I've got 4 or 5 of these surplus military sets, and have used them extensively over the past several years.

Though all of the surplus dealers refer to them as "Trangias", they really aren't. The burner is of the same design, though larger and made from heavier material than the commercial Trangias. Secondly, the burners were made by several contractors, of which Trangia was only one; Svea also made some, and there was a third company (whose name escapes me at the moment.)

Parts and accessories from the commercial Trangias will not fit.

If possible, look for one that is unissued. Used burners that have been poorly treated will sometimes be work-hardened and cracked, which makes them unusable. A nice, shiny new one (which are quite easy to find) will last many years with modest care.

Burn only denatured alcohol (pure ethanol or methanol), and never isopropyl. If you're in the U.S., denatured alcohol is readily available in just about any hardware or paint store. You can use the HEET gas line de-icer, which is nothing more than methanol - though it is considerably more expensive than buying the same stuff in the paint department at the hardware store.

I avoid the denatured alcohol sold as marine stove fuel; the blue coloring that they add to the alcohol reduces the burn efficiency, resulting in soot-blackened pots. Use clean, clear alcohol and you'll have no problems.

The burners are often referred to as "stormcookers", because the stronger the wind becomes, the better they burn! While they wont come near the prodigious output of a kerosene or white gas burner (not a good choice if you have frying to do) they are efficient enough to provide hearty meals, nearly silent, and just about as bomb-proof as a stove gets.

You can see pictures of my very first one at the spiritburner.com site:

http://spiritburner.com/collectors_galleries/g_cunningham/collectors_cunningham_swed_mil.htm

-=[ Grant ]=-

Thats the exact set I picked up. A guy in ME was selling off a bunch of them from his SAR team. I thought they were fairly expensive, but, I liked the idea of keeping everything together in one place. Once I burn off the HEET stuff, I will try the methyl stuff from a hardware store. I'm interested to see if one burns hotter than the other.
As far as damaged units; the guy I bought it off of on evil-bay had over 3000 positive feedbacks. And, through several emails, he assurred me that it works, and, if I'm not satisfied, to return it. does that mean he's a good guy? Nope, but it gave me a little more confidence.
And, worst case scenario, I can BUILD another alkie cooker for it. Give me a project to do <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />