Last Sunday I experienced a quite dangerous behavior of my old and (no more) faithful mini Trangia. Luckily all happened in open air, on a sandy, bare ground, as if inside a tent it could have turned out if not in disaster, at list in very very unpleasant moments. Brewing my afternoon tea, with proper homemade windshield, bowl filled at brim and frying pan as cover, I forgot to keep an aie at the first boiling signs. Boiling water overflew, making alcohol fiercely out boiling from the burner in the pot stand, and over to the surroundings. A real fireball. No issue, just my homemade windshield a bit scorched, but I do believe it's something to keep in mind with these little son of a too sexually generous mother.
you are right Terry, and I presented my experience just to suggest to take care even with what could be wrongly considered a quite harmless stove. Even small pets can bite hard if provoked.
- reminds me of the one time I saw a tent set properly alight from a stove: the tent belonged to an outdoor centre instructor who had left his stove unattended while he went to check that the students were managing their stoves in a safe manner Ian.
@orsoorso Thanks for the warning. This is something that I had never even considered as a possible risk with such simple burners. One to log in the memory banks for when I use Trangias with my scouts. Regards John
Pot boiling over or not, the mini trangias are prone to overheat and become fireballs. Not enough ventilation around the burner if wind is too low. Designed to be used as is, I think an additional windscreen would make it worse.
but without a proper windshield mini trangia is absolutely useless, even a very light breeze will rob all the heat. On the other hand, in absence of over boiling or hot water spilled in the burner-pot stand in any climate (even hot tropics) I never got a fireball from the mini trangia. Maybe simply lucky.
I believe the 28 was a feeble attempt to overcome mainly US resistance to the 'massive' 25 & 27 back when alcohol stoves were not so popular.
Could be. I thought the 28 would be a good idea, marketing probably, and after I got it, I was not impressed. Later the 27, small for me, and now the 25. An incredibly well designed kit.
And I thank you for that! I have used it several times without issue. Using the simmer ring instead of having the burner on "full blast" makes a 28 a lot more user friendly. orsoorso, would you please post a pic of your windscreen?
I think a windshield is safe to use if it's windy. But in calm conditions care should be taken to get better ventilation. I've had mine run away when fired indoors only, but I've heard of others who've had it happen outside aswell. I guess the grade of alcohol makes a difference. Here a lot of people tip a small amount of water into the alcohol before lighting, which will calm it down a bit and make for a better cleaner burn aswell. (But not a good idea in comd weather. Harder to get lit.)
I used my mini on a very cold and windy day in Iowa a few years ago, and was pleased with its performance. A pretty nice cooking system for one person, in a small package. ....Arch
I love my Mini T28. Correct assumption concerning the windscreen and I keep AL foil & paper clip with mine. The 28 lives in my day pack.
My Mini 28 too lives in my day pack, and now I know for certain that it is dangerously jealous of my attention. It deserve ìt and I'll never again will live it alone, when lit.
It's a good object lesson for all of us. I don't think there's any stove that should be left alone when lit. The time between "uh oh, something's not right" and fireball can be very short. ....Arch
I do like that windscreen, but to me, it looks a bit restrictive, especially with a pot on the burner. Perhaps adding one more panel to it and extending the circle around the burner & pot would be a solution? It's been a while, but I seem to recall that an overheated Trangia burner will also bubble/boil/splatter. I think this happened to me once while I was experimenting with a Trangia winter/preheating set up. The burner overheated and the alcohol bubbled up and out of the burner.