Having owned the Bushbuddy, and being very satisfied with it, I had no intention of getting another backpacking stove, particularly a spirit burner as I had been coming across information on the Net that getting meths in India is difficult if not impossible. Besides, here it is also an “offense” to carry any flammable stuff in public transport. However over time, I realized that if my bug out strategy was to be effective, then I’d need to have some other source of cooking fuel as a backup (Apart from the wood burning Bushbuddy)  or Hexamine fuel tablets. Living in the capital of India and having a wood burning stove in your bug out bag is not exactly an ideal solution as finding wood for burning when on the run would be quite difficult until you reach  greener areas. Delhi has a large population of squatters and migrants who use wood for cooking. A meth burner with a few liters of methanol or a stove that uses Hexamine fuel tabs would be necessary in addition to the wood burning Bushbuddy.

Compact package: The Bushbuddy, Trangia burner and the Clickstand windshield all fit snugly into the Snowpeak Trek 900 Titanium cook pot!

The necessity of  this also hit home on two other occasions, -once when I was at the Christian Ashram in Sattal for our office picnic and once at Herbertpur (between Dehradun & Chakrata). On both the occasions, I procrastinated in collecting twigs for the Bushbuddy as I had a heavy backpack and for a tall, lean person, stooping with a heavy backpack to pick up sticks, is at best uncomfortable.  Then I learned my first survival lesson -Do not procrastinate -as it poured and drizzled for the next few days that left nothing suitable for burning anymore.  In addition to this, there are an increasing number of “protected” green places where even picking up fallen twigs are prohibited. Even though burning wood is natural,  sustainable and non polluting, as a law abiding citizen, I would need something of this sort even though the  same law making authority also prohibits carrying meths by any public transport

Once I decided on the fuel, for the stove, I needed something compact -not another Bushbuddy sized thing, but rather something that fitted into the Bushbuddy for storage without taking up any extra space in my backpack. Instead of buying the whole Trangia kit along with its cook pot-windshield-pot holder-burner assembly, I opted for buying the burner, simmering ring and lid from a vendor in the UK selling Trangia spares.

Note the soot generated on the Trek 900... Could it be the result of substandard Indian Methanol?

Initially I expected the burner to operate well seated within the Bushbuddy, as the Bushbuddy has excellent air flow. Then I came across some posts written by a fellow blogger in the US who also advised me that the Trangia might go out of control or even explode inside the Bushbuddy. Then there were other things to consider as well… sources on the net pointed out that the distance between the burner and the bottom of the pot was fine tuned to about 3″ and changing it would effect the fuel consumption and also increase the soot deposition on the pot. It also makes it very difficult to adjust put/remove the simmering ring and might cause you to burn your fingers.

Since my research led me to believe that I needed a properly designed stand to operate the Trangia burner effectively, searching for a few hours on Google, I stumbled on the website of Ursa designs which makes the Clikstand which is a lightweight knock down stainless steel stand for the Trangia burner which comes with an optional windshield. However unlike what I expected from the purchase of the Clikstand, in spite of it being a fine product, I still get sooty deposits on the pot. This could very well be the bad quality methanol that is available through the ‘paint & hardware’ shops in India. It costs Rs. 55/- a litre which is relatively cheap when compared to the cost of a 100ml bottle of medical spirit which will set you back by Rs. 40/- However the medical spirit bottle I saw at one of my colleagues  house was labeled Isopropyl alcohol CH3CHOH (Methanol is CH₃OH and Ethanol C₂H₅OH). I think it also goes by the name of Isopropanol. I wonder if they are the same thing… I do have a bottle of Isopropyl alcohol at home too which I bought for cleaning the flux off Printed Circuit boards (PCB’s) after soldering. I must check out how it burns… It is labeled as “Laboratory Reagent” and the freezing point is marked at -86 deg C and specific heat 0.65 Calories. Its ignition temperature is marked at 850 deg F or 453 deg C.

Stage 1

Stage 2

Stage 3

Stage 4

To start off, you don’t need to drop a match into the meth well of the stove as some videos on the Net show you or you end up with unnecessary debris in the well. Touching the match to the meth  or bringing it close is sufficient depending on the ambient temperature. I noted four burn stages for the Trangia (probably good for any other Meth burner as well). In the  first stage, when you touch a match to the  fuel well in the center of the burner, it lights up with an unsteady blue flame. As the burner heats up (and the Methanol in it which has now started vaporizing) it enters the second stage where it lights up like a gas ring with nice blue jets  of flame. It also makes the typical “bugg” sound you hear on lighting a LPG gas burner.

I’m not sure if other users have experienced the third and fourth stages, these might well be due to the adulterated/substandard meth available here… which was not designed for burning, but to be used for diluting paint. The third stage is immediately noticeable as the flame turns from blue to yellowish-reddish-orange resembling the output from the afterburner of  an air force fighter jet.  The fourth stage is scary, the meth starts boiling and the angry flame resembles that of a refinery fire. This is when I freak out and drop the simmering ring onto the burner. This tames the flame which reverts back to a single tongue of blue flame worming itself out of the adjustable hole of the simmering ring.  If these stages are not due to a meth problem, then this must be the correct way to operate the burner. I can’t see any other way of stopping the flame from running away. Heat causes the meth to evaporate, this increases the size of the flame and that increases the heat again and this goes on like a chain reaction. However it is possible that the meth here  is too potent, so I tried out various meth:water ratios. Here are the results of that test.

