Author Topic: Camping stoves  (Read 18767 times)

LEE

Re: Camping stoves
« Reply #25 on: 21 July, 2008, 03:57:09 pm »
Here you can see 2 types of stove.  Chillmoister is cooking Urban_Biker's brekky on a 'normal' stove where burner is sat on top of cannister.  You can see mine (used for tea because it's more stable) if you follow the orange pipe from cannister to tripod.

Check out the wobbly angle of both cannisters even on well-trimmed campsite grass and you'll understand why Charlotte used those 2 pieces of tile/plate for a base.

Hands up if you can smell the bacon


Charlotte

  • Dissolute libertine
  • Here's to ol' D.H. Lawrence...
    • charlottebarnes.co.uk
Re: Camping stoves
« Reply #26 on: 21 July, 2008, 03:57:40 pm »
What sort of thick foil did you use to make the windbreak, Charlotte?

My mini-Trangia could do with something like that.

I bought a large disposable roasting tin from Wilcos and got creative with some scissors.  Same stuff made the priming tray.

A trangia is a very well-evolved kind of meths-burning stove, Sam.  A very viable alternative, just not quite as roary-hotty fast as with gas.

Like I'm inna rush when I'm camping, though...

Quote
aka, economy energy gel  :D

Oh.  Yes.  Indeedy  :thumbsup:
Commercial, Editorial and PR Photographer - www.charlottebarnes.co.uk

Re: Camping stoves
« Reply #27 on: 21 July, 2008, 04:02:33 pm »
I've got a reflector/wind shield that I bought years ago, from some random camping shop.  It's essentially a metallised pad to sit the stove on, and reflect some otherwise lost heat back onto the meal, and a sort of heavy duty baking foil (probably much like Charlotte's canabilised disposable roasting tin) with some holes in it to pin it to the ground with some tent pegs to act as a wind shield.  In even the slightest wind it improves the efficiency of the stove massively.  I takes up hardly any additional weight and mass, and more than makes up for the additional weight of fuel you would have to carry without it, plus food cooks faster, which is always a good thing when you need that early morning cup of tea/coffee.
Actually, it is rocket science.
 

clarion

  • Tyke
Re: Camping stoves
« Reply #28 on: 21 July, 2008, 04:05:54 pm »
Trangia's good, light, reliable, but slow and a bit faffy.

We have two of type B - one of which is a Primus gravity, which means we get more gas out of the canisters.

Oh - there's another variation you want to be aware of.  Campingaz stoves pierce the canister, so once it's fitted you don't remove till its finished.  Unless you're travelling abroad, you want a screw-threaded stove.

btw, type B is a lot more stable than the lightweight type that sits on the canister. While you could get a base to support the stove, it's still not great, and there is nothing more disheartening after day in the fells than having to get the ants off your beans after they've tipped onto the ground...
Getting there...

clarion

  • Tyke
Re: Camping stoves
« Reply #29 on: 21 July, 2008, 04:07:48 pm »
If you don't want to invest in expensive kit, I used to use a tiny device with fuel blocks that looked like firelighters.  Not very effective, but lightweight, not at all bulky, and cheap enough for a chap in casual labour, as I was at the time.
Getting there...

bikenerd

Re: Camping stoves
« Reply #30 on: 21 July, 2008, 04:08:43 pm »
To prevent a lightweight stove tipping over, peg around the cannister with tent pegs.  :thumbsup:

jane

  • Mad pie-hating female
Re: Camping stoves
« Reply #31 on: 21 July, 2008, 04:09:32 pm »
I love my trangia I have never found it that slow for one or two people- if you are catering for bigger groups this is great

MSR Whisperlite


if a bit expensive.  I went sea kayaking for a week in a group of twelve- we had massive pots of bolognese, etc.  And we were always starving so time was an issue!  It was well worth the money and I believe can use any fuel.

LEE

Re: Camping stoves
« Reply #32 on: 21 July, 2008, 04:27:07 pm »
Stick with the self-sealing cannisters, much more user-friendly.  The ones you pierce and use once don't have anything like the same pressure.

The self-sealing ones make my burner sound like a Jet Engine on full-thrust.

I may get a pressurised liquid-fuel type if I ever go on a long-haul tour but they are, as mentioned above, a bit of a faff for camping in Britain where you are always fairly close to a supply of gas cannisters.  I don't want to carry petrol/meths around if I can help it.

