Now let's say you wanted a reliable stove. No, not just ordinary reliable, I mean reliable. Really reliable. A stove that will operate under any conditions. A stove you could leave in the trunk of your car for years, fuel it up, and it would work fine. A stove that just doesn't quit. I mean does such a thing even exist?

You bet it exists, and I'm going to tell you about it. In fact it's this week's Stove of the Week: The Trangia 27.

Included on my blog post is a link to a nice article on the history of the Trangia for all you aficionados out there.

HJ

Ah... I have such sweet memories of making supper on a trangia cook set

Good point on not extinguishing the flame with the lid: This ruins the O-ring, which means you can't have alcohol inside the burner during transport any longer.

I use the trangia 25 with the UL-HA (ultra light, hard anodized) configuration and a trangia gas burner. This is really an excellent setup.

Hi, MostlyHarmless,

Which type of gas burner do you have? The older Optimus one or the newer Primus made one? Got any pics?

I'd like to get a gas or multifuel version. The only problem is that both of my Trangia sets are older than 1988 when they added openings for the fuel hose and control knob. Maybe some day.

HJ

Great review. I have been a satisfied user of the Mini-Trangia for many years. Simple and foolproof. Thanks for the link to Trangia history.

I haven't the burner at hand right now, but I believ it simply says "trangia". It is a few years old, I'll check out what it says and possibly post some pics if that can aid in identification.




Now THAT is an easy fix: Aluminium is easy to work with...
But I guess that you don't want to use dremel on your family heirloom...

My Trangia 25 is from the 1960's. It's got the old style burner and a solid leather strap. It's vintage cool. I won't be drilling any holes in that one!

My Trangia 27 is a beater from the 80's. No biggie if that one gets banged up a bit.

I'd probably just get a new Trangia 27 (or 25) if I decide to get a gas or multifuel burner. If you get the gas or multifuel burner, you've got a really powerful winter snow melter.

If your gas burner is a bit older, it's probably the one made by Optimus for Trangia.

Is the control knob on your gas burner black with groves like this?

(not the best image, sorry)

Better image:


Does the control assembly and knob look like the above?

HJ

Hikin_Jim a request Sir...I bought my Trangia burner as a back up to my propane camp stove(s) for hurricane season, and in part just because it was so highly recommended on this forum...I will probably never use it for a camping heat source, but would like you to evaluate its potential for an inside source....while I do have a quart of denatured alcohol stored, I really wanted to be able to fuel it with 70% isopropyl rubbing alcohol which is more likely to be around the house...so I have attempted to generate a little more heat with the lower BTU fuel

my idea was to make an external priming system like several of the "penny stoves" I've seen, and hopefully generate enough heat in the stove to boil the alcohol with enough residual heat to keep the flame stable... took a 7" section of 5/8" kero lantern wick and stapled the ends together to form a ring, ended up slightly larger than the burner ring...soaked with rubbing alcohol and placed the wick on a ceramic cup saucer...placed the Trangia on the on the wick, and lit it...might not want to try this inside the first time...

after the initial flare up, once the wick burned out, got a flame somewhere between Sterno and good alcohol in the Trangia with a blue flame from the jets, and a yellow/orange flame in the well of the burner...

would you evaluate this modification, or possible offer a solution to using the lower percentages fuel?... thank you

Les,

Let me tell you my philosophy on stove fuels: If it burns good, it is good.

Seriously. If you're getting a good flame, then I'd say that's a good fuel. It's certainly not going to hurt anything unless you see charring, warping, soot build up, or something like that.

Important point at this juncture: You were using a 70% solution. Normally, high concentration isopropanol is a smokey mess that doesn't burn cleanly. So, important tip: If you're going to use isopropanol as a fuel, it must be a lesser concentration.

HJ

I have had good results using Purell hand sanitizer in a well shielded Trangia. I believe that is 62% isoproanol - wrong! Per the label it is 62% ethyl alcohol. It is a handy multi-use item, especially for a back up stove in offices and the like.

The idea of using Purell is sheer brilliance. NO ONE will question you if you have a bottle of Purell in your bag. Carry around a bottle that looks like fuel, and there could be questions at the office or work place.

HJ