How do I clean my trangia?

[hairyhippy]

I've just been gifted a trangia by a very nice chap and I would like to know the best way to clean it up.

The aluminium has some soot marks on it and I'm tempted to use a green panscrub / cream scourer / brillo pad in that order.

The brass burner also looks like it could do with a clean.

Are there any ninja boyscout tricks to leave it spotless without me scouring it to death?

[clarion]

I used to use IPA (Isopropyl alcohol) to clean sooty luminaires back in the day - very effective, even for lenses & lamps, so I reckon it's do well for stoves too.

You can get IPA from your local Boots, but expect funny looks.  White spirit might also do the job.

[andygates]

All three work fine.  The first bowlful will be dark sooty ganky stuff so you might want to use a bucket.

Scour patterns on a Trangia are signs of noble wear and use!

[geraldc]

I always use a green scouring pad. However sooty bottoms are a sign of not adding water to your meths...

[Charlotte]

You can get IPA from your local Boots, but expect funny looks. 

Not any more you can't, it would seem.  I've asked at two.  The larger of the two said they can special order it for me, but I'll need to give them a company purchase order on headed notepaper!

[clarion]

OFFS!  I used to need a bottle in my toolbox at all times.  Bloody daft, if you ask me...

Mutter mutter mutter....

[hairyhippy]

Water in the meths?

Did you used to run a pub in Durham?

[Tim Hall]

Gifted?  Given, shirley?

Anyway, elbow grease,water,Fairy and a green scritchy scratchy are the tools of choice here.

Don't get the burner too wet - the absorbent gubbins inside will soak up the water, which is harder to light than meths.

If it hasn't been cleaned for a while, you might find that the wee holes around the top edge of the burner are full of gunk and bacon fat. These need to be cleaned out, as the meths gets vapourised when the stove gets going and flames shoot out of them, which is tricky if they're blocked.

Water in meths? You bet. Ingredients of meths are ethanol, methanol, nasty purple stuff and water. Some people add more water to it to reduce the sooting up of the pans, but I imagine it decreases the heat output. 

[hairyhippy]

Exqueeze my entwiddlification of the language. It's one I've picked up from Freecycle. Are there any good tips on using a trangia with the aluminium cookware?

[Tim Hall]

Sorry, a bit picky of me.  You should see how language is, erm, forcefully evolved, on other places I frequent.


Only tip I can think of is don't let it boil dry.

Oh, and another one: put the burner in a plastic bag when putting it away inside the Trangia.  I've been led to understand that the brass of the burner does bad electrochemical stuff to the pan, especially when slightly damp, resulting in pitting of the pan and eventually pin holes.  The bag serves as an insulator.  I use a small ziplock bag, as the original yellow Trangia polybag went walkabout some years ago.

[hairyhippy]

Nee bother man 

[liam_whippet]

 Ninja boyscout trick:  'Grit and grass, boyo'


.. Actually, not so much Ninja as ex Welsh-Guardsman; but (to our amazement) it worked on Exmoor 25 years ago...

[andygates]

The water?  A few drops in the burner after you've filled it, or a teaspoon in a little bottle of meths.  It just keeps the cookware from getting as dirty.

[Polar Bear]

Fairy liquid, green vileda pan scrub, lots of elbow grease.

I'm toying with trying concentrated chain cleaner this year.  I used it to clean a well burnt pot last year very successfully. 

That reminds me.  I have two trangias to clean. 

[scott]

I used to use IPA

Yeah, I used to use a lot of IPA myself...

(Isopropyl alcohol)

Oh, that IPA. Never mind.

[bobmick]

The water?  A few drops in the burner after you've filled it, or a teaspoon in a little bottle of meths.  It just keeps the cookware from getting as dirty.

Isn't it great that you can pick up little tips like this following years of blissful ignorance and associated cursing as you try and scrub the buggers clean.  Cheers to all of you who have pointed this out here.

Bob

[hairyhippy]

What do you do if a jet is blocked? I presume a standard pin or needle would be too large a diameter?

[Wowbagger]

I keep reading the title of this thread and I can only conclude that I am developing dyslexia.

My thought: "Hairyhippy's a bloke. He won't have one of those."

As for unclogging the jet with a needle...

[hairyhippy]

With an expensive japanese computer controlled toilet?

[geraldc]

It's always worth putting wrapping the handle and bagged burner in some kitchen paper before putting your trangia in your rucksack. On a very long hike the rattling noise of my trangia caused one of my walking companions to threaten me with severe violence.

[Woofage]

It's always worth putting wrapping the handle and bagged burner in some kitchen paper before putting your trangia in your rucksack. On a very long hike the rattling noise of my trangia caused one of my walking companions to threaten me with severe violence.

Apparently the brass of the burner will corrode the aluminium of the pans, which is why Trangia burners come in a placcy bag. I still have the original bag that mine came in which is now at least 25-years old (I got it as a teenager).

And to the OP: I've never worried about the outside of my Trangia pans. The black coating is now very hard and probably only removable via sand-blasting but I don't care. It's an old friend and I wouldn't use anything else.

[Hummers]

My mother used to use a flannel and hot soapy water.

I only know this because I accidentaly used it on my face once.

Never again.

Hope this helps.

H

[itsme]

IPA is available from Maplin's.  You can buy various sizes of jet cleaning pins from outdoor equipment stores although it will often be a special order item.
Does anyone know where to buy the non-scented meths?  i.e. without the purple die/flavour to stop you drinking the stuff (not that i imbibe).

[Charlotte]

From what I can tell, Meths without the purple stuff (actually a mix of methyl alcohol and ethanol with the pukey stuff added in) is actually illegal to sell in the UK.

[Ian H]

You can get IPA from your local Boots, but expect funny looks. 

Not any more you can't, it would seem.  I've asked at two.  The larger of the two said they can special order it for me, but I'll need to give them a company purchase order on headed notepaper!

I have 4 litres of the stuff sitting in my office. I know it should really be in a fire-proof store, but I'm a lazy sod.