How to use a Trangia stove

How to use a
Trangia stove
The Trangia Liquid Fuel Stove is one of the simplest outdoor stoves on
the market. It is commonly used for groups of young people on school
or outdoor education hiking trips. The Trangia is tough and generally
unbreakable and is not hard to use if you make yourself familiar with it
before you go out on the track. Or you might end up hungry.
Take a couple of minutes to read these easy instructions now. It will save
a lot of frustration out on the track when you are hungry and just want to
eat.
The text takes you from A to Z, but if you don’t want to read about it, just
look at the great pictures.
There are important things you need to remember that don’t have pictures
– for obvious reasons.
The first, and probably most important, is:
•• don’t ever use your Trangia on or near something that might melt,
such as the floor of your tent, your pack or your raincoat because
the heat from the bottom of the Trangia WILL melt these items.
•• always use your Trangia out in the open, on flat ground or a picnic
table.
Other useful things to know too:
•• you only need a very small amount of fuel to cook or heat water,
because the Trangia is really efficient so don’t fill up the fuel well
each time you cook, just use enough for that meal or boil.
•• always cook with the lid on the saucepan- water will boil really
quickly and it will save fuel – and you don’t want to run out of fuel
before your last meal!
1
How to use a Trangia stove
OK – here we go.
Enjoy this book, enjoy using your Trangia, and enjoy the meals you cook
on it - your little friend in the bush.
Step 1. Setting up
Find a level area to set your Trangia.up on. The ground is a great place.
A flat picnic table or bench is good.
Make sure the Trangia is well away from anything that might melt or burn
- like your tent, pack or jacket.
OK, you are ready to go!
Remove the Trangia from its bag, and put it on the flat surface.
Put your fuel bottle next to it.
Trangia and fuel bottle
2
How to use a Trangia stove
Step 2. Remove the strap.
Press your thumb down on the spring to release. Pull the strap through
the buckle. Pull the strap completely off.
Press clip to release strap
Step 3: Unpack the Trangia.
Separate the saucepans, the base and the burner. Take the lid off and
unpack the layers. Lots of good stuff there, so keep it all together.
Unpacking
Unpacked
3
How to use a Trangia stove
Step 4. Attach the base to the wind protector.
The base has the ventilation holes and the wind protector is solid. Screw
them together, then stand up on the base.
Attach base to wind protector
Screw together
Step 5. The fuel well.
The fuel goes into the little brass fuel well.
Fuel well
Screw the lid off. Check out the small holes around the rim. This is
where the fuel burns.
Put the lid somewhere safe, because you won’t be able to pack up without
it.
4
How to use a Trangia stove
Screw lid off
Step 6. The fuel bottle.
It is really important to read all the directions on the fuel bottle, to know
exactly how to fill the fuel well.
Read all instructions
Read
Read
5
How to use a Trangia stove
Step 7. Filling the fuel well
It’s easy to put fuel into the well, just take your time and be a bit careful.
Put a small amount of fuel into the well just before you use it, or it will
evaporate.
1. Twist the tap to Open
2. Press down on the white button
3. Hold the white button and pour out only a small amount of fuel, as
it goes a long way. If you run out of fuel, you can put a bit more in once
the well is cool or finish off your cooking on someone else’s stove.
6
How to use a Trangia stove
Tip a small abount of fuel into the well
Not too much
A full well will burn for approx 25 minutes. A litre of water takes
around 11 minutes to boil, depending on the external temperature
and / or wind.
7
How to use a Trangia stove
4. Twist the tap to close.
Twist closed
5. Fasten the Trangia strap around the fuel bottle, or put it safely in your
pocket. Put the fuel bottle a safe distance from the Trangia.
Attach strap to fuel bottle
8
How to use a Trangia stove
Step 8. Place the fuel well squarely in the hole in the base.
Lower fuel well into base
Step 9: Fold the three support arms to the inside
Position the three supports inside
9
How to use a Trangia stove
Step 10. Now you are ready to light.
Strike a match just above and to the side of the windshield.
Light your match
Step 11.
Lower the match down and light the methylated spirits. Lift your hand
out quickly so it doesn’t get burned. You might find it easier to tilt the
base so you can pull your hand out of the way quickly, but just make sure
you put the base down flat if you do this.
Lower flame to fuel well
10
How to use a Trangia stove
Step 12. Check the flame is going.
Wave your hand quickly over the burner to check for a flame, because you
can’t always see it.
Test for flame by holding hand well above
Step 13: Put the matches in your pocket or pack, so you can find them
next time.
Put matches away
11
How to use a Trangia stove
The stove is on, so time to do some cooking.
Step 14. Add water
If you are boiling water, work out how much you will need, and put only
that much in the saucepan.
Tip water into saucepan
12
How to use a Trangia stove
Step 15. Use the grippers to pick up the saucepan.
Make sure you have a firm grip. Double check.
Grab saucepan securely with grippers
Check
Double Check
13
How to use a Trangia stove
Step 16. Wave your hand over the flame again, to check it is
still going.
Recheck flame
Step 17. Carefully sit the saucepan on the three support
arms. Release the gripper.
Remove grippers
Lower saucepan gently
14
How to use a Trangia stove
Step 18. Grip the lid and put it over the saucepan – your
water will boil faster and save you fuel.
Grip the lid
Put the lid on this way.
