Carrying Meths

[ColinW]

"I have just bought a mini T - any advice for using it first time out?
Thanks "

Yes - don't do what I did this Sunday and try it out in the kitchen whilst SWMBO is out, thinking that it will be washed up and put away before she gets home so she'll never know. The meths fumes hung around for hours. Its a good job I was working away this week or I'd have been sleeping in the tent in the back garden!

Colin

[hufty]

http://www.sjscycles.co.uk/sigg-fuel-bottle-cage-prod11261/
These are pretty secure if you have the fuel bottle under the down tube. They do other sizes. I have a couple of rubber bands made from an inner tube round the bottle to make it a grippy fit.

[syklist]

This bottle cage works well with a Trangia 1 litre fuel bottle.
Cheers
Stan

[andrew_s]

I have just bought a mini T - any advice for using it first time out?

Make a decent wind shield from sufficiently robust aluminium foil (pie dish gauge), and take it with you. Punch some holes in the bottom edge to let air in, and arrange it so you can get a reasonably close fit round the pot (0.5 to 1cm gap at the top).
Meths burners have a relatively low and fixed heat output - unlike a gas stoke you can't just turn the power up with a knob. The proper 25 and 27 Trangias keep most of the heat on the pan even in a wind, but even a gentle breeze will see an unprotected mini-T struggling to reach a boil.

[ColinW]

Again, thank you all for the helpful information. For my first trip I will take the mini Trangia with a home made windshield, and use a proper Trangia 1l bottle with the Topeak adjustable bottle cage. I really don't want to keep meths in a pannier. If go for longer touring I am fairly sure I will get Tragia 27.

Regards

Colin W

[rapidfire72]

I have the 27 and much better than the Mini, which is ok for week-end camping.

[hufty]

One other bit of advice: don't carry the burner in the pans in case it leaks a bit - I have a separate tupperware tub. Whatever they put in the meths it doesn't take much to ruin your cup of tea.

[andrewjoseph]

we use the 500ml trangia bottle in a normal bottle cage under the downtube. I put a strap of inner tube over this to ensure it doesn't bounce out.

We decided on the 500 because it will fit into normal cages, it is a bit lighter, and we can refill easily in the UK.

Only needed 1 refill in 10 days touring, used about 750 ml total.

[syklist]

we use the 500ml trangia bottle in a normal bottle cage under the downtube. I put a strap of inner tube over this to ensure it doesn't bounce out.

We decided on the 500 because it will fit into normal cages, it is a bit lighter, and we can refill easily in the UK.

Only needed 1 refill in 10 days touring, used about 750 ml total.

In Germany, Norway and the Netherlands, fuel alcohol seems only available in 1l bottles (or larger). So worth considering the 1l bottle if you are touring in those countries.
Cheers
Stan

[andrewjoseph]

...
In Germany, Norway and the Netherlands, fuel alcohol seems only available in 1l bottles (or larger). So worth considering the 1l bottle if you are touring in those countries.
Cheers
Stan

That's good to know, thank you, we would like to tour the near continent in a year or so. Got to do the end to end first. was planning on doing it this May, back a broken arm in sept that didn't heal properly, means I'm only just out of a cast but still have problems. I don't think I'll be back on a bike until early summer.