View Full Version : Meths fuel container
SquirrelBoy
26-11-2004, 15:08
Am thinking about what to carry meths in, and I think a few of you have this bottle
http://img93.exs.cx/img93/8999/trangiafuelbottle.jpg
I wondered what your opinions were of it - leaky? sturdy? etc
Also it comes in two sizes - 0.5ltr and 1ltr bottles (only a £1 difference in price!?) what one would you recommend, did you buy the wrong size etc?
Thanks in advance :biggthump
its easier to pour than the sigg bottles with out gettin it all over the shop.. pretty good IMHO
Tantalus
26-11-2004, 15:14
looks great for the job
i use old zippo tins mainly cos i have them anyway and they are small (100ml) and leak resistant
the flip up nozzle on the zippo tins can also be used to suck up excess fluid back into the tin. Just squeeze the bottle when upright, insert nozzle into excess puddle and let the sides go
Tant
TheViking
26-11-2004, 15:17
I use a Coca-cola flask to carry meths, because they're built like a tank, compared to other flasks. I've marked it with big X'es so I don't mistake it with water. :wink:
hobbitboy
26-11-2004, 15:19
ye, they are nice bits of kit, easy pour to. Sturdy, not sure how well they hold up to abuse but they seem cool.
However there was a guy who kept buying them and bringing them back to work complaining they were faulty.....couldnt find anything wrong with them....think he was just incompetent......... :roll: :wink:
Sigg do a 0.3L fuel bottle that fits very nicely inside the Swedish Army Trangia, and would no doubt fit in a Zebra billy. I find this more than enough for weekend use, especially if you’re having fires as well.
I use them to carry meths. They have never split nor have I known one to and they do not leak. However I do not carry them inside the water proof liner in my pack, instead I carry them between the liner and the pack wall.
I have also used both sizes 1l and 0.5l. Because I normally walk as a group we would take a couple of the 1l but have taken 1l and a 0.5l if we were pushed on weight.
Personally I would buy a 1l if you are not pushed for space as you can only half fill it if you are not going for long. I would think a full 1l would be needed for extended trips, say more than a weekend, where you want a variety of food and some of it takes longer to cook. For weekends 0.5l would be fine. Its a tricky one.
A word of warning. On hot days the pressure builds up inside the bottle and if you do not relese the pressure by pressing the cap with the bottle upright it will spurt out both nozzles when you try to fill the burner. Iv learnt from experence!
might sound silly but would they be ok for petrol?
Oh a price would be nice as well if anyone knows off the top of their head
Great bit of kit.
I have the larger one and its rather battered and still rocks on.
I've not had mine leak (which it probably will now as I've said it doesn't:lol: ), despite the fact it's been dropped, thrown across a clearing and bounced off a tree (a mate decided to help me set up camp and threw it to me. I was not where I was be apparently...:?: ), and suffered various other forms of abuse.
Which size to buy depends on how much you intend to use your trangi.
SquirrelBoy
26-11-2004, 16:56
Oh a price would be nice as well if anyone knows off the top of their head
Have seen them on Field & Trek
http://www.fieldandtrek.com/product.asp?cat_id=EQUICAMPCAM PFUEL&pf_id=18527
Excellent advise Guys - Cheers :biggthump
Millets do them too but not on their webiste...
Think I paid £8? iirc?
They look sturdy enough... I've always used a SIGG bottle for fuel and had no probs. HOWEVER I've had bad reports about the MSR bottles and I watched a friends tent go up when she was using the MSR dragonfly stove. The top came free from the bottle and squirted a high pressure jet of fuel across the burner and onto her tent, igniting the fuel on the way. The tent was consumed in about 30 seconds (good job no one was inside). She complained to MSR who were 'indifferent' :?: and said it was probably not connected correctly.
:smiley-fa :smiley-fa :smiley-fa i cant believe MSR said nothing about it.. ok so its incredibly bad luck for the jet to hit your stove then tent.. but squarting flamable liquid around the place is not one of the thing i want to happen when i but a fule bottle.. think i will stick to fires
beachlover
26-11-2004, 17:47
I have used them for petrol and meths and never had a moments trouble. They have stood up well to abuse. I have only ever used the smaller ones because I prefer to have a couple of them in a sac to balance things rather than one lump. It also means if one ever leaked there would be another and I have a small one for day trips.
The only thing to bear in mind is that even when you have screwed down the top after pouring, there is some fuel left in the twin spouts so that you need to shake!!!
PS. I have an old one I think, so if you want to pay for postage and try it feel free to PM or mail me
tenbears10
26-11-2004, 17:48
might sound silly but would they be ok for petrol?
Doesn't petrol have to be kept in a metal rather than plastic container? Maybe I'm not remembering right.
I prefer sig bottles even though they don't pour as well. I have one with dents and scrapes all over it but it still doesn't leak. Even the stopper is at an angle where it was dropped but it still screws on properly. Just don't know if plastic would last as long.
