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View Full Version : What's most durable alchohol stove?



Phoenix7
08-03-2004, 14:16
About to order an alchohol stove, and wondering what is the most durable model out there? I think I want to stay away from titanium as I've heard it doesn't conduct heat as well.
Can you include a website address for a recommended stove?

Thanks a lot,

Phoenix

SGT Rock
08-03-2004, 14:36
Brasslite. www.brasslite.com. There is a more durable stove in the Trangia, but it is heavier than it needs to be by a good amount.

Bear Magnet
08-03-2004, 19:13
Brasslite. www.brasslite.com (http://www.brasslite.com/). There is a more durable stove in the Trangia, but it is heavier than it needs to be by a good amount.
I haven't used the Trangia, but my Brasslite held up great for 6 1/2 months on my hike last year.

Bear Magnet
Jonathan Amato

JimM
08-03-2004, 19:38
Have both....another vote for Brasslite here, although I'm still trying to figure out which one will boil powdered water faster....
Jim

rickb
08-03-2004, 19:48
What's with that titanium alchohol stove I saw advertised in the back of this months Backpaker mag?

Rick B

Phoenix7
08-03-2004, 20:32
Thanks for the replies. Looks like it will be the Brasslite.

Thx,

Phoenix

Footslogger
08-04-2004, 12:10
They are a tad heavier than some but the Trangia is hands down the most durable alcohol stove in existence. The only weak spot in the design is the O-ring inside the threaded lid. If you cover your stove too soon after use, before it has a chance to cool down, you can fry that O-ring. Once the O-ring is damaged the stove reservior loses its seal and you can't transport it with fuel inside. All things considered ...that's not a very big issue.

I have owned 2 Trangia's now for well over 8 years and both of them work just as well as the day I bought them. Used one last year on my thru-hike and never had a single problem.

You'll find lighter ones and you'll find ones that boil water in slightly less time ...but you ain't gonna find one that will take a beating like a Trangia.

'Slogger
AT 2003

Nightwalker
08-04-2004, 12:22
About to order an alchohol stove, and wondering what is the most durable model out there?

I like the Brasslite better, but in my experience, TinMan's stove is more durable.

chowhound
08-04-2004, 14:21
The trangia is completely bombproof, and not especially heavy in absolute terms. It also lights easily with no warm up in three season weather, and you don't have to worry about calculating just how much fuel to use to boil the quantity/temperature water that you need. When it boils you shut it down and save the fuel that's left.

Moose2001
08-04-2004, 16:32
If you want to reduce the Trangia's weight slightly, here's an easy way. Take your three pot stands and clamp them together with a pair of vice grips or a vice. Put a 3/8" bit in your trusty drill and start drillin! Do your best swiss cheese imitation on the pot stands. Just make sure you don't let any of the holes connect to the one next to it and stay slightly away from the edges. You can easily reduce half the weight of the pot stand and it's still plenty sturdy. Plus, it just looks so much cooler than the standard Trangia pot stand.

IMHO....you can't go wrong with the Trangia. Some better but nothing takes the abuse of a Trangia.

Youngblood
08-04-2004, 16:55
I got a real treat a few weeks ago when I was at Deep Gap Shelter in Georgia. I saw a section hiker from Germany that was using a full blown, genuine Trangia Stove System, probably a series 27. They are an engineering marvel with the upper & lower windscreen, curved-bottom pot that sets inside the top windscreen, burner that sets on top of/in the bottom wind screen and a lid that looked like it might do more than just cover the pot. It was pretty neat as I had used one of the mini-Trangia's on my thru-hike in 2000 and had studied the Trangia web site when I made my own lighter weight alcohol stove (to get an appreciation as to how to improve efficiency). I was even more impressed as I watched it in use... as an old engineer, it sure looked like those Swedish engineers covered all the angles.

Youngblood

Phoenix7
08-04-2004, 22:38
Just ordered a Brasslite last night. I'll make a post to say how I like it and how well it works in a few days.

