What to expect from a Trangia

[Uncle Alvah]

I'm curious as to how capable the alcohol fueled Trangia stoves are.

Are they merely good for heating water for tea or coffee, soup perhaps?

Or will they actually put out enough heat to cook up some meat or someting similar for one or two people?

 

[BorderReiver]

I've used mine for everything and found it works fine. May not be as fast as the modern turbo powered gas jobs but it gets the job done.

 

[spamel]

Scruff cooked a full on meal with his when he came to the local woods, both The Ratbag and myself can tell you that it was fantastic one pot cooking. Trangias, in fact any outdoor cooking system, are a different type of cooking to what you do at home with your four, easily heat controllable hobs. You can still turn out decent food with a bit of thought though. To cater for larger numbers, buy the Trangia billy which contains the whole cooking unit inside and has a lid too. You can turn your small one/two man trangia 27 into a veritable kitchen!

 

[Uncle Alvah]

a different type of cooking to what you do at home with your four, easily heat controllable hobs.

Indeed, the stove would be expected to serve to some degree"in house" during power outages(very frequent here) as my stove proper is electric.
I had pondered a Coleman duel fuel, ideal for the house perhaps, but it's rather large for an outdoor kit, and a tad spendy to boot.

 

[Mikey P]

What to expect from a Trangia?

Whilst I admit to being biased, I would probably say: smelly kit, burnt food, and a desire to buy something - to quote the old British Gas Creature Comforts advert - a bit more 'turn-off-and-on-able'.

They are only good for kicking across the campsite. Absolutely pants, and no mistake.

Why anyone perseveres with these things, God only knows...

('INCOMING!!!' )

 

[British Red]

It just takes a modicum of skill and cooking ability Mikey. They are vastly more reliable than silly wasteful polluting things like gas canisters (no-one who actually cares about the planet uses them surely?). Far lower "tech" than all that silly pumping rubbish (and regularly "failing" rubbish) that goes on with liquid pressure stoves.

PS - if you can't cook on a Trangia, God help you on an open fire.

Maybe get a nice big gas one would be right - and a caravan to go round it? Sound easier for the culinarily challenged who just burn stuff

 

[Toddy]

Folks learn to cook on what they have and use. I'm not really a fan of the Trangia, certainly not enough to think it worth the effort of carrying fuel when there is any possibility of using a fire, but they do come tiny and lightweight.
I much prefer the old Aladdin stoves, much more stable, better fuel storage, and they allow one to force the pressure so that it takes account of height if need be.

I do care about the planet, I make great efforts to do so, but I do use gas canisters..........and I take them home and they are put to the recycle bin, I checked, our system handles them just fine. No fuss, no bother, under a £ each and they burn full out for 2hours each. That's a lot of cooking

We get out a lot, I know it's a fair bit easier for us up here, not trying to rub noses in it, and usually we just have a fire.

RikUK is the one who really knows his stoves Uncle Alvah, I'm sure he'll be able to advise on what might suit you best.

cheers,
Toddy

 

[Aaron]

I reckon they are a versatile bit of kit, the aluminium Swedish Army ones are compact and lightweight - the lid doubles as a bowl, small saucepan or cup while the billy can be doubled as a pot over the fire - saves bringing loads of different pots and pans.

Sure it takes a long time to boil but who cares? I am in no rush when I go out and tend to stick to simple meal solutions like boil in the bag, soup, rice, all of which can be heated up easily. Saying that I have just replaced the burner with a stainless Tatonka one which heats up (and cools down) much quicker. Trangia now also produce a very good multi fuel burner which I have heard is compatible with the setup.

 

[The Joker]

I sort of agree with Mikey.

I used a Trangia for ages and I have to say I think the amount of fuel you need just to cook for a weekend is ridiculous.
Mine is well and truly redundant now.

But as you've prob read loads like em so its what floats ya boat really.

 

[spamel]

I will now post a quick recipe, it is basically the one that Scruff used to cook on his trangia. Not a hint of meths was tainting the food, and it was delightful. If I have it slightly wrong, then it is because the Scruffy one is a master at his game and I am a mere impersonator when it comes to this menu. I just ate it tonight for my tea, the garlic bread is probably doable on the trangia although I don't know how. Rice can be substituted with pasta and parts can be left out. It is a great recipe and is definately a one pot-er.

