Hi all. I've only ever used my much loved swedish army issue trangia stove with hexi blocks, leaving the brass spirit burner at home just because I'm more used to hexi fuel and assumed it would last longer than a bottle of spirit would, however I'd love to know if I could be saving weight by opting for spirit fuel as was designed for. Also what type of spirit is best to use?
Using the Swedish army issue trangia with hexamine or spirits?
- Thread starter lub0
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I have one of these mate, it burns methylated spirits in the burner.
It does perform very well once it's bloomed, but that in itself takes a fair while!! Fuel capacity is excellent too due to the size!!
It you want a similar performance but saving weight get yourself a tatonka stainless burner. Performs pretty much the same but weighs a lot less and you can get a simmer ring for it too!
They cost around £8 on amazon!
Hope this helps
All the best
Steve
It does perform very well once it's bloomed, but that in itself takes a fair while!! Fuel capacity is excellent too due to the size!!
It you want a similar performance but saving weight get yourself a tatonka stainless burner. Performs pretty much the same but weighs a lot less and you can get a simmer ring for it too!
They cost around £8 on amazon!
Hope this helps
All the best
Steve
Thanks, looks like a good replacement. If I filled the issued spirits bottle that comes with the stove, how many liters of water could that boil??
Ive used mine with the issue burner/the civi burner/the tantonka burner/and the white box,if you want a brew or meal fast the white box kicks the others to the curb.
Ummm - hexi in a SAT? You must be a patient sort
THe SAT wasn't designed for hexi, and is not very efficient with it.
Personally, I'd use the burner it came with - to speed up the bloom, put the pan on immediately after lighting - the build-up of heat within the windshield speeds up the process, and doesn't waste fuel waiting for the bloom.
The Tatonka burner is an option, but - again, personally - I'd just buy the tatonka simmer ring - it fits the SAT burner perfectly, and is only a couple of quid. I've tried the Tatonka burner, and don't find it offers any real advantage over the Trangia/SVEA one that comes with the SAT.
Don't forget also that the windshield makes a very passable wood-burner on its own! It does go a coppery brown and seems a bit softer, but I've used one for well over 50 wood-burns and it is still in one piece and perfectly usable.
THe SAT wasn't designed for hexi, and is not very efficient with it.Personally, I'd use the burner it came with - to speed up the bloom, put the pan on immediately after lighting - the build-up of heat within the windshield speeds up the process, and doesn't waste fuel waiting for the bloom.
The Tatonka burner is an option, but - again, personally - I'd just buy the tatonka simmer ring - it fits the SAT burner perfectly, and is only a couple of quid. I've tried the Tatonka burner, and don't find it offers any real advantage over the Trangia/SVEA one that comes with the SAT.
Don't forget also that the windshield makes a very passable wood-burner on its own! It does go a coppery brown and seems a bit softer, but I've used one for well over 50 wood-burns and it is still in one piece and perfectly usable.
On my Snuskburken (did I get that right?) I swapped the military issue burner with the one from a civilian trangia. I don't need to make dinner for 4 hungry soldiers, so the extra size just means extra time for the burner to heat up and more unburnt meths for me to pour back into the bottle.
I don't know about weight, but I think you could probably save volume by going over to meths. A half litre bottle of meths could easily do enough heating for 8-10 single person brews. The same volume of hex would probably only do 5 or less. This may be to do with the fact that meths burners can be extinguished and their fuel reused, whereas on most hex stoves it is almost impossible to put the hex out after it is alight and certainly problematic to try and reuse partially burned hex.
I could be wrong about this, but I believe meths may also be more energy dense per cubic cm than hex.
I don't know about weight, but I think you could probably save volume by going over to meths. A half litre bottle of meths could easily do enough heating for 8-10 single person brews. The same volume of hex would probably only do 5 or less. This may be to do with the fact that meths burners can be extinguished and their fuel reused, whereas on most hex stoves it is almost impossible to put the hex out after it is alight and certainly problematic to try and reuse partially burned hex.
I could be wrong about this, but I believe meths may also be more energy dense per cubic cm than hex.
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Insulate the burner from cold ground, couple of twigs, or a thick piece of cardboard cut to size which is what I used to do; this will make a difference to cooking times.
I appreciate all the information, but would still love to know if I'll be carrying less weight in my pack by using spirits instead of solid hexi blocks for my swedish army trangia!
I'd also like to know how many liters of water 1 liter of spirits could boil, so that I actually know how much fuel to bring with me!
I'd also like to know how many liters of water 1 liter of spirits could boil, so that I actually know how much fuel to bring with me!
Yes, but I'm completely open to suggestions. While I'm training I'll be buying lighter options on the various kit I already have. I just weighed my SAT at 880 grams, which compromised the windshield, billy, lid pan and brass spirit burner. I love the SAT because it is bombproof and the speed at which it boils water never ceases to amaze me time and time again.
Me too, must be just about the slowest stove I've every owned.
http://www.clasohlson.com/uk/Asaklitt-Spirit-Stove/Pr343320000 free postage, works better in high wind and you get a simmer ring.
That's 280 grams lighter than the SAT. Will check out any reviews, link me if you know of any please. I take it you use one yourself?
I own one but don't use it (I own a lot of stoves I never use camping). Its a good stove, works well, simmers fine. Practise using it before your trip.
I just ordered it. It does look ideal, will let you know how I get on with it. Whats the best type of alcohol to use? Will any brand of meths be ok or are there special mixes available that provide longer/stronger burn?
The best thing if you can get it is pure ether alcohol or Everclear grain alcohol. They burn without soot and don't taint your food if you spill a little. Sadly both are controlled substances in the UK and hard to get a hold of.
I once had a very slight leak of meths and it got into my bacon. We had to eat it anyway as it was the only food we had for the return trip.
It was not a pleasant experience - a little meths can totally taint a surprisingly large quantity of food.
I once had a very slight leak of meths and it got into my bacon. We had to eat it anyway as it was the only food we had for the return trip.
It was not a pleasant experience - a little meths can totally taint a surprisingly large quantity of food.
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I've got the Clas Ohlson stove - it's very light but flimsy. I now use the burner for that with my SAT
eek, will have to be careful then, or might just use the burner for my SAT like you did.
I can see the pure alcohol is not available to buy so I guess just standard methylated spirits will be what I get. I'll be sure to do my testing to know how much to bring with me. I'm hoping no more than 1 litre will do me for the 12 day hike.
A wee tip for making your meths go further:
Extinguish the flame as soon as you are done using the "snuffer" that comes with the burner. When it cools down you can pour the leftovers back into the bottle. Be sure to remove the rubber gasket from inside the lid before using it to extinguish the flame or you will damage the seal and all of your kit will smell of meths. Equally, put the gasket back when you're done for the same reason!
Extinguish the flame as soon as you are done using the "snuffer" that comes with the burner. When it cools down you can pour the leftovers back into the bottle. Be sure to remove the rubber gasket from inside the lid before using it to extinguish the flame or you will damage the seal and all of your kit will smell of meths. Equally, put the gasket back when you're done for the same reason!
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In that case you may get better mileage ( :blush: pardon the pun) from a litre of petrol.
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