, I have no idea what they are, how effective they are, where to get them, can you make them etc. Treat me as a complete idiot when it comes to meths stoves and sell them to me.

Cheers

 

[brambles]

Easiest to get hold of for you will be a Trangia, either in Army (small & compact) or camp stove ( complete unit with windshield, pans ) - I have a Trangia 25 and it is fantastic.

For other types , have a look at this as an intro.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oSp6GLAGlr4

 

[Samon]

To put it simply, a methylated spirit stove (meth's burner) is a cooking system that works by burning the evaporating gases of the meth's. Instead of just lighting bare methylated spirits in the bottom of a container, the burners use small holes to release the evaporating gas and maintain a controlled flame. You can buy them in nearly any camping shop, online and even make them from soda cans. > http://www.thesodacanstove.com/alcohol-stove/how-to-build.html

Some come with metal wind shields but these can also be made from recycled materials, the methylated spirirts can be had in diy/camping shops for a few £.

 

[PDA1]

Here is everything you will ever want to know abot alcohol stoves
http://zenstoves.net/Stoves.htm

Here is a video of how to make a Trangia type stove for nothing. This is probably the best all round design. Simple yet efficient, and extremely inexpensive. Only weighs about 12 grams too.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7hdnBHb09iI&feature=related

You'll need toi make 20 or 30 to get as good as this guy. IMO, they are fun to make, and you end up spending hours making and testing different designs.Gives and entirely new meaning to the name :alcoholic"

There are hndreds of vids on Youtube of stove making and testing. The Hiram Cook channel has many controlled tests and is worht a look if you really want to learn about different types of stove.

Here is a good vid about a very efficient type of wind screen

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F6C19jakM9Q&list=UUGdXKgAS4MDFHO-O71E8C9g&index=4&feature=plcp

A good winscreen is essential for any alcohol stove as they are very sensitive to wind.

If you want to purchase a system ready made, the following is IMO very good value:

http://www.clasohlson.com/uk/Asaklitt-Spirit-Stove/Pr343320000

This has a Trangia copy burner, very efficient windscreen system, and a couple of pots. good value for KP 13.

 

[redandshane]

PDA1 has got it covered I reckon. Just add a plus 1 on the Askalit stove from Clas Ohlson I got mine when they were doing free delivery
I find the Red Bull can stoves to be too flimsy for my bull in a china shop ways but fun too make I would never use one on anything but a day trip though
Top tip is make sure the burner is not directly on cold ground

 

[mousey]

Personally I think meths stoves are great, definatley give the zen stoves website another vote for info. Although they are light in themselves the fuel can be heavy depending on how long your out, how much cooking you do and how frequently you can resupply. As far as I know meths can last a long time so no need to worry about putting a bottle or two in the shed and forgetting it for awhile.

Some people don't like the smell, some don't like it because it's difficult to see the flame - therefore aren't sure if it's lit or not. But as long as your carefull and sensible your ok. It's not advisable to top up while still burning [hence the downside of invisible flame in the daytime] so you have to get good at rekoning how much fuel will heat up how much water or cook the amount of food you want [all depends on weather conditions] or have to wait till it goes out and fill up and cook your stuff in stages, or you end up heating all the stuff you want and having fuel left over. Having fuel left is not so bad in some burners as they can be sealed - but I never like doing that incase it leaks in your bag - I just let it burn out or have another cup of tea.

The trainga stove was what we were given when I did the DoE thing, so if they trust a bunch of adolecense to muck about with it it should be safe enough.

Other good points:- very little to go wrong with them, can make a diy burner easily with common materials - so if push comes to shove you can make one while out. Can be very reliable, although a little harder to start in very cold conditions.

This is of course just my opinions of them, you'll really need to get something your self had have a play around to see if it suit you.

Hope this helps

 

[bilmo-p5]

You're not going to get away from a bulky fuel container simply by changing from a gas burner to an alcohol one. Alcohol stoves need fuel too, and even in efficient, well-protected set-ups don't generally offer us much heat output, weight for weight, as gas stoves

 

[ateallthepies]

I think it has been well established here that Meths stoves are the best weight for weight up to a certain time then gas stoves take over as best. For day hikes or several days I think they are great with the stoves being as small and light as a tea candle foil i.e single digit gram weight. Fuel wise you will need a minimum of 15ml/0.5 oz of alcohol for each brew up, more needed for longer cooking.

Meths stoves are very easy to make and there are thousands of versions on the internet to try. They can become a little addictive and people often tinker and experiment until they find one they like.....then start again

Pot size also comes into play and can make a big difference in how well a stove performs.

Above all meths stoves are fun, cheap and work well. My largest was made from a big .22 pellet tin and smallest from a shotgun shell brass end!

Steve.