Correct amount of meths to use in trangia burner?

[Matt Weir]

Hi All,

I am unable to find any guidelines on how much meths to put into my trangia burner. Should I fill the well to the top? half way? wait until the wick has soaked up all traces of meths?

I used mine at Formby Point on Sunday to make the kids some hot soup. I could only get it lit when the burner well was around 3/4 full and this was lighting it with a Turboflame lighter.

Thoughts please...

Matt.

[Phil562]

Used one for years and in my experience it should not matter how full it is.

Used mine yesterday and the fuel was just covering the base of the well.

The only trouble I have lighting mine sometimes is if the fuel and burner unit is too cold.

[Silverback]

Hi All,

I am unable to find any guidelines on how much meths to put into my trangia burner. Should I fill the well to the top? half way? wait until the wick has soaked up all traces of meths?

I used mine at Formby Point on Sunday to make the kids some hot soup. I could only get it lit when the burner well was around 3/4 full and this was lighting it with a Turboflame lighter.

Thoughts please...

Matt.

Half full should be adequate mate - the cold will effect lighting though so do try and keep the burner and fuel as warm as is reasonably practicable immediately prior to lighting.

[Matt Weir]

Used one for years and in my experience it should not matter how full it is.

Used mine yesterday and the fuel was just covering the base of the well.

The only trouble I have lighting mine sometimes is if the fuel and burner unit is too cold.

Hi Phil,

I am aware that they can be bug***s to light when cold (it was quite chilly on the seafront yesterday ) I would like to know if I am OK to fill it up to near the top or is that a big no-no.

Matt.

[Wavey Davey]

I always fill my burner up to the top, wait for the wick to absorb some, then repeat until the level stops going down significantly. When the burner's full it's easy to light, and you know you'll have enough fuel for whatever you're doing. Having said that I do keep the excess fuel in the burner and rely on the lid seal to keep it in there when I'm carrying it.

As Phil says cold is the thing that slows the burners down. Some people keep the filled burner in an inside pocket to make it easier to light and as someone on here has recommded recently it makes a difference if you can sit the burner on a piece of wood or bark to keep it off the cold ground. Once it is alight you'll notice that it takes a few minutes for it to reach full operating temperature. Once it has got going the fuel is vapourised within the burner and you get jets of flame coming out of the holes round the top. To see what effect temperature has you've only got to inadvertently overfill or spill your burner and then light it. The flames round the outside of the burner heat it up too much and turn it into a Turbo Flame Thrower. I've had nearly 18 inch flames coming out of my civy burner before now - quite scary if you're anywhere near your tent!

[Matt Weir]

Half full should be adequate mate - the cold will effect lighting though so do try and keep the burner and fuel as warm as is reasonably practicable immediately prior to lighting.

Aiye cheers Dave, the kit had been sat in the back of the car with the back window down for the dog

Matt.

[Matt Weir]

Thanks for your advice Wavey Davey. I'll try to not boot it over ops:

[addyb]

I fill mine up to about 2/3rd of the way and get it lit with my firesteel quite easily. But as they say, you need to keep that burner warm or else you'll break a sweat trying to light it.

Adam

[Toadflax]

First time I've tried lighting mine when it's been properly cold - tried for ages this morning with my firesteel, lots of smoke but no flame. In the end I gave up and used a match.

[EDIT]Though I did see a video on YouTube that showed someone making a mini feather stick from a twig, soaking it in meths from the burner, lighting the stick from the firesteel and then using it a bit like a match to light the burner itself.

It does seem a bit perverse that you can't easily light a Swedish Army Trangia, using a Swedish Firesteel in [Swedish] cold weather.[/EDIT]

Family think I'm weird sitting outside the back door cooking my porridge while they sit in the warm. But it's more interesting than a gas ring on the cooker.



Geoff

[Gailainne]

I'm pretty sure I read in the instructions to keep on filling till it reaches 10mm from the top, I would'nt go any higher than that, I must admit I refill mine each time, before I start to cook, once its cooled off, the lid seals it tight and keeps whatevers left secure (I would test that with yours first tho ). I keep mine in a zip lok inside my pan set anyway. I'm a firm believer in not soaking my rucksack in meths

Regards

Stephen

[SimonM]

Hi Matt,

First off, good luck with the eyes!

