Today it rained and rained and rained, so I decided to do some indoor Bushcraft. Today’s project was to compare my meths burners to see which was most user friendly.
The 4 burners in the test are:
• Vargo Triad Ti
• Standard Trangia – taken from a 15 year old stove
• SA Trangia
• Tatonka
The first test was to see how long each unit took to “prime” after initial ignition. By “prime”, I mean to have a full circle of flame similar to a gas cooker.
For the second test I timed how long each burner stayed alight when filled to capacity (this meant that the fuel level was approx 1cm below the top of the “well” on the 3 traditional burners, and on the Triad a small pool formed just above the filling hole in the centre.), from initial ignition to complete flame out.
Next test was boiling 0.5l of water. The billy (a 12cm Zebra in my hobo stove) was put over the burner after it had “primed” and time recorded to a rolling boil. Between tests the billy and hobo stove were cooled in running tap water to make the test as fair as possible.
All tests were carried out in my kitchen, so as near to ideal conditions as possible i.e. no breeze and room temperature!
Results:
So, which is best… It all depends on what you are looking for…
The Vargo Triad is carried in my hobo stove for when a “real” fire is not possible. Its shortcomings can be forgiven because it is so light and small. But, it is not the sort of stove that I could cook a full meal on, purely because of its fast “flame out” time. It is, however, suited to a quick brew up – which is what it gets used for the most. The relatively slow “priming” can be speeded up by “spilling” some meths in the base of the stove and lighting it. This warms up the stove body and makes priming time much quicker – but this could be said for all of the burners in the test.
The SA Trangia is slow but dependable, with long burn times. It has the advantage that the pans can also be used over an open fire using the “D” rings and bail arm to their full potential.
The standard Trangia comes in 3 common sizes – 1, 2 or 4 person cook sets, with a variety of materials used to make the pans (I only have the aluminium and have never felt that I lacked anything).
The Tatonka has never been used “in anger”, but after looking at today’s results, it will definitely be going out to play in the woods next weekend for a real test!
Simon
The 4 burners in the test are:
• Vargo Triad Ti
• Standard Trangia – taken from a 15 year old stove
• SA Trangia
• Tatonka
The first test was to see how long each unit took to “prime” after initial ignition. By “prime”, I mean to have a full circle of flame similar to a gas cooker.
For the second test I timed how long each burner stayed alight when filled to capacity (this meant that the fuel level was approx 1cm below the top of the “well” on the 3 traditional burners, and on the Triad a small pool formed just above the filling hole in the centre.), from initial ignition to complete flame out.
Next test was boiling 0.5l of water. The billy (a 12cm Zebra in my hobo stove) was put over the burner after it had “primed” and time recorded to a rolling boil. Between tests the billy and hobo stove were cooled in running tap water to make the test as fair as possible.
All tests were carried out in my kitchen, so as near to ideal conditions as possible i.e. no breeze and room temperature!
Results:
So, which is best… It all depends on what you are looking for…
The Vargo Triad is carried in my hobo stove for when a “real” fire is not possible. Its shortcomings can be forgiven because it is so light and small. But, it is not the sort of stove that I could cook a full meal on, purely because of its fast “flame out” time. It is, however, suited to a quick brew up – which is what it gets used for the most. The relatively slow “priming” can be speeded up by “spilling” some meths in the base of the stove and lighting it. This warms up the stove body and makes priming time much quicker – but this could be said for all of the burners in the test.
The SA Trangia is slow but dependable, with long burn times. It has the advantage that the pans can also be used over an open fire using the “D” rings and bail arm to their full potential.
The standard Trangia comes in 3 common sizes – 1, 2 or 4 person cook sets, with a variety of materials used to make the pans (I only have the aluminium and have never felt that I lacked anything).
The Tatonka has never been used “in anger”, but after looking at today’s results, it will definitely be going out to play in the woods next weekend for a real test!
Simon
