Swedish Army Stove(meths burner)

[Dino]

I have just bought a Swedish Army Stove(meths), so i can show my cadets how a meths stove works and i have notice two rings on the handle of the billy lid & two notch on the handle of the billy, one in the middle, the other one quarter of the way round. what are there for . i have the meths burner, fuel bottle, sheild/stand & billy, is there anythink else missing.

 

[warthog1981]

it so you can tuck the hanging loop in to stop it rattling

 

[Dino]

it so you can tuck the hanging loop in to stop it rattling

cheers warthog

is that the two notches on the wire handle, what about the two rings on the billy lid.

 

[BushTucker]

If you want a simple burner, why not get a small tin ( lozenger etc ) with a hinged lid, place some rockwool ( loft insulation ) in it and some mesh to cover it all ( cut from a large strainer ) to hold it all in place, place meths in for needed cook time and you have a brill small pocket stove like i do.

 

[Tadpole]

I have just bought a Swedish Army Stove(meths), so i can show my cadets how a meths stove works and i have notice two rings on the handle of the billy lid & two notch on the handle of the billy, one in the middle, the other one quarter of the way round. what are there for . i have the meths burner, fuel bottle, sheild/stand & billy, is there anythink else missing.

The two rings on the handle are so you can extend the handle with a stick, or hang it up. I’m not sure what you mean when you say notch, lots of equipment have holes cut into to them to save weight

 

[Goose]

I have just bought a Swedish Army Stove(meths), so i can show my cadets how a meths stove works and i have notice two rings on the handle of the billy lid & two notch on the handle of the billy, one in the middle, the other one quarter of the way round. what are there for . i have the meths burner, fuel bottle, sheild/stand & billy, is there anythink else missing.

Its all there! I was told the swedish squaddies carry the fuel bottle in an inner pocket rather than in the mess set itself, it keeps it warm so burns better. I have a plastic kuska and folding cup inside my cookset, it is a lot better than eating out of the tins.

 

[Longstrider]

I think you'll find that the two "notches" in the wire handle on the billy are there to stop the billy from tipping if it's suspended above a fire. A smooth wire handle might be prone to slipping and result in the contents being lost into the fire.
One is central on the handle for a level billy and the other is for use when you want the billy tipped so that you can add ingredients/stir the contents/ see inside.

 

[Goose]

The other use of the off centre notch is if you put the hook through the rectangular "clip", it makes sense when you look at it, you have the bail arm held off to the side. This means you can lift it without getting scalded from steam, and it is easy to tip out your contents, the problem with bail arms is you can't easily tip out the contents usually. It is a little awkward to get the hook through the clip sometimes, it is harder on the stainless steel(older) version, so put it through before you cook, it will still fit in the windshield, that is what the funny shape cut out is for!

 

[Swede]

The notch in the middle of the wire handle is, as you all already have figured out, for hanging the pot over an open fire. I (when I was in the army for ten months doing my military service) used to hang the hook into something (buttonhole, webbingbelt etc) for having my hands free to collect food. Then there is a way to stuff the whole kit together so it´s quiet when in the rucksack and you´re on the move.

http://scorpionshops.com/mod_perl/m...UteLiv;&ViewSingleItem=10015&View=SingleItem&

This picture is the best i can find to explain how I mean. Have the wire handle the same way as in the picrure when you put the stove into the windscreen. Have the handle of the frying pan pointing horizontal. Slide the hook into the off centre notch. Place the hook so it is situated below the hinges of the handle (frying pan). Here comes the tricky stuff: Try to fold the frying pan handle down as much as you can so the rectangual cut-out fits the small "handle" (becomes a sort of locking device) on the pot. Secure the whole kit by threading an leather strap or put the army issue can opener through the "lock". If the stove and the windscreen have been out for some adventure fitting them toghether as above can be difficult. Then I´m not so sure that Trangia is the manufacturer of the stove/messkit. I´ve searched on the net but can´t find any information who´s the manufacturer. I (we) also used to carry the burner. with fuel in it, close to the body i a pocket so it would be more easy to ignite it. Here are some other pictures of the stove: http://www.soldf.com/enmanskok.html . /Swede

 

[Dino]

Cheers guys,

thanks for your help & information.

a question to our bushcraft friends in sweden, how well do these meths stoves work in extreme weather, I have been on x-country skiing in sarek and norway and we had diffeculty in lighting petrol stoves in extreme cold and petrol is more flamble than meths and we where warming the petrol up with body heat .

how well do the meths stove work with snow/ice melting and how much meths would you take on a camp, we work on half pint of petrol per person per day?