Valiant

  • aka Sam
    • Radiance Audio
Re: Camping stoves
« Reply #33 on: 21 July, 2008, 04:35:30 pm »
For those worried about stability the answer is simple. A Roses or Quality street large tin.

Buy a tin.
Eat the chocolates
Drill a hole in the side for the gas pipe
Find a way to attach the burner securely to the base, I'd say bolt it with M4s.
Enjoy the extra stability, wind breaker and sends all the heat backup and inwards towards the food
When you're done, allow to cool.
Pack up your entire cooking pan set, mess tins etc inside.
You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say will be misquoted, then used against you.

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urban_biker

  • " . . .we all ended up here and like lads in the back of a Nova we sort of egged each other on...."
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Re: Camping stoves
« Reply #34 on: 21 July, 2008, 04:37:59 pm »
Here I am minding my own business and I just pop onto this thread and find I am starring in a camp stove demonstration!

Best discovery for me on this thread is the tube of condensed milk - sounds like an excellent idea.
Owner of a languishing Langster

Re: Camping stoves
« Reply #35 on: 21 July, 2008, 05:41:50 pm »
Sam, whilst that's probably a good idea from the stability point-of-view, it lacks something in the lightweight stove department, which is kind of the point of that sort of stove.  If weight's not an issue there are plenty of stoves which already achieve that degree of stability and wind shieldness, but weigh a ton!

All the talk of condensed milk in tubes reminded me of many moons ago when I was a little TimO, and I used to go camping with my big brothers.  My oldest brother was in the CCF (Combined Cadet Force) at school, so had access to things like MOD supplies.  We had tubes of condensed milk in MOD camouflage green, as well as Cream and Jam.  The weirdest item was waxed biscuits that were immune to getting damp, because of the wax, and could also be used as firelighters!  You had to use a lot of the toothpaste tube of jam on them to make them edible. :-\
Actually, it is rocket science.
 

Re: Camping stoves
« Reply #36 on: 21 July, 2008, 05:43:43 pm »
For those worried about stability the answer is simple. A Roses or Quality street large tin.

Buy a tin.
Eat the chocolates
Drill a hole in the side for the gas pipe
Find a way to attach the burner securely to the base, I'd say bolt it with M4s.
Enjoy the extra stability, wind breaker and sends all the heat backup and inwards towards the food
When you're done, allow to cool.
Pack up your entire cooking pan set, mess tins etc inside.

You have just re-invented the Trangia with gas conversion kit .....  :)

I have a Trangia which I've used for years, It's never let me down and I can cook proper meals on it.  It's also very safe, low centre of gravity and difficult to knock over or spill hot food.

 I've also got a small gas stove similar to type C but only use that if I'm really trying to keep the weight down (or carrying it in a rucksac).  

Recently got a baby meths stove like Charlottes but have yet to use it in anger.
Not fast & rarely furious

tweeting occasional in(s)anities as andrewxclark

Charlotte

  • Dissolute libertine
  • Here's to ol' D.H. Lawrence...
    • charlottebarnes.co.uk
Re: Camping stoves
« Reply #37 on: 21 July, 2008, 05:56:08 pm »
Oh bugger.

All this talk of stoves has got my tinterwebby shopping fingers twitching again:

I've been wanting one of these for ages. 

Gits  :D
Commercial, Editorial and PR Photographer - www.charlottebarnes.co.uk

Valiant

  • aka Sam
    • Radiance Audio
Re: Camping stoves
« Reply #38 on: 21 July, 2008, 05:59:07 pm »
Shurely those tins don't weigh much and offer a better alternative to a wind shield.
You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say will be misquoted, then used against you.

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Regulator

  • That's Councillor Regulator to you...
Re: Camping stoves
« Reply #39 on: 21 July, 2008, 05:59:52 pm »
Jetboil Camping Stove

these are very good


I have one.  Very good for drinks - not great for meals, although they produce a larger 'team' version. It alsi fits perfectly into the side pocket of a Carradice Super C pannier.

I may take it on next year's Dun Run for coffee on the go.
Quote from: clarion
I completely agree with Reg.

Green Party Councillor

LEE

Re: Camping stoves
« Reply #40 on: 21 July, 2008, 06:01:38 pm »
Here I am minding my own business and I just pop onto this thread and find I am starring in a camp stove demonstration!


Do you mean in the same way John Inman starred in a camp department store sit-com?

Re: Camping stoves
« Reply #41 on: 21 July, 2008, 06:07:40 pm »
Oh bugger.

