Cycling UK Forum

thelawnet wrote:Paraffin would not be a suitable fuel for Trangia I think.

Indeed not - but Coleman, MSR and Primus pressurised stoves will run it (often with a different jet) and with some kind of priming to vapourise the paraffin for ignition.
Trangias run on alcohol ONLY. Gasoline, diesel or paraffin are definitely out.

nick12 wrote:Spiritus is used to heat the element on the storm light so that the kerosene minyak Tanah vaporizes it is not the fuel just used as a primer so that the mesh lamp and the glass doesn't soot up and blacken which leads me to believe that it is the equivalent of meths as that is what I use in my Tilley lamp to preheat the vapourizing tube.

Our lamp just got sooty after a couple of uses and that was the end of that. But maybe some other people used a primer - we certainly never did, but perhaps it varies by area.

Regarding the hock stove that's what the wife still cooks on she has a 22 and 30 wick stove. We pay 4000rp (20p) per litre which must be subsidized.

Hmm, perhaps that is a regional thing in terms of distribution. Not sure it is available everywhere. When I've tried to buy it the last few years there hasn't been a subsidised version available.

I've only come across spiritus meaning purified or 'rectified' ethanol. It's usually 95% alcohol and used for industrial purposes or various home distillates. Or drinking neat... But that's what the word means in Poland, I think it could be something different in Indonesia.

this is interesting

https://bushwalkingnsw.org.au/clubsites/FAQ/FAQ_FuelNames.htm

but incomplete. Entry for Malaya and Singapore is interesting.

cheers

That's a good link there brucey I'm sure it will be very useful to many people.
Well according to the listing for Borneo it says that spiritus is meths and can be coloured purple although the stuff I saw years ago was clear . It says it is sold in old pop bottles. I remember it been sold in marqisa juice and ketchup bottles but could also be bought in blue plastic bottles with a red lid.
I'm going to try find some when I go back to mainland Sumatra.

My wife says that the spiritus they used in nias was indeed a blue/ purple colour. She said that as a child she cut her leg and her father treated the wound with it. She said it dried the wound instantly. Not sure I'd recommend doing it.

The purple colour is an additive, often used alongside a bittering agent, to prevent drinking it. Or at least to guard against accidental drinking. It also, in some countries (maybe not Indonesia), means it can be sold as a fuel or cleaning agent or similar and not subject to the normal excise on alcoholic drinks. But it is usually ethanol though it might have methanol added to it (hence another need for the warning colour and bitter agent). At least I think that's more or less it... It would be helpful if we had clearer names but we don't.

I have a petrol stove trouble is has only really one setting - full power. The thing I rate is those cheap wood burners you can buy on Ebay for less than a tenner. All you need are a few twigs and bobs your uncle , very effective. I carry some wood shavings you use as bedding for hamsters and the such like as a starter off-er

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Portable-Stainless-Steel-Wood-Stove-Outdoor-Camping-Backpack-Picnic-Burner-EDC/222730457044?hash=item33dbc50fd4:m:mTZcTClEml4D3IODDgakwrA

My Peak1 simmers beautifully, better even than gas stoves; the Whisperlite less well.
For simplicity the Kelly Kettle is brill - it's just a pity the thing is so big!

Update on the spritus.
Arrived on mainland Sumatra at sibolga. In the first hardware store I got some spritus 7500 rp 40 pence for 330ml they had 1 litre bottles too but I didn't ask the price. Its a clear liquid. On my initial test wow I'm impressed its extremely flammable and primed instantly burning very clean and without any soot forming. I would say it is better than the uk meths . I would be tempted to either use a drop of food colouring or keep in a designated fuel can as it comes in the same bottle as mineral water. It is as good as the alcohol and cheaper. I have only tried it in my pop can stove I think the simmer ring will be useful on the trangia burner.

We seem to have strayed into theology...

Brucey wrote:there is no perfect fuel, with ideal combination of

- availability
- cost
- volatility
- calorific value (fuel consumption)
- smell
- toxicity

Gas is OK but there is no really universal standard for the cartridges so availability is poor in many places. A significant problem (for all-weather camping, not so much for what you will be doing I expect) is that in the cold it can cease to have enough pressure in the cartridge. The canister cools itself as the gas is used and it can take an age to boil a pint of water if the cartridge is cold.

I have used every type of stove that there is (for hiking), and my preferred fuel is gas.

It's the safest, it's stored in a sealed container, you do not get liquid spillages which could ignite or contaminate pack contents. It's theoretically possible to create an explosive mixture, but that would require a very specific combination of unlikely circumstances.

Cold weather is a non-issue: a liquid-feed gas stove with a vaporiser tube will work happily down to -20C
If interested, I have a published article on the physics/chemistry of gas mixtures in cold weather https://backpackinglight.com/effect_of_cold_on_gas_canisters/

I have to say I’m with Scunnered. I have always used gas. I have an old Epigas stove (don’t know what flavour) which uses 440g butane/propane mix canisters, that I have used for decades. Last year I bought myself a new (orange) Vango folding stove in a dinky box. Scared the life out of me by flaring ever time I use it. Have gone back to my old dependable Epigas which lives (with the gas canister attached ready for action) in the rear pocket of my old Karrimor panniers. Never had a problem with it or with getting gas (in the UK).

Tabby

I've always used gas. I once saw one of those multi-fuel stoves being fired up and I wouldn't want anything like that anywhere near my tent. I'm currently favouring the fastboil-style stove although I use the much cheaper Highlander clone. I like that the heat is far more contained than with a normal gas stove which makes it safer near the tent.

Petrol is dangerous. Having seen a couple of incidents with the stuff it would be hard to convince me to give it a try.