Trangia flame: what should it look like?

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horizon
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Trangia flame: what should it look like?

Post by horizon »

So my new Trangia has had its first outing and indeed contact with the enemy (more about that on a separate thread).

I had presumed that the Trangia flame emanated from the top layer of the whole reservoir and burned yellow. Then I realised there was a wick and burner holes. So I just had this thought that the flame is meant to come from these holes and burn blue (which would also presuppose a closed reservoir which it doesn't have).

Further Googling tells me that I'm not the only one - there is quite a lot of discussion about the colour and size of the flame and what causes the difference.

Any thoughts, advice?
Last edited by horizon on 15 Jun 2018, 11:53am, edited 2 times in total.
When the pestilence strikes from the East, go far and breathe the cold air deeply. Ignore the sage, stay not indoors. Ho Ri Zon 12th Century Chinese philosopher
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Neilo
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Re: Trangia flame: what should it look like?

Post by Neilo »

When you initially light it, it will burn from the central reservoir. when it warms up, small blue flames will emanate from the holes. This is the quickest/ hottest. You use the simmer ring to block the holes and allow the flame to emanate from the central reservoir. You then restrict the size of the reservoir by sliding the flap of the simmer ring.

Neil
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horizon
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Re: Trangia flame: what should it look like?

Post by horizon »

Thanks for that. I thought it was the other way round! I'm still experimenting with it so I'll look out for the small blue flames next time!
When the pestilence strikes from the East, go far and breathe the cold air deeply. Ignore the sage, stay not indoors. Ho Ri Zon 12th Century Chinese philosopher
crazydave789
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Re: Trangia flame: what should it look like?

Post by crazydave789 »

you light it and it will bloom after a few minutes, putting the pan on balances the air flow and slows it down a bit so it looks like a gas hob.

pan off all the jets will merge into a blue/yellow pulsing fireball.

plenty on youtube if you need it.

as mentioned elsewhere the best way to light it is to dip something stick like into the middle to wet it then light the stick and back to the trangia. a firesteel is more fun though.
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horizon
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Re: Trangia flame: what should it look like?

Post by horizon »

Lighting it as it turned out was no problem (there was a long thread on this subject). But I'll see what happens under the pan.
When the pestilence strikes from the East, go far and breathe the cold air deeply. Ignore the sage, stay not indoors. Ho Ri Zon 12th Century Chinese philosopher
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Gattonero
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Re: Trangia flame: what should it look like?

Post by Gattonero »

My 2c:
-never overfill the Trangia (or similar) burner! 3/4 in the central well is the very most you should fill, in fact 1/2 way from the top is better
-spirit burner don't like cold starts, whenever possible keep the burner in a warm (not hot!!) place i.e. in bed with you (but inside a ziplock bag)
-in daylight you may not see the flame, so careful to never put hands or anything right by the burner. A twig or piece of paper works well to see if the burner is alight
-carry a small piece of kitchen foil, to protect the soil from the burner
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Re: Trangia flame: what should it look like?

Post by Tangled Metal »

Then get a gas burner for it! :wink:
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horizon
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Re: Trangia flame: what should it look like?

Post by horizon »

Gattonero wrote:My 2c:
-never overfill the Trangia (or similar) burner! 3/4 in the central well is the very most you should fill, in fact 1/2 way from the top is better
-spirit burner don't like cold starts, whenever possible keep the burner in a warm (not hot!!) place i.e. in bed with you (but inside a ziplock bag)
-in daylight you may not see the flame, so careful to never put hands or anything right by the burner. A twig or piece of paper works well to see if the burner is alight
-carry a small piece of kitchen foil, to protect the soil from the burner


Really good - great tips, thanks Gattonero.
When the pestilence strikes from the East, go far and breathe the cold air deeply. Ignore the sage, stay not indoors. Ho Ri Zon 12th Century Chinese philosopher
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Re: Trangia flame: what should it look like?

Post by Gattonero »

Tangled Metal wrote:Then get a gas burner for it! :wink:


Not a big fan of them: you cannot see how much fuel you have left, you get an annoying empty container to discard pretty soon, you may have a defective valve that makes the gas burner unusable, and the list goes on... a meths/spirit burner can only go wrong if you overfill it, there's no parts that can fail or broke unless you literally walk over the burner :mrgreen:
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Re: Trangia flame: what should it look like?

Post by pjclinch »

Gattonero wrote:
Tangled Metal wrote:Then get a gas burner for it! :wink:


Not a big fan of them: you cannot see how much fuel you have left, you get an annoying empty container to discard pretty soon, you may have a defective valve that makes the gas burner unusable, and the list goes on... a meths/spirit burner can only go wrong if you overfill it, there's no parts that can fail or broke unless you literally walk over the burner :mrgreen:


Or if you're melting snow, you die of old age...
Gas is cleaner, easier and more controllable, and if you need power it has more than a spirit burner, and is safer and less of a faff to refuel.