All this talk of stoves has got my tinterwebby shopping fingers twitching again:

I've been wanting one of these for ages. 

Gits  :D

Or a tri fuel Caldera Cone in Ti

Ti-Tri Caldera
Not fast & rarely furious

tweeting occasional in(s)anities as andrewxclark

Re: Camping stoves
« Reply #42 on: 21 July, 2008, 06:08:15 pm »
Oh bugger.

All this talk of stoves has got my tinterwebby shopping fingers twitching again:

I've been wanting one of these for ages. 

Gits  :D

Hmm. Nice.   I would prefer one of those to my mini trangia.

Re: Camping stoves
« Reply #43 on: 21 July, 2008, 06:12:51 pm »
When buying gas canisters, be aware that the blue CV270 camping gas versions don't fit a stove that takes screw on canisters. There is no thread to screw the stove onto.
There is an adapter available, which can be handy in France/Belgium where the screw-on canisters are comparatively rare.

Hummers

  • It is all about the taste.
Re: Camping stoves
« Reply #44 on: 21 July, 2008, 06:19:08 pm »
Noisy, fiddly, cheap to run but a fearsome ability to boil water...





..and my stove of choice for nearly 30 years.


H

Regulator

  • That's Councillor Regulator to you...
Re: Camping stoves
« Reply #45 on: 21 July, 2008, 06:20:54 pm »
Noisy, fiddly, cheap to run but a fearsome ability to boil water...





..and my wife of choice for nearly 30 years.


H



Duly corrected!    ;D





(But please don't tell her....)
Quote from: clarion
I completely agree with Reg.

Green Party Councillor

Re: Camping stoves
« Reply #46 on: 21 July, 2008, 06:20:58 pm »
Is that where they got the name for the big robot thing from ?
I think you'll find it's a bit more complicated than that.

Re: Camping stoves
« Reply #47 on: 21 July, 2008, 06:55:09 pm »
I just bought one of these because I'm tired of the various aggravations connected with gas cartridge and white gas (Coleman fuel) stoves. I'm hoping to try it out on an overnight trip soon. Any hints from anyone?

FWIW, I've run my MSR X-GK stove on everything from diesel (with the kerosene/paraffin jet) to auto fuel to white gas, and I'm currently using some 2-stroke mix of indeterminate age (been sitting in the shed for a few years) with surprisingly good results. My Whisperlite Internationale will run on auto fuel, but it's not quite as fuel tolerant as the X-GK, and not quite as easy to pull apart and clean in the field. Both stoves are great for boiling water fast after you get them pumped up and running, but simmering and controlled cooking leave quite a bit to be desired.

I acquired a Snow Peak gas cartridge stove for my two trips to Italy because it's compact, doesn't make airline security people quite as nervous as my MSR does, I don't like filling a fuel bottle at gas/petrol stations, and white gas/Coleman fuel is horribly expensive outside the US. Lo and behold, the stove requires MSR style threaded cartridges that are far less common than the pierceable or click-on Gampingaz cartridges. If I ever cycle-camp outside the US again, I will more than likely bring the Trangia.

Re: Camping stoves
« Reply #48 on: 21 July, 2008, 07:02:37 pm »
Lo and behold, the stove requires MSR style threaded cartridges that are far less common than the pierceable or click-on Gampingaz cartridges

This adapter will allow you to use a click-on Camping Gaz canister with your stove.

Note the comment "except for Coleman products".
The prodder that opens the valve is a little longer on Coleman stoves than on everyone else's stoves, so the valve opens before there's a seal. Similarly, if you use a Coleman canister with a different brand of stove, the valve may not open.

Re: Camping stoves
« Reply #49 on: 21 July, 2008, 07:16:13 pm »
This adapter will allow you to use a click-on Camping Gaz canister with your stove.

Note the comment "except for Coleman products".
The prodder that opens the valve is a little longer on Coleman stoves than on everyone else's stoves, so the valve opens before there's a seal. Similarly, if you use a Coleman canister with a different brand of stove, the valve may not open.

Thanks, I found out about the adapter after I returned from Sicily last May. They don't seem to be available (yet) in the US. Truthfully, I have lost patience with the whole gas cartridge routine. Disposing of empty cartridges, running out of gas halfway through a meal, wondering if I can find a cartridge when the old one runs out, etc., etc. The Trangia has an elegant simplicity that most liquid fuel stoves lack, and if I can't by denatured alcohol I'll just buy a bottle of the strongest booze I can find and kill two birds with one stone.