As another alternative for the future, a 96 fits in the smaller pot of a mess tin set. http://m.gooutdoors.co.uk/hi-gear-aluminium-mess-set-p321330 Aluminium quality in the link is probably poor, but there are better out there. Took that away a couple of times, larger pot covers quite nicely. Almost as if designed for it. (you never know) (sounds of scurrying feet to the camping kit in background) Just to add, for Batchelors super rice or whatever it's called now the packet volume is exactly the water quantity needed to cook the rice.
Howdy, @Simes , Thanks for the excellent suggestion! I, like you, love the 96, in all it's forms, and have happily used it for many years. However, this particular trip is going to be a Meths, only, proposition. Hence, my testing and considering only Meths stoves and the kits that go with them. I believe I have picked the best of what I own, and now I'm just trying to decide on which one to bring. Leaning, quite heavily, towards Gary's excellent kit. But, we'll see how it turns out..... Thanks, again, for your great suggestion. I've used the 96 stove(s), with a variety of pots over the years, and the Sigg Inoxal is one of our most favorites with those stoves.. A bit heavy, but darn it, they allow wonderful cooking, and clean up quite easily. Take care, and God Bless! Every Good Wish, Doc
@Doc Mark Apolgies for the drift away from meths, classic CCS off topic thing I guess. I have never seriously used meths out and about and the thread is interesting for your selection options if I was to consider it myself, the actual volume of kit has always made me think twice with Trangia. Have the Lidl version and is it Optimus? Used once and now on the shelf. Aquantance uses them for everything camping with family so can't say anything against it as really need to get out there with one and learn the tricks. Again a good prompt to visit the kit that's sitting unused and parctice a bit.
@Simes the key thing with trangias is you pack the one thing and a bottle of fuel to give you simple set up in all weather. they have their weak points but rarely go wrong so are ideal for beginners or kids. not cheap but they last forever, even the copies which used to cost 8 quid from lidl aldi a few years ago which as a scout leader was a steal as I could buy 5 stoves for the price of one trangia so had no fears about them getting lost, abused, stolen, squashed etc... parents didn't mind buying them either which was a good thing. the only downside is the criminal prices they charge for meths in the UK, 6 quid for 500ml? its almost cheaper to use vodka. I used to be able to pick up 500ml bottles for 80p when B&Q were charging £4.50. 5l for a fiver from Trago mills bought in bulk every few years. surgical spirit is often cheaper, easier to get and smells better. Trago is still the cheapest the next is toolstation IIRC. I blame gordon brown and his biofuels scam.
that's what it should be but here in the UK prices seems get jacked up to whatever people think idiots will pay, I get silicone sealant for £1.50 a tube compared to 8 for the same thing in the DIY sheds. I used to get 20 litres delivered for £26 now they want 52 plus postage. I'm tempted to build a still and make my own. same with our fuel prices, petrol is 80 percent tax now.
About the same here, and from a stove hobbyists point of view, not much perhaps, but it still gripes me, since they produce this stuff in huge industrial quantities. All of "our" fuels doubled or tripled in price about 7 or 8 years ago, it seems. I had no idea the price was so high in the UK.
as soon as the commodities buyers worked out that food had a higher value if you burn it we have seen no end of problems in the global food and fuel markets. something like a 40% increase in global average food prices as sugar, wheat and corn ended up as bioethanol. denatured alcohol is even more expensive and only available from a chemist or wholesaler. if you register to use it for heating and buy 100 gal per year then it's a lot cheaper.
Anything we buy from big business that is mass produced is marked up the same way. How does $2 a bushel for oats that the farmer gets paid turn into $4.50 for a small box of Cheerios?
At least the Cheerios are highly processed. The alcohol comes from big vats (or so I imagine). It's clearly "what the market will bear" pricing. I think Coleman finally produced a reaction when its $3.99/gal fuel went to 14 bucks or so. Along came WalMart and Crown.....
coleman fuel here has been 5 pounds for a 500ml can for at least 20 years. camp shops seemed to have decided that it didn't matter whether you bought meths, coleman, gas cans or hexamine tablets. a fiver was what they decided to charge regardless. one reason I bought my firejet was I could ask someone at a gas pump to fill my 1l sigg bottle and give them a pound with a 25p tip included (uk has a thing of min purchase 2l which makes it awkward when on a bicycle or carrying a backpack) methanol used to be a by product of industrial charcoal making along with creosote IIRC - wood alcohol. now as I understand it they can make it without the wood. stuff like heet we can't get over here
@crazydave789 How about these guys. https://ekofuel.org/alcohol-camping-fuel.html probably not the cheapest out there. Quick check it was the Optimus 91 Purple Flame when they were going in bulk online a few years ago. Got 2 of the Lidl versions and they go nicely with the Lidl non stick pans. Appreciate the simplicity and one fuel and being ideal for Scouts over pressure devices. Just never got around to becoming as proficient as I would like. Turm 38 does the coffee duties indoors.
Hi Dave Welcome to the forum. I think you are confusing things here, in your posts you have used the words bioethanol, meths, denatured alcohol to label separate products. When to all intents and purposes they are as far as the UK (and EU countries) are the same thing made to the same standards. Basically 90% ethanol and >=95% ethanol. As Prescribed by HMRC first in 2013 and updated in 2017 See Here Surgical spirit has a very loose standard (if you can call it that ) and can be as little as 70% ethanol. Not worth trying unless there isn't anything else IMHO. There used to be all sorts of myth and mystery around alcohol for burning but it's easy now, check the bottle >=90% ethanol good >=95% ethanol better but not really worth worrying about. The only thing I'll say about price is, if walking for a weekend, my pre walk pint costs considerably more than the alcohol I'll use to cook over the next two days. So not a massive issue to me. YMMV to quote Doc.
