Well spotted Sweep, I hadn't noticed the extra cost of that filler adaptor, though agree it would be handy to be able utilise the stove gas on a long trip. But if you're cooking on a meths Trangia, why would you be carrying a gas cylinder? Those cheap & cheerful pipe lighters on Ebay are specified as "soft flame" lighters & will likely produce a flame which rises back towards your fingers when inverted unless, as meic pointed out, you're sucking through the other end of a tobacco pipe you're trying to light. A "hard" flame (blowtorch type) lighter (which can apparently burn & wreck your pipe) has a much stronger flame which holds its shape in the direction in which it's pointed. To me, that seems the way to go, for meths stoves at least. I may have been inadvertently fortunate with my IMCO pipe lighter which falls somewhere between hard & soft flame types and think I'll be investing in a spare from Ebay before they disappear completely. FWIW in the last 10 years I've done most of my camping between October and April and have been let down by most of the suggested methods of igniting meths at one time or another, inevitably resulting in me resorting to the trusty IMCO. That said I've nothing but admiration for anyone with the confidence to rely completely on a fire steel for lighting meths in cold weather. 'Strewth, I'm sounding like a pipe-smoking, meths user - better sign out.....
In cool weather all I do is splash a bit of meths up the wall of the burner and maybe over the top and light that. It usually works fine. If that's no good a big of dry grass works as a wick.
Sweep wrote:On sparks, i also have an msr small self contained msr piezo thing. It's great for lighting gas stoves, works every time, more compact than the firesteel which i only carry for use in emergencies. But i don't think i have ever managed to light meths with that.
I have used firesteels for a number of years lighting an alcohol stove, a Trail Designs 12-10 in my case without any issues. No experience with Trangia stoves and firesteels but so maybe they perform differently.
philsknees wrote:But if you're cooking on a meths Trangia, why would you be carrying a gas cylinder?
Those cheap & cheerful pipe lighters on Ebay are specified as "soft flame" lighters & will likely produce a flame which rises back towards your fingers when inverted unless, as meic pointed out, you're sucking through the other end of a tobacco pipe you're trying to light. .
I need the gas cyclinder for my espresso habit.
Surely the long kneck of those lighters should protect my fingers? And isn't a match a soft flame?
I think we've already covered matches which are prone to dampness but otherwise are fine for a Trangia but have produced burnt fingers when lighting some of my deeper meths burners.
The cheap pipe lighters you spotted on Ebay may well be OK for use with the Trangia burner but the tendency for most "soft" flame lighters is to produce a rising flame. A pipe lighter generally produces a sideways projecting flame when held upright which (as meic pointed out) is then sucked[ downwards into the pipe bowl. If you try to invert a pipe lighter into the burner the flame will usually curl back upwards towards your fingers just as with a normal cigarette lighter. Only a "hard", near blowtorch-style flame can be directed downwards away from your fingers and while these may carry the risk of burning out a pipe, they'll be fine with a spirit burner and also have the bonus in cold weather of rapidly heating the spirit to produce flammable vapour.
It seems that a pipe lighter may not be a good choice, as most produce a "soft" flame to protect the pipe and can't direct such a flame downwards, so you need to be looking instead at the "hard" flame jet/blowtorch lighter which will project an inverted flame (and better still if it's fitted with some form of extension which will also protect your fingers when the meths ignites).
I just seem to have been lucky to find a pipe lighter producing a flame which falls somewhere between soft & hard, which can be safely directed downwards into a deep burner when correctly adjusted (and I've just ordered a used spare while a few are still available). Maybe they are too "hard" for use with a pipe, hence them having ceased production? However, if you want to try those cheap pipe lighters you've seen on Ebay please post on this topic to let us know how you get on.
In colder weather I sometimes prefill my measuring bottle (a small nalgene bottle marked, by me, with 15,20,30ml levels) and pre-warm it in my pocket. That allows fire steel use. But I have matches as a backup. I have not yet tried the 'squaddie' method of adding a few drops of lighter fluid in the burner....
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Yes they do but i think it is rather hard to get hold of, a bit expensive for what it is as I seem to recall, and the trangia flame isn't really suited to doing espresso. On my gas stove it is faster than at home.
I've used the firesteel in norway in winter and the dipping stick works in all temperatures military trangia burners though are much bigger with a warming ring on the outside so you can prime the burner and that takes a spark much easier.
you can also get a small bit of narrow alu/brass tube and put some cotton/lint/string in it to make a long permanent reusable match.
Some good suggestions on here which will i am sure be useful to many so perhaps i have helped by asking a "daft" question.
I like the simplicity of the dipping stick method and also the small metal tube - i imagine a bit of sawn of tent pole from my spares could be handy for that. Or something smaller?
The jet lighters look interesting and would have other uses, but a quick google seems to reveal that they can often be tempermental/wonky, not something you want in a lighter, especially at that price.
The koobi at poundworld is basically the samething as the clippertube but push down egnition refillable and 2 for £1. Lights first time everytime. Had mine for 4months use it at home everyday. Lasts a month between fills.
SA_SA_SA wrote:'squaddie' method of adding a few drops of lighter fluid in the burner....
Cheap, reliable, safe, works every time. A half teaspoon will do it. It sits on the top of the meths, and lights instantly then warms the top millimetre of the meths enough for it to catch, which it does slowly. This then warms the brass container and hence all the meths. Within a minute or so it's roaring away. Great system.