Second - When I did my Basic Expedition Leader Award a few years ago this was one of the questions and the answer from our all knowing instructor was fill it up then let it soak up into the walls, then refill up to 2/3 full in the well.

hope that helps.

Simon

[Matt Weir]

Wow, this one's a blast from the past. When I first saw the title I thought 'I'm sure I asked this ages ago ' the I spotted my name lol.

[rik_uk3]

Fill up, let the wick soak up the meths, then top it up, it makes no difference if it full or only half full.

Insulate the burner from cold ground (I pack a peice of thick card for this) and if its really cold you can pre heat the meths. To pre heat, I stand the burner in the lid off a boiled sweets tin, add meths to the tin lid and light. The burner is slightly raised off the tin by three small bolts and a wick is also in the tin to absorb the fuel

Scroll down to winter attatchment in this link
http://www.trangia.se/english/2934.t...principle.html

[Spikey DaPikey]

As has been said before, i fill mine up, let it soak into the wick, then fill about half full again. I also spill a little around the holes and rim, as i've found this more easy to light

[Humpback]

........... I stand the burner in the lid off a boiled sweets tin, add meths to the tin lid and light. The burner is slightly raised off the tin by three small bolts and a wick is also in the tin to absorb the fuel

Any chance of a photo of this set up and what do you use as a wick.
regards Alan

[calibanzwei]

Necropost!
I intentionally spill a little meths around top of the burner unit - when lit it'll quickly burn off but will (99% of the time) give it that extra temp boost to catch first time.

[The Lord Poncho]

yes- as has been mentioned in the above posts, you need to leave about 5-10mm space at the top- this better enables the flame in the inner well of the burner to heat the side walls, vaporising the meths and helping get the flames coming properly out of the jets.

The official recommendation is to mix some water with the meths to stop the pans sooting up, but in my experience, this seems to make it harder to light when cold, and i fail to see how the fuel can burn anything but colder... (but someone might give me some science to prove I’m wrong on that!)

[Teepee]

The more meths you keep in the burner, the greater the thermal mass of the burner. The greater the thermal mass, the longer it takes to heat up and start vapourising fuel out of the holes.

Mine goes half full max now unless im simmering. Filling to the brim delays coffee/tea and thats always a bad thing.

To light meths burners when they are cold, dip a twig into the meths, light the stick and light the burner.

[dp0001]

I keep a plumbers cloth* with my Trangia to insulate it from the ground & if really cold, I spill some meths into it so that it pre-heats the burner. I also use a coke can stove instead these days & it warms up more easily than brass.

*plumbers cloth is a hankerchief sized black coloured piece of woven fibreglass that plumbers use to solder pipe near walls, the cloth goes behind the pipe to stop the blowtorch burning the wall. You can get at most DIY stores

[ateallthepies]

I bought one of those mats thinking it was woven carbon fibre as it was black as I wanted to try a carbon wick stove. Found out as you say that it was glass.

The idea of using one as a stove under mat is a very good one. Stops charring whatever is beneath, like my van floor or grass etc.. and acts as a good wick to pre-heat with a little spilled meths.

I'm going to get another as I cut the first one up and use it just as you say.

Steve.

[Asa Samuel]

Pretty sure I've read instructions from Trangia themselves that say it should be about three quarters full when settled but I've always just gone for either how much I think I'll need or (if I have a seal-able lid with me) whatever is in there at the time from the last burn.

Alongside insulating it/pouring meths in the rim around the burner to heat it up if you still have the seal in the lid then you can simply fill it and keep it in your pocket so your body keeps the meths warm. I have found this is the best thing aside the insulation and the meths in the rim (not on the floor please, not good to burn the ground unnecessarily) to help the burner bloom.

[kINGPIN]

Don't mess about trying to light it with a spark in cold weather. Light a bit of tinder around the burner to heat it up if you have to, then light it.

Otherwise just use a match/lighter, no need to make life difficult for yourself when you are using a man made item anyway IMHO.