Most of the ingredients can be found in your local Lidl for pennies, and will make a sastisfying meal.

One Chorizo, labelled (in Lidl) Dualano Paprika-Salami, sliced
One onion, finely chopped. Two if you choose small red onions
A couple cloves of garlic, finely sliced
Celery, one clump or whatever it comes in! Chopped into chunks
Two tins of chopped tomatoes, Lidl stock them branded as Nostia chopped tomatoes
Rice/pasta to serve three/four
Water for the rice

What to do:

Light your Trangia, get the pan good and hot. (The large Trangia billy that is available is good for a large group. You will have to significantly reduce the portions if you cook in the tiny pots!) Bung in the chopped onion and sliced chorizo. The natural fats in the chorizo will leach out to fry the onions. A small splash of water can help release the oils faster.

Bung in the sliced garlic, give the whole thing a stir. By now you should be saying "If you could only smell this!" in a Ray Mears stylee! If the heat is too much, bung the simmer ring on. Sweat it all off a bit, which means heat it but don't burn it from what I can gather!

Chop the celery up into half inch pieces. If you're young, try a centimetre and a bit! Stickj it in the pot and don't worry if you don't like celery. I loathe it, but it tastes fantastic in this recipe. If you have a lid for your pot, stick it on and let it sweat a bit more.

Bung the tins of toms in. If you have taken some fresh toms along too, bung 'em in. They can only add to the overall texture of the meal. The small cherry toms are quite nice in there (I hate fresh toms too, but they work in this recipe just fine!). Sweat it again!

You can add any spices you wish here. Whatever is in your camp kitchen, so a dash of tabasco, a few dried chillis maybe, some black pepper if you like. Salt is a good thing to add if you've been tramping around all day to replace lost salts. Sweat it like a POW!

Next bit is where Scruff lost me. He bunged uncooked rice into the pot with everything else and added some ratio of water. He knows what he is doing, 'cos it was awesome grub. I cheat and bung a bag of precooked rice in! Either that, or make the rice/pasta seperately and bung it in when it's cooked.

Stir it up, scrape it off and serve it to the drooling imbeciles that are your fellow camp mates. They'll think you're the best chef since HFW (!) and you'll have gained immortality through your expertise with a small metal cooker and some meths! I speak from experience (At the drooling imbecile end of the spectrum! )

If you don't like it, enjoy your Wayfarers Sawdust in Sawdust Sauce!

 

[mjk123]

The round sets are good because they include all you need for 2-3 people. Alcohol doesn't put out so much energy as gas, or so quickly, so you have to leave your pan on the stove for a while if you want your steak to sizzle as it hits the pan, but it will get there eventually. The steel sets can be used for baking, rather effectively IMHO. And it's nice to have a separate kettle exclusively for boiling water.

The Army version (kidney shaped cross section) is a bit pants, frankly. The odd shape means half the flame spills out the sides and the windshield is crap. There is a built in bail arm to hang the pot over a fire, but three bulldog clips and a piece of wire transform a round pot for similar use. And even the alu ones are heavy. The only saving grace is that everything, including fuel (plus maybe food, if you pack carefully) packs inside.

I've got a Jetboil. For boiling water quickly it's hard to beat. But all it can do is boil water, in "personal" quantities. Low fuel consumption too. Which I think makes it environmentally friendly. I can't tell you how much wood I used to boil a kettle the other day. Then there's the time aspect, and the need to extinguish the fire with (carried in?) water.

I'd recommend a trangia though, or better still a stainless steel Chinese copy. Good for baking, boiling, frying (at a push, and use plenty of fat, or a proper fry pan) and all warm at the same time. A bit safer for kids too, I think, than pressurised systems.

 

[spamel]

The time factor doesn't bother me though. Outdoors life for me is all about slowing down, letting go of the rush around rat race attitude of normal daily life. If it takes a little longer to cook over an alchohol flame, then start cooking twenty minutes earlier. I find that cookery can become a social event in the outdoors anyway, so to me it is a bonus!