Tame the flame with the simmer ring/extinguisher

I usually fill the burner to about 3/4th full and that is good enough for general purpose cooking. I’ve managed to cook modest quantities of potatoes and rice  with it. Unfortunately, due to the  excellent rubber gasket on the lid (which makes the burner  leak proof in transit), you cannot screw it down when the burner is hot. Most of the hot methanol vaporizes  by the time the burner returns to room temperature. I’m always left with about 3-4mm of meth at the  bottom of the well. I need to keep a record of approximately how much meth is used for cooking different stuff and at what ambient temperature ,and pour in the measured quantity of meth into it. However it is better to err on the higher side and waste some meth instead of running out of meth, as pouring meth into a hot burner can have disastrous consequences -especially as in sunlight, the flame can become nearly or completely invisible.

I got 36 minutes of useful runtime at stage 4 (refinery fire mode) with the burner filled slightly above 3/4th’s at an ambient temperature of 13.5 deg C  indoors in New Delhi in winter (It was 7 deg outside). Expect this time to reduce in the summer, outdoors or in windy conditions. Add the simmering ring and the timings become pretty respectable… probably an hour or so.

Its time to list out the pros and cons for the Trangia burner…

PROS:

• Well designed, compact and easy to carry
• Sturdy
• The simmering ring is innovatively designed and when closed completely, works to extinguish the flame. (Practically, Sometimes the flame continues to burn from the single hole (eyelet) which also acts as a hinge for the ring cover.  This typically happens when the stove has run very hot. It can however be easily blown out like a birthday candle). Without the simmering ring, the Trangia would be good enough only for boiling water -the flame thrower that it is. I doubt whether other Trangia clones are any good without a simmering ring.
• Can be used as a hand warmer in an emergency. [I tested it at home by using it after I did the dishes this winter. Remember that my house is well ventilated. I do not recommend this to anyone as it is very easy to spill/tip over the stove on the floor accidentally and end up with an uncontrolled blaze. I tipped it over slightly when lifting it up and set the Clickstand on fire!!  Besides it uses up all the meth in about 36 minutes (at 13.5 deg C indoor temperature) and the fumes are poisonous. This can however be used for an emergency]

CONS:

• The paint on the simmering ring top (brown) scratches off very easily.
• Doesn’t seem to have any provision to open up and clean the burner of  any sedimentation etc…  from bad meth. (Maybe just poking through the blocked holes and shaking it out works?)
• The circular edge of the brown top is shoddily finished and abrades the finish on the simmering ring. (From previous machine shop experience, it appears that the punching tool used for punching out the tops from sheet metal was probably blunt and needed to be re-ground/sharpened -unless it was a deliberate, poorly executed plan of increasing friction to force the lid to remember its position)
• When pouring in the meth for the first time and storing it overnight, the meth turned yellow and some greyish-brown patches appeared on the inside of the spirit well as the brass plating(?) gave way. The meth also turned cloudy and was filled with debris, probably from the patches that came away and probably also from some wicking material used inside the stove wall. However this corrosion could also be due to the bad quality of meth available here. The greenish patches are apparently the natural oxidation of brass, but the fact that it can happen overnight on first use is unnerving… however it is comforting to read that it (the oxide) works to some extent as a barrier to corrosion…. hope it is true.  When I strained the used meth from the first run, the cotton plug I used turned golden yellow whith white flaky deposits on top. Thankfully this did not recur.

Overall a very good piece of equipment to have in your backpack or bugout bag if you are looking for a spirit burner. I highly recommend the Trangia burner and would gladly buy it again. In case I have any more positive or adverse experiences, I will add to this post.

A good resource on Methylated Spirit is available at this site. Sorry this site has been down for quite a while , I  think  it has been abandoned. I got the web page from a web archive and turned it into a pdf. You can view it here.

17th July 2010

Here's the Shrek colored buildup on the bottom of the Trangia -wipes of easily as Meth is also a solvent

If you leave the Meths in the burner over a week or so, it turns greenish as well!

Found this old photo on Google of soldiers using their Trangias. The copyright says 1910, hope it is now in the public domain... will take it off if I find out it is not. The military Trangia burner was bigger than the civilian version which I have reviewed.

 

1. anabolics December 2, 2011 1:15 AM

   You could certainly see your enthusiasm in the work you write ON http://www.simplysimple.info . The world hopes for even more passionate writers like you who aren’t afraid to say how they believe. Always follow your heart.

   ---

   [Translate]
2. Benjy December 3, 2011 6:54 PM

   Thanks Anabolics for your encouragement and advice

   ---

   [Translate]

Comment on this post

If you would like to make a comment, please fill out the form below.