Gas Trangia Conversion

[Son of a Beach]

I've been very happy with my large Trangia cooking kit for the last 15+ years, but I have missed the convenience, controllability and faster cooking of the old heavy gas stove I used before that. In the meantime, of course, gas stoves have improved dramatically, firstly in weight, but also in the canister connections. Before the Trangia, all the gas canisters I'd seen were just the pierced variety, and once connected to the stove, you don't disconnect it until it's empty.

Well, a mate just gave me an early Christmas present of a Trangia gas kit, on the condition that he could borrow it (and the rest of the large Trangia kit) for a walk he did last weekend. Well I got it all back again today, and set it up on the kitchen bench to try it out for myself.

I am extremely impressed with it. Trangias are not as light-weight as some of the other stove options around, but the convenience of having two pots, a kettle, a frypan and a wind-shield all in the same neat package as the stove itself is very handy (if you are the kind of person who cooks the kinds of food that needs all this gear). Adding the gas to this, now makes it a breeze to use (lets face it, metho is very annoying at times, especially when it comes to adjusting the temperature control). It also means that it cooks MUCH faster. I made my wife a cup of tea (well, I boiled the water for it anyhow), and although I didn't actually to any time trials, it felt like it boiled in about a quarter of the time, with the gas turned down quite low.

This is going to be fanstastic for the next walk I do with a large group, when I take a large steel wok to sit on top of the Trangia. The metho often struggled to get the wok to a good cooking temperature, but I suspect this will be much improved now.



(My Trangia is too old to have the hole in the side for the gas fitting to pass through, so I had to prop it up to let the hose sit under the rim - will fix this properly if I ever get my drill's batter charger fixed).

I highly recommend this upgrade to any Trangia hold-outs like me who have still been using metho for so long. It's a vast improvement, and it all still fits in the kettle with the prondonicles (at least in the large Trangia kettle. I think it would fit in the mid-size Trangia kettle too, but don't quote me on it).

[Tony]

Hi Nik,

Welcome to the world of gas stoves, the Trangia pot stand, windshield and gas stove should make a great system although heavy.

I noticed that the Gas burner has a pre-heat tube which should alow the canister to be turned upsde down for cold weather use, below is a picture of a simple canister stand that I made some years ago, it is made from a spray paint can lid with some holes cut into it for the hose to sit and to operate the control valve. (I will not mention that it is lightweight ) Not every spray paint can lid will be suitable only the ones with the inner ring. Operating the canister on the side is not a good idea as the gas expands some 400 times from liquid to gas state and on the side you could get a mix of liquid and gas.

Kovea gas is the best mixture, in the 230g canisters it is a 30% propane/70% iso-butane mix, in the 450g canister it is only 25% propane/75% iso-butane but still good. MSR canisters are only 20% propane/80% iso-butane and the 230g canisters are usually $5 per canister more expensive that the Kovea 230g canister. The more propane the better they work in cold weather but if you are using them upside down eg liquid feed it does not matter as much.

This is a good site to find out more about canister stoves

http://www.bushwalking.org.au/FAQ/FAQ_G ... m#Powermax

Tony

[Son of a Beach]

Yes, the Trangia gas kit now has the pre-heat tube (I believe the earlier ones did not?), so it should be a good system. Thanks for the info on the gas ratios, and the canister positions. I was not aware of all that, and it is really good to know!

[corvus]

Nik just knew you would be a Gas convert one day

[etrangere]

Take care when using the gas trangia and the kettle..........at full bore it can melt/warp the plastic cover on the handle!

[Liamy77]

how does the trangia system compare with the MSR XGK or lighter cannister stoves? what systems do you preffer?
i havnt really played with the more pricey rigs....

[timmy_pete]

I upgraded about ten months ago and can second Nik's upgrade suggestion. The saved time, weight-to-heat ratio of gas, and improved cooking via better simmer control all make the upgrade well worth it.

how does the trangia system compare with the MSR XGK or lighter cannister stoves?

I haven't used the XGK but I'm assuming both it and the Trangia conversion would work better than the cheaper options in colder temps than the cheaper ones owing to the heating loop, but the XGK obviously has the multi fuel option as well. I also love the ability to adjust the simmer much further away from the stove than the all in one units.

Like Tony, I've read the bushwalking.org FAQ and looked at inverting the canister for a liquid feed. My particular Trangia-branded model was made by Primus (or at least the regulator is branded as such), and has a pre heat tube. Unlike Tony's the regulator and control knob are mounted vertically and jut out approximately 52mm closed and 56mm fully open, which makes his great design for a canister inverter unworkable in my case.

I've played around a bit and made a disc from the base of a CD/DVD bulk pack spindle with the spike removed and a hole made. This fits in between the kettle and pots when packed up, and can also work as a semi-insulating base if using the stove conventionally (with a warmed canister of course!). When used inverted, you can either place the plate ~75-80mm off the ground braced by other things you already carry (not pictured, could be much less stable depending on what you use), or you might be able to fashion a base out of something else. I've got pictured a draft version using the rest of the spindle, which will fit in the stove, but I'm looking at improving the lower element. I'm yet to test this new setup in the snow, but should get the opportunity in a few weeks time.

Liquid feed conversion with inverted gas canister and draft version of canister stand.

TrangiaGasLiquidFeed1.jpg (94.77 KiB) Viewed 7851 times

Closup of nozzle protruding from the adapter plate (no stand).

TrangiaGasLiquidFeed2.jpg (94.23 KiB) Viewed 7851 times

Closeup of Primus branded regulator on the Trangia gas conversion kit.

TrangiaGasLiquidFeed3.jpg (80.43 KiB) Viewed 7851 times

Using the adapter plate as a semi insulating base when using the stove conventionally.

TrangiaGasLiquidFeed4.jpg (99.34 KiB) Viewed 7851 times

Someone a tad more scientifically minded might be able to provide some advice as to whether my clearance is too high when used as a liquid stove. The regulator is currently sitting above the burner and I'm not sure whether gravity feeding is actually necessary as the fuel in the canister is already under pressure. My only thoughts on getting around this, owing to the long regulator, would be to raise the stove as well, but I'd prefer not to have to do this.

About the only thing I wish was included was a piezo igniter, as it is pretty difficult to light it if you use a standard cigarette lighter because of the upper windshield. Ways around this if weather permits include dropping a match inside, or removing the top shield, lighting and replacing it once the gas gets going. Otherwise, its a great, if slightly weighty option(relative to other gas units), and performs very well for a gas stove in cold conditions.

I'd love any feedback or suggestions for the spindle-inverter.

Nik, I'm sure you'll continue to love the conversion.

[gisborne612]

Has anyone used a MSR Windpro? How do they compare?