Phoenix

chowhound
08-05-2004, 14:06
Youngblood,

I also use a Trangia model 27 pretty frequently. I bought it for kayak camping, but like it so much that I usually pay the weight penalty and carry it backpacking too. Wind and rain are no problem. I admit that when I really want to go light I break out the soda can stove, home made wind screen, and three cup cook pot, but that system can't compare to the Trangia in any kind of unpleasant weather.

chowhound

Youngblood
08-05-2004, 14:22
Youngblood,

I also use a Trangia model 27 pretty frequently. I bought it for kayak camping, but like it so much that I usually pay the weight penalty and carry it backpacking too. Wind and rain are no problem. I admit that when I really want to go light I break out the soda can stove, home made wind screen, and three cup cook pot, but that system can't compare to the Trangia in any kind of unpleasant weather.

chowhound

Yeah, it is pretty impressive how they protect it from the wind and efficiently utilize the flame & exhausts gas with the lower/upper wind screen, rounded bottom pots and oversized pot lid. And they do this without overheating the burner, which they also have a pre-heat attachment for to use in very cold weather. It is such a clever design that it just made me grin when I actually saw one in use.

Youngblood

Chickety
08-05-2004, 19:17
A friend told me about this little stove with a flame adjuster, so you can simmer foods instead of just boiling water. I have yet to buy it.........anyone here have any good/bad experience with it? I'm very tempted to buy it, but am partial to the little pepsi stove I made. He said it "extends the amount of fuel usage to an extreme". Just another option!

AJ Brooks (http://www.ajbrooks.com/fcgi-bin/customer?TID=product&SID=A8667B&productId=0000005000069115&categoryId=0000005000016248&orderId=&sessionId=&storeId=2000000000000081&merchantId=2000000000000080&ppp=8)

SGT Rock
08-05-2004, 22:45
Looks like a fancy stainless steel Trangia. Stick to a Pepsi can stove.

Streamweaver
08-05-2004, 22:55
Im wondering about the weight they have listed for that stove,105 grams=about 3.3 ounces.Dont quite sound right. Streamweaver

Streamweaver
08-05-2004, 23:02
Nevermind!

Connie
08-05-2004, 23:24
I have used the Outback Oven Ultralight, from Backpacker's Pantry. It bakes well.

The stove used must have a good simmer, and, a canister-type stove is NOT recommended. This little outfit was my first hiking-baking experience. I learned a lot about baking on a fire. I think the little temerature guage helped the most.

I have carried only the temperature guage and "tent" cozy, and, I use a Swiss stainless pot and matching smooth-top lid, so the thermometer sits nicely on the lid.

I figure the Banks Fry-Bake would be a nice setup, on a small cooking "twiggy" fire.

GSI has some hard-anodized frying pans and lids that might work. I just think these are only some of the heavier "solutions" to pack in my backpack.

I have used "dutch-oven" and there are dutch oven cookbooks listing the number of coals to have underneath and the number of coals on the lid, for controlled baking.

I have a Trangia model 27 and it has been my only experience actually using an alcohol stove. I would not backpack this stove.
I saw it the first time on Mt. Rainier, used by a european hiker. It was very windy. They were enjoying a hot meal, while everyone else was having a "cold camp". I was impressed!

I love it, on a picnic table, in wind. I like it very much, kayaking.

I have been looking at the ultralightweight alcohol stove systems, and options, because I already know having an alcohol stove can be a real asset!

I never used the Trangia alcohol stove "insert", separately, but I have carried an extra one, and some foil, if I had to improvise. Little stones for a pot rest.

At this point, I think I would want the stove, windscreen, pot rest and simmer option from Dancing Light. I don't know what pot Brawny used for that baking page, but that food looks appetizing to me! I guess I would want the pot, and I think I would want a cozy, to fit, from antigravitygear.

I am thinking maybe that would be my "engineering marvel", and trail-worthy model, for boil and set, boil, and bake system.

verber
08-06-2004, 01:21
What's with that titanium alchohol stove I saw advertised in the back of this months Backpaker mag?

Was this the stove from Vargo:
http://hike-advice.safeshopper.com/181/1452.htm?794

Very stable design. Extremely durable. My experience was very poor performance (significantly worse that what bpl.com listed). I sent my stove back to Vargo... they are going to see if they can figure out why my stove's performance was so awful.

--mark

SGT Rock
08-06-2004, 05:59
It was so awful because the stove is a bad design overall. Actually the stove idea is good if made slightly different and from brass or aluminum. Titanium is very nutral when it comes to conducting heat. In a pot aplication, you can cook with Ti OK, but to make a stove from one that should use the metal properties of the stove to help it perform, it just doesn't work well. Add to that the fact that this is basically a photon stove style design which should be sealed and pressurized - but it has a big seam all the way around where the two halves join and that isn't sealed - so the pressure system isn't working correctly for the design. AND add to that the pain in the butt this stove is to fill. Honestly, they would be better off making a Cat style design, something non-pressurized, from Ti if they even want to make a stove from Ti in the first place.

