trangia copy, £12.49

[pete75]

If you buy an aldi stove it is a personal purchase

Well, yes if you lived on a planet that contained no other human beings. It's very much my business and that of other people where and how things are made and sold. Aldi will be the first to confirm that for you. And given that the whole ethos of a forum is to share information and opinions it is hard to see how the OP wouldn't have expected a response.

So what is your point? We should only buy things made in first world countries? Go back to the days of all wealth and manufacturing in the "rich" countries? I'd rather see money I spend on low tech imported items provide jobs in poorer countries rather than relatively wealthy places.

Sweden, incidently, has reason to be grateful to the Chinese who saved Volvo from teh same fate as Saab and have pumped much money into replacing the companies ageing and not very good range of cars with modern and, by all accounts, good vehicles.

[horizon]

If you buy an aldi stove it is a personal purchase

Well, yes if you lived on a planet that contained no other human beings. It's very much my business and that of other people where and how things are made and sold. Aldi will be the first to confirm that for you. And given that the whole ethos of a forum is to share information and opinions it is hard to see how the OP wouldn't have expected a response.

So what is your point?

That it isn't just the purchaser's business.

(My own view was above: I agree with you on the matter. I didn't share Willem's view on it and that buying a cheap version seemed OK to me.)

[pete75]

Well, yes if you lived on a planet that contained no other human beings. It's very much my business and that of other people where and how things are made and sold. Aldi will be the first to confirm that for you. And given that the whole ethos of a forum is to share information and opinions it is hard to see how the OP wouldn't have expected a response.

So what is your point?

That it isn't just the purchaser's business.

(My own view was above: I agree with you on the matter. I didn't share Willem's view on it and that buying a cheap version seemed OK to me.)

In my opinion, and most of what's here is just opinion, it is just the purchasers business what he spends his own money on providing it's a legal purchase.

Maybe those who think to criticise what others buy should publish a list of their own purchases so that the criticism can be reciprocated.As I said above it is all just opinion and any one person's opinion is as valid as any other persons opinion.

[khain]

There isn't much to go wrong.

According to the reviews there appears to be quite a few things that have gone wrong.

Cap doesnt seal, ...

The cap on my Trangia doesn't seal either. Maybe I just got a dud ... maybe the above reviewer just got a dud too.

[Tangled Metal]

Edges of pans not rolled over completely forming a very sharp cut edge that's very easy to cut your fingers on. Burner that started leaking after 5 days use despite allowing to cool between refills and not screwing the cap on until fully cooled plus following other instructions. By leak I mean you fill it up and you watch the level drop to just enough to get the large pan to boil in warm conditions. Then other cases of poor manufacturing too.

Just to give you the important bit of information... the above are faults we've experienced with a few Trangia to date. Out of the last 2 Trangia stoves bought we've got 1 reasonably decent quality stove.

I have a friend who's a lifelong Trangia fan. He's got quite a few versions and used them over many years. He even has the really quite poor mini Trangia stove. I have a mini Trangia clone and my friend is convinced that my clone at a third of the price of his mini Trangia was a better quality. It is lighter but not weaker. The non-stick is better too.

Then there's the returns policy at aldi. I can attest to the fact that If you have a receipt they'll take any of their special buys back for a full refund without quibble. There's been few companies I've encountered who have a better approach to customer refunds and service. So buy and up to 3 years later you can get a refund if it's faulty. Disposable? Just return it for your money back.

So IME for a supposedly high quality brand I've had a lot of complaints about Trangia. If I hadn't managed to get one good Trangia out of a few then I'd consider this ALDI one.

The copyright or other trade protection Trangia had will not have extended this far from IIRC the 1950's when Trangia stoves came out. Indeed I've known of other companies making Trangia types of stoves for over 10 years now. At least ALDI have a good returns policy so you can take a gamble on.their stove.

[horizon]

In my opinion, and most of what's here is just opinion, it is just the purchasers business what he spends his own money on providing it's a legal purchase.

I couldn't help noticing that the OP shared the details of his purchase with us and by doing so I presumed he was inviting opinions. As it happens, I agreed with yours.

[Sweep]

And given that the whole ethos of a forum is to share information and opinions it is hard to see how the OP wouldn't have expected a response.

Yes i did expect a response. No complaints from me.

[Sweep]

Well I can't remember if I had bought one when I first posted - I had seen it in the shop and thought better of it because of the burner issue.

Anyway, whatever, I did buy one online.

Arrived promptly post free.


Bullet point/note-style review.

Rough pattern of Trangia 25 in size.

Pans very well made.

Rest of aluminium stuff seems very well made.

One of pans is different in size from the Trangia so you can't swap them.

Burner a problem as noted above.

Burner hole is a different size and to use my spare Trangia burner would need some work with a Dremel which me being me I might screw up.