@crazydave789 In Norway you can get 4 liters of denatured alcohol for GBP 12. Coleman fuel is also expensive here. But why buy it when you can get 5 liters Aspen 4 or an equivalent for GBP 14.
CONTINUING THE METHS MADNESS: Good Morning, Afternoon, or Evening, Chaps, (depending on where you are!), It's cold, foggy, and drippy, up here in our mountains, which is just the kind of weather that SB and I love for backpacking, or hiking!!! Yeah, I know.... the warm, balmy days are nice, too. But, we've had plenty of those warm days, and it's great to see the season changing, which offers us a different kind of enjoyment! This morning, I got side-tracked, just a tad, as I remembered I'd not fired up the neat Sirram Atmospheric #4 that @snwcmpr very kindly sent my way, to go with the Garrison tea kettle set I bought on the "bay" recently. Thanks for Ken for actually making me aware of that neat Garrison set, and for sending the burner that would work well in it!! Much appreciated, my Friend! In any case, here are a few photos of that set, from first lighting, to full, rolling boil: With the light background, it's hard to see the steam, but look carefully, and it's there!! So, there you have it, Gentlemen, and Ladies! The little Garrison/Sirram combo did a great job at boiling up for a nice brew! Thanks, again, Ken, for helping facilitate both the kettle, and the burner! Much appreciated!!! Now, I have to do some clean-up, as SB is coming home today, from our latest job, and all the stoves I've spread around the Living room, and kitchen, will have to be neatly tucked away..... for now!! But, the Meths stoves in discussion, will remain easy to grab, as the testing has job begun, and yesterday, I found some good Knorr soups, and more tasty goodies, to combine into some test meals. The cooking of these meals will most definitely make my choice for me, after I see how the stoves perform!! More later, and have a great day, one and all!! Take care, and God Bless! Every Good Wish, Doc
@shagratork Trevor, you asked me a question, and I'm embarrassed to say that I totally forgot to answer it!! My humble apology, dear Friend! You wrote: "Hi Doc, thanks for the explanation. The dehydrating of a sauce sounds excellent. For some time I have thought about buying a dehydrator, so I will now look into it. From your experience are there any particular features that will make a certain dehydrator better than another?" Trevor, when we found our old dehydrator, we had no experience with using such a thing. But, as we were backpacking regularly, and as the freeze-dried foods at that time, were absolutely horrid, having the consistency of cardboard, and tasting even worse, we wanted to give home dehydrating a try. When we stumbled upon the unit that's now ours, at "that same old swap meet", the price was low, and we decided to give it a try. That was one of the best decisions we've ever made, when it comes to making your own meals for camping, hiking, and backpacking!! The unit we have is quite large, and we are glad it is. Super small units can do a good job, but they make such small batches, that you work harder to create a pantry of ready-made food. So, I suggest buying the largest dehydrator that you can manage to use and store at your home. When we first got started, we bought several books on the subject, and pored over them intently, trying this recipe, and that, and eventually found the ways that worked for us. We've dehydrated veggies, fruits, sauces, beef, chicken, and bison, and as mentioned in a previous post, we can make our own fruit and sauce "leathers", which really help kick up the taste of your meals. We tried fish, but to us, it took too long, and no matter what we did, fish simply did not last as long as the other goodies. Not worth your time, IMHO. IF you feel like making your own dehydrator, you might seek out a little book called, "Dry it, You'll Like It", by Gen MacManiman. It is a self-published book, and the last revision, of which I know, was done in January, 1983. In it, are some good tips, and suggestions, and also the plans for building your own dehydrator out of wood. I'm sure that, by now, there is a veritable cornucopia of information on dehydrators and dehydrating your own meals. So, do some searching, read up on the do's and don'ts of dehydrating, and go for it! Once you get your unit, and begin experimenting, I am fairly sure that you will be VERY happy that you gave dehydrating a try!!! Back when we did the first 850 miles of the Pacific Crest Trail, we met tons of other backpackers, and NONE of them ate as well as we were eating!! We shared our fare with many a starving thu-hiker that year. In fact, we became something of celebrities, as folks that met us, would often say, "Oh, you're the couple who dehydrated all your own meals!! We heard your food was fantastic!" By the way, if you have a gas oven, you can also dehydrate using that, though it's not near as convenient as having a real dehydrator. So, in summary, my best advice to you is to figure out what you wish to do with a dehydrator, and how large a unit you can conveniently use and store at your home. That will make shopping easier. If it were me, I'd spend the money, and get a larger, slightly more expensive unit. Though the smaller, plastic ones can do a good job, they are simply too small to crank out more volume of whatever you are drying. The bigger ones, with the pull-out shelves, such as we have, will help you create your own pantry of stored food, and all of it will be tasty, easy to cook, and very nutritious!! I hope that helps answer some of your questions, but if you need more info, or have a specific question, please give me a shout, and I will get right back to you!! Take care, and God Bless! Every Good Wish, Mark
Well said Doc. A gas oven set as low as possible with the door ajar to evacuated moisture is a great method.
