Gas cooking on a Trangia - views?

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Sweep
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Gas cooking on a Trangia - views?

Post by Sweep »

I know this topic has cropped up quite a few times but I think usually as a subsidiary question in general Trangia threads.

So, what are people's views on this? Any issues? I have a vague memory that someone somewhere may have suggested that there was an issue with the pans not responding well to being cooked by gas, possible hot spot problems?

But I may have imagined it.

Also, views on this welcome:

http://www.cotswoldoutdoor.com/gosystem ... colour=180

Appears to be half the price of the Trangia item yet the reviews appear to be very good. And I don't expect Cotswold to stock questionable stuff.
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RobinS
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Re: Gas cooking on a Trangia - views?

Post by RobinS »

I don't use a trangia, but I do cook on gas stoves using Trangia pans (non-stick for the frypans, ordinary for saucepans), and they work absolutely fine on gas stoves.
landsurfer
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Re: Gas cooking on a Trangia - views?

Post by landsurfer »

My 30 year old trangia had the meths burner replaced by a compact gas burner 3 years ago and works perfectly.
The gas stove component fits within the pan units when folded up and if anything cooks faster than the meths ... higher calorific value of gas I suspect .....
Successfully cooked on it over 50 times .... no more leaking meths .... :D
Perfect combination ....
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leftpoole
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Re: Gas cooking on a Trangia - views?

Post by leftpoole »

Hello,
I use a couple of Trangias and cannot see why anyone would want to use gas in them!
Meths for Trangia or difference gas stoves, but Gas with a Trangia is to me a no no.
All the best,
John
MartinBrice
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Re: Gas cooking on a Trangia - views?

Post by MartinBrice »

Duke of Edinburgh expeditions use gas on Trangias: it's safer than having meths slopping about, spilling, etc. Works perfectly well. Quick, easy, clean, simple, utterly windproof. It is a bit bulky: for my own kit I usea Pocket rocket stove with gas and a windshield. Meths is slow to start - when cold it is extremely dificult to light and you need to squirt some cigarette lighter fluid on the top of it, and set fire to that fluid which then burns and heats to top layer of meths to a point where it then catches fire, and it takes a few minutes for the brass meths container to reach a termperature hight enough to warm the meths to a point when it really starts to burn well and provide a lot of heat. Gas is much quicker.
For some trips - eg cycle camping in France, I prefer meths - it's quite and time doesn't really matter that much. You can set up some water on the meths stove, put up the tent, go and have a shower, and when you get back the water is boiling away merrily.
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pjclinch
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Re: Gas cooking on a Trangia - views?

Post by pjclinch »

The gas conversion is ludicrously overpriced, but it works well. Markill used to do a cheaper clone, not seen it for a while.

You get the excellent stability and wind-shielding of a Trangia, with the control and convenient handling of gas. There's the standard weight/bulk issues of a Trangia, but those aren't insurmountable. In use, if not in transit, my favourite lightweight stove.

Pete.
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Sweep
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Re: Gas cooking on a Trangia - views?

Post by Sweep »

leftpoole wrote: but Gas with a Trangia is to me a no no.

John


Why?
I'm not advocating shunning the fine properties and smell of meths.

Just as an alternative.
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drossall
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Re: Gas cooking on a Trangia - views?

Post by drossall »

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Sweep
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Re: Gas cooking on a Trangia - views?

Post by Sweep »

Thanks drossal, but to be honest I knew it was available for less than Cotswold.

For it's cheaper here.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Go-System-Ada ... l4275#rwid

Cotswold do price match but it may be simpler to just buy from the above folk.

Has anyone ever used it?

It does seem to have good reviews.

I must say that the original Trangia item does seem pretty seriously overpriced when you compare it to other generally available gas stoves.
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andrew_s
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Re: Gas cooking on a Trangia - views?

Post by andrew_s »

Speaking hypothetically...

The Trangia burner and the Go Systems burner are visibly different, and the spread of the flame may well be significantly different.
If the flame is too close to the pan, you'll get less efficiency, more sooting of the pan, and more carbon monoxide in the fumes.

Looking at them, I'd expect the Trangia to have a flatter/more spread flame, and I'd expect Trangia to have put more care into getting the burner design and burner to pan distance correct than Go.
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Sweep
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Re: Gas cooking on a Trangia - views?

Post by Sweep »

Interesting view. Anyone else got anything to add on this?

Many reviewers and maybe manufacturers specs on these things concentrate on times ti boil a litre of water, but that is not a particularly helpful stat. I'm more interested in cooking performance. And in any case i boil water, a mere cup of, on a gas pocket rocket clone.
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andrew_s
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Re: Gas cooking on a Trangia - views?

Post by andrew_s »

Cooking on a gas Trangia will be as good as is available on a single burner, provided the pans are big enough.

You can stir without needing the other hand to stop everything falling over, it's windproof, the heat is much more controllable than it would be with meths so simmering would be easy, the canister is invertible so cold weather and end-of-canister performance would be good (given correct use).

Like Pete said, the disadvantages are in weight and bulk, compared to something like a pocket rocket & MSR kettle,
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Sweep
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Re: Gas cooking on a Trangia - views?

Post by Sweep »

andrew_s wrote:
Like Pete said, the disadvantages are in weight and bulk, compared to something like a pocket rocket & MSR kettle,


But you would also need to carry a windshield for a pocket rocket?
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foxyrider
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Re: Gas cooking on a Trangia - views?

Post by foxyrider »

Sweep wrote:
andrew_s wrote:
Like Pete said, the disadvantages are in weight and bulk, compared to something like a pocket rocket & MSR kettle,


But you would also need to carry a windshield for a pocket rocket?


Never used a windshield with mine (PR) and not had any issues although boil time went way out camping at 1400m!

I've still got the PR but i've swapped to a Soto Windmaster - they actually advise against windshields with it as it would get too hot. The design is quite ingenius incorporating the piezo ignitor and fuel preheat in the stem along with a jet system that better spreads the flame for more efficient burn. Given I use a one pot/kettle set up (S2S collapsible kettle) my cook set up is somewhat smaller and lighter than a Trangia!
Convention? what's that then?
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andrew_s
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Re: Gas cooking on a Trangia - views?

Post by andrew_s »

Sweep wrote:But you would also need to carry a windshield for a pocket rocket?

Yes, unless you just walled in the cooking area using the side of the tent and panniers.

You can DIY with pie dish grade aluminium foil, for canister top stoves there are clip on windshields like this (or Primus equivalent), or for remote canister stoves there are concertina windshields
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