My overall assessment is this is a nice stove to cary if you want to start conversations around the shelter. WOW - COOL TI STOVE DUDE! About the only thing this stove seems to have going for it is the fact it is made from Titanium - three ounces of titanium :(

But to actually have a stove you want to cook on, you can make one better from cans or get a Brasslite or Trangia. Something that is lighter, is easier to operate, and performs better.

Youngblood
08-06-2004, 08:27
...I have a Trangia model 27 and it has been my only experience actually using an alcohol stove. I would not backpack this stove.
I saw it the first time on Mt. Rainier, used by a european hiker.

I love it, on a picnic table in wind. I like it very much, kayaking.
...

Connie, I agree. I would not take one on the type of backpacking trips that I currently do... it just doesn't take much of a stove at all to handle what I do. But, if I were backpacking in harsher environments I would not take the alcohol stove system that I currently use either and I would take another look at the Trangia model 27.

Youngblood

Hikerhead
08-06-2004, 20:51
I use the Trangia. It may not be the lightest or burn the hottest, but it's bullet proof. HH sent me the coolest windscreen for it. It's made from a can slightly bigger around than the stove and just a little taller with 1/2 "holes cut in it around the sides. I can put the stove and windscreen inside of my Snowpeak pot set. I don't know where she got it but it's "Sweet"

SGT Rock
08-06-2004, 21:01
Well hottest ain't necessarily the best. The Traingia is about the most constantly fuel economical alcohol stove I've ever tested.

Mountain Dew
08-07-2004, 05:22
I used one of Tinman's "pepsi can" stoves for my entire through hike. Well....actually mine was two mountain dew cans but ....
I loved the stove and never had trouble with it. Finding fuel for it was always easy.

SGT Rock
08-07-2004, 09:11
I used one of Tinman's "pepsi can" stoves for my entire through hike. Well....actually mine was two mountain dew cans but ....
I loved the stove and never had trouble with it. Finding fuel for it was always easy.

I love it :D

tarbubble
08-08-2004, 21:15
Vargo has re-designed the Triad stove. i'm going to be testing one for BackpackGearTest.org and hopefully i'll have it in time for a 6-day trip i'm starting next saturday. i hope the re-designed stove will perform better than Verber experienced with his, but i'm also going to be using it with Esbit tabs, since it is advertised as a dual-fuel stove.

i'll post a message here once i've had a chance to play with it.

Brasslite
09-08-2004, 18:43
I like the Brasslite better, but in my experience, TinMan's stove is more durable.
I'm not downplaying antigravitygear at all. I think that they make a soda can stove that's as fine as any that can be made.

But I was really curious when I read this post above. What in your experience justifies the statement that a soda can stove constructed of thin aluminum cans and furnace tape is more durable than a Brasslite, a stove constructed from brass, stainless steel and silver solder?

In what way exactly do you think the soda can stove more durable?

Aaron
www.brasslite.com (http://www.brasslite.com)

Nightwalker
09-09-2004, 16:49
In what way exactly do you think the soda can stove more durable?
Stiffer, because of no slightly flexible built-in windscreen, higher ratio of width-to-height, which makes the "stiffer" aspect more important. The pre-heat rim is a favorite feature of mine on the brasslite, but it can be bent moderately easily.

Having said that, and as I said above, I like the brasslite better. When I got my brasslite in a supply box, I left the tin-man stove in a hiker box for someone else to use. It's other comparative positive is that it takes up slightly less space, but a negative is the lack of adjustability, as the brasslite has the built in air-flow adjuster.

Then again, it's all just my opinion, and no one should take any offense either way.

Dances with Mice
09-09-2004, 18:01
I have used "dutch-oven" and there are dutch oven cookbooks listing the number of coals to have underneath and the number of coals on the lid, for controlled baking.


You might be talking about this guy:
http://www.troop100.us/pdf/dutch_oven_recipes.pdf

This idiot is some kind of D.O. fanatic, he's won trophies from cooking competitions and everything, he's even taken family vacation time to travel to D.O. cook-offs. He serves D.O. competition experimental recipes to his family a couple times each month. He's an absolute lunatic. But that's not relevant here.

Connie - what is your objective. You listed a lot of cooking options, and they all work, but unless I missed it I didn't see what you were attempting to accomplish. What would make you happy?

Nightwalker
09-11-2004, 06:48
Stiffer, because of no slightly flexible built-in windscreen
Ugh, that's built-in pot-stand. Sorry