 

[Swede]

@ Dino

Funny that you have problems to lighting petrol. The trick with alcohol is the same as you´ve described with petrol, body heat. I never use meth burner in the winter. I´ve been learned that petrol is the only choice if you don´t want problems. Propane is affected by pressure so you have to pre-heat the canister as well. If you should choose meth in the winter (heaven forbid) you have to bring at least the double amount of fuel compared with a summer tour. I used to carry at least one litre in the summer... It all ends in a lot to carry with you and the fuel is fairly effective. My advice to you is that you stick to petrol. If you have been priming with petrol itself try something else instead. I´m not sure what it´s called in english but I´ve used somekind of "jelly" (napalm ). It smells almost like petrol but burns like h*ll without problems. You should be able to find where you buy your equipment. /Swede

 

[big_swede]

Cheers guys,

thanks for your help & information.

a question to our bushcraft friends in sweden, how well do these meths stoves work in extreme weather, I have been on x-country skiing in sarek and norway and we had diffeculty in lighting petrol stoves in extreme cold and petrol is more flamble than meths and we where warming the petrol up with body heat .

how well do the meths stove work with snow/ice melting and how much meths would you take on a camp, we work on half pint of petrol per person per day?

I've used meth in winter. If you keep the burner and fuel in your pocket it's usually not a problem. Use plywood square so it doesn't melt itself down in the snow.

Last trip in januari, temps down to -24, we had a petrol stove (optimus omnifuel) and a meth stove, a trangia. The methstove did quite well in comparison, it doesn't consume as much fuel as you would believe. Of course it's slower, but I've used only a meth stove on other winter trips (down to 42 below..) and never had a problem, patience is the key . I take as much fuel I can carry. Maybe 3 liters for a week or so, but if I'm not in a national park or reservatory use a fire if I can.

Melting snow in a trangia works fairly well, if you stack the pots, first the small, then the big, then the lid and finally a kettle, you will have a lot of water in reasonable time. Igniting is usually not a problem, just don't do dilute the meth.

Sarek is wonderful in winter.

 

[Dino]

what i got to say, is that we had to strip down our cookers which where MSR NGK, because there where getting block up. we where use ordinary petrol that we bought in sweden, we have never had problems with the petrol in england, is there extra additive in the petrol because of the extreme cold.

 

[rik_uk3]

what i got to say, is that we had to strip down our cookers which where MSR NGK, because there where getting block up. we where use ordinary petrol that we bought in Sweden, we have never had problems with the petrol in England, is there extra additive in the petrol because of the extreme cold.

I would not burn petrol in any stove, use Coleman fuel (expensive) or panel wipe which is the same stuff, but used by car repairers for wiping down car panels (much cheaper) and is as said Naptha (Coleman fuel). Automotive petrol has a lot of additives in the UK you don't want to breath in (carcinogenic), and will block your fuel generators much quicker that Naptha fuel.

When you use Trangia stoves in the cold, especially the military types, it is important to insulate the bottom of the burner from the cold ground, if you leave it in contact, you will see a marked slow down in performance. Insulate with paper or something, but please insulate.

 

[big_swede]

I would not burn petrol in any stove, use Coleman fuel (expensive) or panel wipe which is the same stuff, but used by car repairers for wiping down car panels (much cheaper) and is as said Naptha (Coleman fuel). Automotive petrol has a lot of additives in the UK you don't want to breath in (carcinogenic), and will block your fuel generators much quicker that Naptha fuel.

When you use Trangia stoves in the cold, especially the military types, it is important to insulate the bottom of the burner from the cold ground, if you leave it in contact, you will see a marked slow down in performance. Insulate with paper or something, but please insulate.

We've used automotive petrol a lot. I think it works just as well as naphta petrol, the difference in effect is in my eyes neglectible, specially if you consider the price of outdoor naphta fuels. Will look for the car panel cleaning thing though, good tip!

I don't think naphta fuels are any good to breath in ethier.

 

[Swede]

As already mentioned, car petrol have a lot of additives which is hazardous. I don´t know if there´s any additives cause of the cold. I´ve heard that there is a small amount of alcohol (E85) in the petrol, maybe it affects. When I worked in a outdoor equipment store I recommended beginners to begin with kerosene (if they bought a multifuelstove for example). I clean my MSR XGK from time to time for not to have problems blocking the nozzle. I would only use car petrol in an emergency and use kerosene as much as I can. /Swede

 

[Dino]

i do use colemens fuel, but when i went to sweden, we could not get any coleman fuel, that why we went for car petrol, we was stripping down & cleaning both cooker every two/three days, but when we where test the cooker with the different fuels back in england we had no trouble.

cheer for the help & information

 

[cyclist]

As already mentioned, car petrol have a lot of additives which is hazardous. I don´t know if there´s any additives cause of the cold. I´ve heard that there is a small amount of alcohol (E85) in the petrol, maybe it affects. When I worked in a outdoor equipment store I recommended beginners to begin with kerosene (if they bought a multifuelstove for example). I clean my MSR XGK from time to time for not to have problems blocking the nozzle. I would only use car petrol in an emergency and use kerosene as much as I can. /Swede

good points. Most petrol (gas in the US) in Europe contains alc.
No matter what fuel I use I put a lid on the pot and I don´t fry in an open frypan. Exceptions are wood, Coleman fuel, butane/propane and Continental European meth. spirits (the stuff found in the UK has some interesting fragrance ).

Those additives in petrol are good for the inner parts of service stations and maybe for an engine. For sure they are no good for a human body