Used a Trangia with a spirit burner for well over a decade, bought a gas burner more as a curiosity than anything else, have hardly ever used the spirit burner since. The phrase "now we're cooking with gas" isn't "now we're cooking with spirit" for a reason. Or more likely, several reasons...

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Re: Trangia flame: what should it look like?

Post by foxyrider »

pjclinch wrote:
Gattonero wrote:
Tangled Metal wrote:Then get a gas burner for it! :wink:


Not a big fan of them: you cannot see how much fuel you have left, you get an annoying empty container to discard pretty soon, you may have a defective valve that makes the gas burner unusable, and the list goes on... a meths/spirit burner can only go wrong if you overfill it, there's no parts that can fail or broke unless you literally walk over the burner :mrgreen:


Or if you're melting snow, you die of old age...
Gas is cleaner, easier and more controllable, and if you need power it has more than a spirit burner, and is safer and less of a faff to refuel.

Used a Trangia with a spirit burner for well over a decade, bought a gas burner more as a curiosity than anything else, have hardly ever used the spirit burner since. The phrase "now we're cooking with gas" isn't "now we're cooking with spirit" for a reason. Or more likely, several reasons...

Pete.

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horizon
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Re: Trangia flame: what should it look like?

Post by horizon »

pjclinch wrote:
Used a Trangia with a spirit burner for well over a decade, bought a gas burner more as a curiosity than anything else, have hardly ever used the spirit burner since.


I've just done the reverse. I'm still just getting used to the Trangia after 48 years (yes, that's correct) of Campinggaz Bluet stoves.

What I like:

Stability
No need for a wind break
Cheaper fuel (am I right?)
No "running down"
Integrated system

That's partly due obviously to the Trangia design not the meths and it's early days yet.
When the pestilence strikes from the East, go far and breathe the cold air deeply. Ignore the sage, stay not indoors. Ho Ri Zon 12th Century Chinese philosopher
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Re: Trangia flame: what should it look like?

Post by foxyrider »

horizon wrote:
pjclinch wrote:
Used a Trangia with a spirit burner for well over a decade, bought a gas burner more as a curiosity than anything else, have hardly ever used the spirit burner since.


I've just done the reverse. I'm still just getting used to the Trangia after 48 years (yes, that's correct) of Campinggaz Bluet stoves.

What I like:

Stability
No need for a wind break
Cheaper fuel (am I right?)
No "running down"
Integrated system

That's partly due obviously to the Trangia design not the meths and it's early days yet.


Those Bluet things are not very representative of modern gas burners. Certainly my Soto Windmaster doesn't need a wind break, clean and odourless, heats water very quickly and efficiently. Integrated? Well other than the gas can, my burner fits neatly inside a standard kettle and weighs sub 100g.

You'll be back to gas after your first Trangia fail!
Convention? what's that then?
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horizon
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Re: Trangia flame: what should it look like?

Post by horizon »

foxyrider wrote:
You'll be back to gas after your first Trangia fail!


:lol: :lol:

It could be. I think I'm getting all romantic with a Trangia rather than practical!
When the pestilence strikes from the East, go far and breathe the cold air deeply. Ignore the sage, stay not indoors. Ho Ri Zon 12th Century Chinese philosopher
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Re: Trangia flame: what should it look like?

Post by pjclinch »

horizon wrote:
pjclinch wrote:
Used a Trangia with a spirit burner for well over a decade, bought a gas burner more as a curiosity than anything else, have hardly ever used the spirit burner since.


I've just done the reverse. I'm still just getting used to the Trangia after 48 years (yes, that's correct) of Campinggaz Bluet stoves.

What I like:

Stability
No need for a wind break
Cheaper fuel (am I right?)
No "running down"
Integrated system

That's partly due obviously to the Trangia design not the meths and it's early days yet.


The thing is that a Trangia with the Trangia gas conversion has exactly the same integrated stable wind-shielded setup as a Trangia running on spirit.
The fuel is cheaper for spirit, but given I'm not exactly ruining myself with my camp cookery costs I can live with that. As for "running down", it runs out working on spirit, especially if it's a long burn, and then you have to refuel it pouring volatile, smelly fuel in to a very hot container. Gas running down is an issue but can be mollified to some degree by inverting the can, at least if the burner has a pre-heat loop. The Trangia gas conversion does have a pre-heat loop.

Bluets are a Work Of Stan. I'm not surprised you prefer a Trangia on spirit to one of those.

Pete.
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