Bill
The only thing to bear in mind is that even when you have screwed down the top after pouring, there is some fuel left in the twin spouts so that you need to shake!!!
Good point there!
Danceswithhelicopters
26-11-2004, 18:46
2 Siggs, both about 15 years old, and never a leak. I have a 500ml and a 300ml which suit different trips. Siggs have a ring at the top, unlike Trangia bottles, so you can hook them on the outside of your rucsac. Never put them on the inside because if the top isn't screwed on and it leaks it wiil take decades to get rid of the smell! Don't use for long term stotage as the metal will show corrosion. Also stick a small carabiner in the hole and it makes it easier to open when cold and wet as well as securing to a pack.
The trangia bottles shown at the start of the thread are the best thing out for meths IMO. Tough, excellent control for pouring and secure when the screw is done up.
I've mentioned before that I've had problems with aluminium sigg bottles and meths - bought a blue one for meths so that I'd associate the colour, and the meths rotted the lacquer and pitted the alloy around the thread. The whole flask was a write off. I'll stick to plastic for meths, but rather like the lighter fluid tin idea.
Petrol stoves with an external fuel bottle (MSR / Optimus / Primus) need an metal fuel bottle. There was a well reported issue a few years ago that the threads of these bottles are not all identical. I think that MSR specifically stated that their stoves should only be used with their bottles, though this may have changed.
I'm not in the least surprised that MSR should respond with a "sorry, not our problem" attitude. They have no control over the conditions of use of their product, advise people to keep stoves well away from tents, and as an American firm would open themselves to all sorts of claims if they seemed to accept any liability - even only by implication.
Cheers
They are really good I think they are called safety bottles over here. I would go for the smaller one. I it´s easier to handle the smaller one and if you are going for a longer trip and will need lots of meths just store the rest of the meths in the original bottle and fill up the trangia bottle when it get´s empty.
One litre should be enough for two persons for a week so with a 0.5 L you should manage yourself for a week.
tenbears10
26-11-2004, 23:46
I've mentioned before that I've had problems with aluminium sigg bottles and meths - bought a blue one for meths so that I'd associate the colour, and the meths rotted the lacquer and pitted the alloy around the thread. The whole flask was a write off.
Cheers
Alick the blue ones were designed for water so they had a lining to stop drinking liquids taking on a metalic taste. The silver ones which said Fuel on the side were for meths and the like. They did not have the same lining because only alcholoics mind if meths tastes of metal :wink:
They did change the colour schemes in recent years for the sake of fashion I think :?:
Bill
Tantalus
26-11-2004, 23:51
zippo tins will rust inside too as meths contains a little water often, and will draw some out the atmosphere given a chance
at a guess i would say replace after a year, hey they are free :)
Tant
After several damaged and expensive Sigg bottles, i carry meths in "panda-pop" (or similar) bottles. Wrapped in "duck-tape" and fitted with a Sports type drink bottles top, you have a bottle that is easy to use, almost indestructable and best of all, free fuel bottle.
If you own a Sigg bottle try this test:
Fill bottle to top,
Screw cap on,
Find large area of concrete,
Throw bottle as high as you can into the air,
Wearing boots, kick as hard as you can x5 :shock:
There will be one of two results - :lol: or :cry:
I bet it will be :cry:
This wont happen with the "panda-pop" version, it will cost you nothing, give it a try :biggthump
Neil
After several damaged and expensive Sigg bottles, i carry meths in "panda-pop" (or similar) bottles. Wrapped in "duck-tape" and fitted with a Sports type drink bottles top, you have a bottle that is easy to use, almost indestructable and best of all, free fuel bottle.
If you own a Sigg bottle try this test:
Fill bottle to top,
Screw cap on,
Find large area of concrete,
Throw bottle as high as you can into the air,
Wearing boots, kick as hard as you can x5 :shock:
There will be one of two results - :lol: or :cry:
I bet it will be :cry:
This wont happen with the "panda-pop" version, it will cost you nothing, give it a try :biggthump
Neil
Funny you should say that :o): I have a Sigg that fell 100 foot down a gully near Wasdale, bouncing off the side wall as it fell, it was in my daysack which was on my back at the time!
We both survived but the Siggs scars have lasted longer than mine, it was old and battered already but the fall left it pretty beat up and only holding half its original litre or so and still no leaks!
As has been noted though, theyre def no good for meths!
Ultimately theyre probably not as tough as some of the plastic bottles but theyre pretty tough and I like mine!
Jason
bigjackbrass
27-11-2004, 10:55
I generally use the larger Trangia bottle and can recommend it entirely. A bit heavy, but as solid as they come.