Not an exact copy by any means - the frying pan, although of similar dimensions as the Trangia is not a direct copy of the shape and cannot be swapped.

One of the pans (the larger one from memory) didn't seem to fit well in the trivet thing - very odd oversight as the Trivet, though a different design from the Trangia, seemed well made.

So I returned it - Aldi in the normal way took it back with no quibbles.

[rjb]

Wanna save money? Make your own burner out of two alluminum cans.

Like this

[Tangled Metal]

Yes they're easy to make but mess it up and you don't get the good flame pattern you got. Can take practise but I've heard of people turning up somewhere and rooting through bins to make a stove for their trip. Still, IME they're not good burners and fragile. Prefer proper burners such as triad in titanium or white box stove. Caldera cone stoves too.

Mind you family camping with proper cooking we're using larger Trangia these days with remote can gas stoves for faster water boiling.

[hamster]

By the end of our last holiday We'd fill it up and without lighting it the burner emptied to half full in about 20 seconds. We use it as per Trangia' s instructions. Let it cool between refills, didn't seal it up until fully cooled, etc. IMHO another poor quality Trangia part.

The burner's fuel level falls after filling as the fuel flows to fill the double walled area between the inner and outer. That's normal and not fuel loss at all.

[leftpoole]

Hello,
I have been intrigued by some of the comments from 'experienced' campers. So much so, that I went to 'my' local Aldi today to take a look.
Indeed for £12:99 I examined and nearly purchased a 'Trangia' like stove. Described on the box as a FISHING stove. Close examination revealed
a close replica to said Trangia. Lightweight (thinner material) but obviously very useable. The pans would las a reasonable time given cost and build, plus the burner unit itself looked as good as the Trangia one of recent years.
All in all if one were looking for a Trangia on Aldi expense I feel the unit very good value. This of course is before using but there should be no worry there as it is such a simple stove.
Regarding a comment about possible leakage of Trangia burners when filling, this is whilst the fuel bubbles through into the empty compartment and is in no way a leak.
Best to those who use one of these cheap replicas.
On a final note, I have a number of stoves but use Trangia & Trangia mini mostly!
John

[iviehoff]

As any patent will have expired they apparently trade-marked the actual 3d shape:
http://www.trangia-central.com/trangia-timeline.html
how different a competitor must be to avoid court action I don't know...

I doubt there was ever a Trangia patent, because a patented invention has to include an actual material and useful innovation, and which is not common knowledge or obvious. Trangia is just a spirit burner and a stand: spirit burners have been used for millenia, and the stand is obvious. I have an ancient fondue set which is essentially the same as a Trangia stove and stand, not in any conscious or unconscious way, but because it is a spirit burner and a stand and it naturally comes out rather like a Trangia. Trade-marking some detail of it was probably the best they could do.

[Sweep]

The pans would las a reasonable time given cost and build, plus the burner unit itself looked as good as the Trangia one of recent years.

I thought the pans well made but have to disagree with you about the burner. The Trangia one feels so much better and solid. And I can close it properly.

[Tangled Metal]

By the end of our last holiday We'd fill it up and without lighting it the burner emptied to half full in about 20 seconds. We use it as per Trangia' s instructions. Let it cool between refills, didn't seal it up until fully cooled, etc. IMHO another poor quality Trangia part.

The burner's fuel level falls after filling as the fuel flows to fill the double walled area between the inner and outer. That's normal and not fuel loss at all.

Not what's happening. We fill it then top it up again so the well is also filled. It then drops quickly to the same level. It happens if lit or unlit.

The other thing is this drop is different from the initial behaviour. The total burn time dropped considerably at the same time this drop off started. Initially the Trangia burner lasted a decent time between refills. Then we started to realise that we were going through meths too quickly. This was a burner behaviour change that was clear. We looked into it and realised it had to be leaking somehow.

To give you an idea of the issue. We got to the campsite for first night then a second campsite the second night. We had used up nearly 1 litre of meths. So we got a 500ml bottle of meths, possibly 2 bottles I forget now. Next day we moved to a new campsite then another site and another site after that. Running low so another 500ml. Got back to the second campsite again and another 500ml bottle of meths.

I've used different types of.meths burners and know what the low calorific value of meths can give out. I've used other Trangia burners before as well. This newer burner is using meths quick, beyond what should happen.

The initial migration into the double wall happens then topping up again to just below the rim of the central well. This is as much meths as the burner can take because of the topping up after the filing of the double wall chamber. In.front of our eyes this meths drops. This is not migration to the pre-filled internal chamber.

I've heard of these burners forming pinholes in the seams of the burner if you screw the lid on without it cooling. We were aware of this and always leave the burner for some time. Usually a good 10 to 20 minutes. It is unlikely to be a case of this pinhole formation. It was a cool, wet day when it first started so would have cooled very quickly so unlikely to be the cause.