 

[SimonM]

I have several meths burners and as has already been said they take some getting used to, but that could be said for any stove on the market.

With a little practice you can cook some great meals.

Rice & pasta can be brought to the boil, taken off the stove and left cooking in the hot water whilst you cook in the second pan.

Or you can cook a one pot meal as Spamel has detailed above (which sounds great, so I'm going to give it try - thanks Spam!)

My main meal concoctions usually revolve around pasta...

• Make up half a packet of tomato & basil soup as starter. Drink it from your mug whilst using the pan to cook the rest of the soup, with about half the normal amount of water so that it thickens up.
  
• Add some herbs (garlic / chilli / Italian herb mix for me) and chunks of salami.
  
• Add pasta to cook in the "sauce".
  
• Eat and enjoy.
  
• In the second pan (whilst eating your pasta) make custard and add an individual apple pie / chocolate roll etc.

Two pans... three coures...Done (as Gordon would say!)

Simon

 

[spamel]

Don't thank me, thank Scruff! Who, incidentally, makes the bestest bannock ever!

 

[alpha_centaur]

I reckon they are a versatile bit of kit, the aluminium Swedish Army ones are compact and lightweight - the lid doubles as a bowl, small saucepan or cup while the billy can be doubled as a pot over the fire - saves bringing loads of different pots and pans.

Sure it takes a long time to boil but who cares? I am in no rush when I go out and tend to stick to simple meal solutions like boil in the bag, soup, rice, all of which can be heated up easily. Saying that I have just replaced the burner with a stainless Tatonka one which heats up (and cools down) much quicker. Trangia now also produce a very good multi fuel burner which I have heard is compatible with the setup.

Or make your own burner out of a couple of old drinks cans and they're really fast the secret is "use the lids and if you want a cup of water only boil a cup of water" and they're not really that much slower than a gas stove.

I have used everything from an old primus stove to the jetboil system and use whichever one I feel like carrying.

 

[Tor helge]

I sort of agree with Mikey.

I used a Trangia for ages and I have to say I think the amount of fuel you need just to cook for a weekend is ridiculous.
Mine is well and truly redundant now.

But as you've prob read loads like em so its what floats ya boat really.

I must say that I agree with both Mikey and Joker. While some people like the Trangia (or any alcohol burner), I don`t use them. They are fine when camping besides your car in summer, but don`t worth sh*t in the wild in winter.
It is open fire or kerosene pressure stove (very bomb proof type, not the failing type ) for me.

I must admit I own an army Trangia, but I only bought it because it was so cheap .

Tor

 

[scanker]

A pot cosy is the ideal companion for a trangia. They're very easy to make from bubble wrap or a foam mat, if you don't want to buy a commercial one. They're very effective and save a lot in fuel.

 

[spamel]

I like my army trangia, but I haven't used it in ages. I think I like the flexibility of using wood or alchohol with it. Trangias have been around for many years, if they were crap people would have stopped using them by now. They have their niche, fuel is easy to find for them, they work well in areas where open fires are not allowed, minimal flame signature so good for tactical military use and they have no complicated moving parts to fail and make no sound when in use. i fail to see why people dislike them so much!

 

[SimonM]

I'd recommend a trangia though, or better still a stainless steel Chinese copy.

IMHO you are better staying away from the cheap copies on the market.

The burners clog up and take an age to "prime".

They just don't have the long life of a proper Trangia.... one of mine was bought for ,me as a 12 year old Scout and is still going strong 26 years later, and still getting a regular outing despite haveing several stoves to choose from.

As for ease of use, both of my kids (8 & 10) can unpack, set up, cook safely and pack them away. No fussy bits, no pressure vessels to check etec etc.

Simon

 

[SimonM]

but don`t worth sh*t in the wild in winter

I have used mine year round without any problems (apart from the time my "mate" forgot to clear the snow and put a heat shield down. It buried itself really well!)

Sure there are drawbacks, but with practice and a little planning they can be overcome.
e.g.

• When its cold out, I carry my meths on my person rather than in my pack - makes lighting it a lot easier.
• Pour a little meths into the groove around the burner and it helps to "prime" the stove faster.

Simon