For lighter trips I'm now using a cunning little flask from www.brasslite.com which allows you to pour a measured dose of meths, especially important for the Brasslite stoves. Sending to America for one of the fuel bottles is probably a bit much, but you can find similar things in the UK if you search around. Lab suppliers are often a great source of handy containers.
maximus otter
27-11-2004, 13:56
I prefer sig bottles even though they don't pour as well.
http://www.outdoorsmagic.com/review/images/products/640020.jpg
http://www.outdoorsmagic.com/review/reviewproduct/mps/RGN/4/RCN/35/RPN/329/v/1/sp/332830698530328122288
Great Pebble
27-11-2004, 16:11
I find Sigg bottles pour remarkably well. As lomg as you use the big hole to pour and the wee one to let the air in. Just rotate the bottle into and out of the pour like you do with wine...
What about the fuel bottle that comes with the Swedish cooker/mess kit,how does that rate for the job.I guess it must be pretty good otherwise the Swedes wouldent give it to their lads to use.What you reckon????
arctic hobo
03-12-2004, 20:31
I use any of (up to?) about ten storm shield bottles (like siggs), and never had any leaking problems, despite having dropped one off Store Midtmaradalstind (bit embarrassing - there is a huge cliff, we're lying looking over the edge, tied on, about to drop a stone down when all of a sudden a meths bottle falls out of my rucksack pocket, hits me on the back of the head and drops over the edge - and despite having an utterly crushed end it does not leak!) A map of this rather large (800m!) cliff is here (http://www.bergtatt.net/topper/kart/hurrungane_ost.htm), and a picture of part if it is here (http://www.etojm.com/Galleri/Galleri81_90/G81Dyrhaugsryggen/Storemidtmaradal.jpg).
A map of this rather large (800m!) cliff is here (http://www.bergtatt.net/topper/kart/hurrungane_ost.htm), and a picture of part if it is here (http://www.etojm.com/Galleri/Galleri81_90/G81Dyrhaugsryggen/Storemidtmaradal.jpg).
:yikes: :wink:
And I think I may give that a try Neil. It sounds as good as you say it is because they are alot stronger than you may think :wink:
What about the fuel bottle that comes with the Swedish cooker/mess kit,how does that rate for the job.I guess it must be pretty good otherwise the Swedes wouldent give it to their lads to use.What you reckon????Anyone just use this one?
Clem,
Mine has been sitting inside the mess kit 3/4 full of meths for a couple of years. I don't use the cooker much but it is carried in my 4x4 as part of the emergency kit, so it has been shaken about a fair bit. The bottle has not leaked at all and seems to work fine.
Regards,
Pete
... i carry meths in "panda-pop" (or similar) bottles. Wrapped in "duck-tape" and fitted with a Sports type drink bottles top, you have a bottle that is easy to use, almost indestructable and best of all, free fuel bottle...
Neil
Just hunted one of these panda pop things up - good lid, just the right size - ace. Was even worth 20p for the drink !
Ta.
Just hunted one of these panda pop things up - good lid, just the right size - ace. Was even worth 20p for the drink !
Good God, man. you're not meant to drink that stuff!! :shock:
I'd feel safer with whatever you'll be burning in the stove !!
Cheers,
Martin
SquirrelBoy
04-12-2004, 18:21
Good God, man. you're not meant to drink that stuff!! :shock:
Exactly what I was thinking :shock: :rolmao:
What about the fuel bottle that comes with the Swedish cooker/mess kit,how does that rate for the job.I guess it must be pretty good otherwise the Swedes wouldent give it to their lads to use.What you reckon????
Ive known them to leak and I wouldnt trust them, caps are too small and quite poorly made. Better off with a fizzy pop bottle!
Jason
Good God, man. you're not meant to drink that stuff!! :shock:
I'd feel safer with whatever you'll be burning in the stove !!
Cheers,
Martin
:rolmao: :rolmao: :rolmao: :rolmao: :rolmao:
I now have this alter-ego..... he looks remarkably like your avatar :wink:
Good stuff these E numbers.
:wave:
Hi gents has anyone heard of a fuel called DIAMOND LAMP OIL ULTRA PURE and if so can i use it in my clickstand many thanks mal.
bothyman
17-02-2005, 16:45
Just hunted one of these panda pop things up - good lid, just the right size - ace. Was even worth 20p for the drink !
Ta.
Was that the Meths or the Panda Pop you drank, not a lot of difference in taste, they just smell different :roll:
I've not had any leaks from the military trangia plastic bottle so far. It is very light and a good size/shape to put in an internal pocket to warm up the fuel before lighting in winter.
SquirrelBoy
18-02-2005, 14:10
I've not had any leaks from the military trangia plastic bottle so far. It is very light and a good size/shape to put in an internal pocket to warm up the fuel before lighting in winter.
Ive not used mine yet, how long do you find it lasts Doc? A weekend be ok?
Cheers :biggthump
I think the bottle is 300ml, though I've not measured it. Usually pour out a 'slug' of about one sixth of a bottle, and this is easily enough for a brew.
Depends how you use it, but I reckon it would be fine for a weekend - and longer if you are using it as a billy over a fire, of course.