Over the years I have made quite a few lightweight stoves that run on methylated spirit, I have generally kept them for boiling water with and frying some sausages or bacon. I have never used the trangia setups as I prefer the novelty of making my own.
Does anyone use a meths stove as their main cooker and what sort of things have you cooked on it ?
Used a Trangia for many years, when camping at work and camping as a kid, I still have a couple (nostalgia). But I'm not a huge fan, its very limiting - plus the smell, spillages, hard to control heat level etc. If camping from a car I always take twin burner gas now as a main stove, plus occasionally Dutch oven, BBQ and/Kelly kettle.
No, Meths is not for me (unless I'm back packing as a last resort to save space). But one tip I do have is to add I little water to it - less blackening the bottom for pans and easier to clean.
I went through a phase of making coke can cookers mostly to entertain my daughter who still thinks it's a cool skill. I don't think I'd bother to use one full time though.
------------- Of all the things I have lost I miss my mind the most.
I used a Trangia when I was in the C&CC Youth - passed my Test using one (part of the Test is to cook your meals for a weekend - have to be proper cooked meals using fresh ingredients) and then taught the next generation to do the same when I was Youth Leader. If you can cook it in one or two pans, you can cook it on a Trangia with a little fore-thought and ingenuity (might take a bit longer, but it does work).
Yes, I think it's a great thing for kids. I fully intend to take my kids wild camping and use a Trangie with meths. You can learn a lot - such as appreciating how easy modern pampered life has got.
I use a trangia for all our cooking, it is the only cooker we will be taking to Dorset for two weeks. I do have an Ikea non stick pan that fits perfectly and a camping gaz kettle that also fits. Can't be bothered with big gas bottles (although we do have one and a twin burner) and don't like suitcase stoves. I love my trangia though.
Here it is in use, you can see the ikea pan to the left
This is chickpea, mushroom and spinach pasta cooked on the trangia
I have to confess that this year, for the first time ever, I haven't taken the trangia with us (usually, I take it for morning tea & coffee and as a backup).
I must admit, though, I still love my trangia! Maybe I'll cook my dinner on it tonight...
I'm a wild camper and I have only ever taken a small gas stove twice as my main cooker. The first time was in Looe and it was very warm and there wasn't any wind. I also had my tent. The second time was during a gale in my local woods and I was using my tarp. The flame blew all over the place and I just couldn't shield it from the wind.
The Swedish Army trangia stove isn't a very easy to control flame, but it cooks bacon eggs and beans, as well as stews, porridge, soup, etc. very well indeed. You can also use it to bake bread and potatoes on fire embers and hang the big pot over a fire. The wind shield can be used as a hobo stove to burn wood and heat water... I really can't sing it's praises enough and unless I'm using my tent, I will never make the mistake of not having this most reliable piece of equipment ever again...
------------- The true test of fairness is how fair you are to those who are not
I don't cook with meths when I am camping but I do have a spirit hob on the boat.
It is an Origo 3000:-
The flame does not seem to be up to much compared to a gas cooker but in reality the cooking time is comparable to a gas stove. It's cooked me many a fine meal! There is a slight smell but it is not a problem for me, although I can't speak for everyone! It is easy to control and I trust it a lot more than I would trust a gas cooker, especially on a boat.
------------- Love a lot. Trust a few. But ALWAYS paddle your own canoe!!
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Those who talk don't know.
Those who know don't talk.
Coming from SE London, when I read the title of this thread “cooking with meths” I thought it was some drug related method for making meths. I did think this was an unusual post for UK Campsite but being liberal minded thought I would have a look. Thankfully it’s all about the virtues of cooking with methylated spirits and not the production of methamphetamine (meths).
Quote: Originally posted by mcguire6078 on 31/7/2013
Coming from SE London, when I read the title of this thread “cooking with meths” I thought it was some drug related method for making meths. I did think this was an unusual post for UK Campsite but being liberal minded thought I would have a look. Thankfully it’s all about the virtues of cooking with methylated spirits and not the production of methamphetamine (meths).
I've used my Trangia since 1986. Shame its not steel, I now actually use a steel pan whose handle fell off. Always add 10% water to the meths bottle, if you get it right, there is no soot at all. I now keep the burner in a separate container, after a meal was ruined by a slight contamination of meths in the pan, making it taste incredibly bitter, and leaking meths from the burner corroded the aluminium pan and holed it over time.
I use a roof slate, that way I don't scorch the grass, also it keeps the food warm. I've fed 8 people before now. One pan specials are simplest, with pasta or potato stews. I take an enamel plate, so I can cook a veg curry, put it on the slate with the plate cover, then boil rice in the other pan. When the rice is ready, swap the pans over and reheat the curry. If you are careful, you can do all this with one fill of the burner.
I find the frying pan is too far away from the flame to use effectively. The whole thing is quite slow, but it works.
I use our trangia backpacking and it is amazing what you can cook on it. 10% water completely eliminates sooting, I also have a gas conversion but rarely use it. When making curry I do it the other way round put the rice in pot one add water until it is one inch above the toip of the rice. Bring to the boil and stir once then stand it aside and cover. Don't do anything else to it just leave it covered maybe wrap a towel around it to keep it warm as you are outside. In 20 minutes it will be fully cooked and absorbed all the water and still be warm. Meanwhile make your curry, chilli etc.
I have made an oven bread type calzone thing in the big pot, using it like a dutch oven, using the simmer ring to keep the flame very low, Made fish cakes stews, pretty much any thing you can make at home. I too keep the burner seperate to everything else, but inside my Trangia I can store my washing up kit, a tea towel a cut down wooden spoon a multitool, a cut down spatula, tea and coffee.
The frying pan works best if just sat directly on top of the windshield rather than the supports, just make sure you keep a small gap to allow the air flow.
Absolutely love the Trangia but for basecamp with the car it's the Cobb and the double burner and grill.
As dubstepper says it won't win any prizes for speed but as long as you have fuel there is nothing to go wrong
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Topic: Cooking with Meths