Put the lid on this way
Remove Grippers
15
How to use a Trangia stove
Don’t put the lid it on this way, as it’s too hard to get off when it is hot.
Don't put the lid on this way
Step 19: Once your food or water is hot, use the grippers to
lift the lid off, because it will be HOT.
Use gripper to life the lid
16
How to use a Trangia stove
Step 20. Use the grippers to lift the saucepan off the stove.
Put it down on the frypan lid.
Use the gripper to put the hot saucepan on the lid
Step 21. Always use two hands and empty the saucepan
away from you.
Always tip the saucepan away from
you
17
How to use a Trangia stove
Step 22. Cooking done, time to put the flame out.
If you didn’t put much fuel into the well, you might only need to wait till
the meths burns out..
But if you are in a hurry, or you put too much fuel in the well, you need
to physically put the flame out. You use the simmer ring in the closed
position to do this.
Use the simmer cap to put the flame out
It’s tricky to drop the ring on straight, so practice a few times before you
actually have to do it.
Hold the ring above the burner, and drop it onto the fuel well. Don’t
throw it, just drop it.
18
How to use a Trangia stove
The simmer ring pushes
air down, which puts the
flame out. You need to
drop it squarely, and if it
doesn’t work first time, use
the grippers to carefully lift
the simmer ring off, let it
cool down, and try again.
The operative word here is
‘carefully’ in this manoeuvre!
Hold the simmer cap above the fla
me...
The simmer cap must be on straight or won't put flame out
19
How to use a Trangia stove
Don’t use the screw top lid to put the flame out, as the rubber ring inside
could melt or the lid buckle and leak fuel smell into your pack and food.
Don’t use the fuel well lid, as it has a rubber ring that will melt
Step 23: Clean up time.
Eat your dinner, then clean your saucepan while it is still fresh and you
are not too tired to be bothered. Before you leave home, cut a new pot
scourer into 4 and put one in your Trangia saucepan.
Cut a scourer into four and take one piece
Use that scourer and a bit of water to clean your pot – no need for
detergent – so it is clean and ready for next use. It will take 1/100th the
20
How to use a Trangia stove
time if you clean it now than if you leave it till later. And you do have to
clean it sometime.
Clean your saucepan while the stove cools down
Step 24. Pack up time.
OK, you have enjoyed your meal or hot drink and cleaned your saucepan.
So now it’s pack up time. You did it in reverse when you unpacked, so
you already know the drill.
Unscrew the base from the windshield once they are cool.
When cool, unscrew the base from the wind shield
21
How to use a Trangia stove
Hey presto, two bits.
The two bits
Step 25: Lift the fuel well out of the base.
Remove the fuel well
22
How to use a Trangia stove
Step 26: Screw the lid on, securely but not over-tight –
remember, it has that rubber ring inside to seal it.
Screw the lid on
Firmly but not overly tight
Step 27: Remove the strap from the fuel bottle.
Remove strap from fuel bottle
23
How to use a Trangia stove
Step 28: With the bottom of the base towards the ground,
thread the strap through the guide on the side.
Pull strap through guide and under base
Step 29: Take it underneath and thread up through the
guide on the other side.
Thread up on other side
24
How to use a Trangia stove
Step 30: Pack the windshield into the base.
Put windsheild into base
Step 31: Pull the three tabs up
Pull three tabs up
25
How to use a Trangia stove
Step 32: Pack the big saucepan in.
Put big saucepan in - note tabs
Step 33: Pack the small saucepan in.
Put small saucepan in
26
How to use a Trangia stove
Step 34:
Pack the fuel well, simmer ring and grippers into the saucepan.
Put fuel well simer ring and grippers in
Should look like this
27
How to use a Trangia stove
Step 35: Put the lid on.
Put lid on
Lid on
Step 36: Hold the spring down and thread the strap through
the buckle.
Threat strap through the buckle clip while holding spring
down
28
How to use a Trangia stove
Step 37: Pull the strap to secure.
Pull strap to secure
Step 38: Loop the strap back and thread through buckle.
Thread strap back through buckle
29
How to use a Trangia stove
Last step: This is what it should look like again, ready to use next time.
Should end up looking like this again
30
How to use a Trangia stove
Disclaimer
Every effort has been made to make this guide as complete and accurate
as possible. However, there may be mistakes in typography or content.
While we have taken great care in providing accurate advice there may
be small errors in measurements or the accuracy of advice. For these we
apologise in advance.
The purpose of this guide is to educate. The author and the publisher
does not warrant that the information contained in this guide is fully
complete and shall not be responsible for any errors or omissions. The
author and publisher shall have neither liability nor responsibility to any
person or entity with respect to any loss or damage caused or alleged to
be caused directly or indirectly by this guide.
Copyright
This guide is copyright and the content may not be produced in any form
without permission. Copyright © Frank & Sue Wall – 2010.
The authors may be contacted by email at foodtogo@ourhikingblog.com.
au for permission to reproduce any information or to make suggestions
that can improve this guide.
Thanks
Many thanks to Georgie Bull for writing this fantastic “How to Guide”.
Her attention to detail and excellent way with words have helped create
a fine eBook. In addition, many thanks to our eBook “guru” Bill Journee
for his terrific design work.
Both Bill and Georgie love getting their heads around new projects. If you
would like any similar high quality work undertaken, at very reasonable
rates, contact Georgie via enquiries@ourhikingblog.com.au and Bill at
mr@billi.am.
31