Stoves and Cookwear

[stubbie]

Anyone needing parts for their kero stoves might well benefit from a peruse at:
http://www.oillamps.com.au/index.htm
and their stove parts specific page:
http://www.oillamps.com.au/Kero.html#KE ... VE%20PARTS
Hope this helps

I could almost kiss you rifraf.
I've got two 100-year-old brass lamps with the tall glasses that I inherited from my grandmother. I've been told at several outlets that no one still makes those mantles.

I'm gonna take a rain check on that kiss stubbie lol.
Glad I could help.
Be aware much of Aussie kero stinks and isnt the best indoors.
Try to find de-odoured kero if you can.
I'm not sure if its available over here but it is in some countries.
Very hard to get in NZ unless you buy a 200lt drum and then they tell you you need special storage conditions.
Nightmare.
Dont use aviation kero (jet fuel) as I'm told it has some very nasty additives.
I lived off the grid for 5 years and relied on kero mostly for lighting, cooking and warmth.

I've been off the grid for years myself (stand-alone solar) but there are times I'd just like to have one of these going for the soft light they throw.
My grandmother taught me how to clean, light and maintain them when I was a kid so I'm pretty OK with the kero business.
Mind you, she also taught me how to light the wood stove with a sheet of newspaper, a couple of sticks and 300ml of diesel.

[winstonw]

MSR have been the duck's nuts since the late 70s imho. I did a lot of backpacking and cycle touring back then, and would have bought a MSR, but they were like $180+, which was a hell of a lot of mulah. pic below



So I bought a Peak One Backpacking stove instead, which had superior performance in sub zero environs. pic below



Just got it out of storage the other week, and now leave it in the car. It runs on most hydrocarbon fuels, and has a fixed storage tank with pressure pump under the burner. Hadn't run it since 1992 (?19 years) and it went first go. Brilliant design, but not as simple and light as the MSRs of its era.

[wqlava1]

Anyone needing parts for their kero stoves might well benefit from a peruse at:
http://www.oillamps.com.au/index.htm
and their stove parts specific page:
http://www.oillamps.com.au/Kero.html#KE ... VE%20PARTS
Hope this helps

I could almost kiss you rifraf.
I've got two 100-year-old brass lamps with the tall glasses that I inherited from my grandmother. I've been told at several outlets that no one still makes those mantles.

Dunno if it's still there but there used to be a shop in Elizabeth St Melb on the left heading north, a bit up from Cecil Walkers, that specialized in these lamps too.

[il padrone]

a shop in Elizabeth St Melb on the left heading north, a bit up from Cecil Walkers,

stubbie's a bit too far away to just drop in there

[rifraf]

I lived off the grid for 5 years and relied on kero mostly for lighting, cooking and warmth.

If you don't mind me asking, why so long, and why did you come back "onto" the grid?

Max

Hi Max,
sorry for the late response but I nearly missed your post.
A situation of a personal nature created the need for an alternative source
of heat and light.
That situation no longer exists.

[rifraf]

[
I've been off the grid for years myself (stand-alone solar) :

With the amount of sunshine hours here in Aus I'm surprised there isnt a battery bank in every house.
Solar power and the quality of inverters have come a long way.
I reckon with the price of elec-trickery going through the roof we'll see more and more of it happening .

[Max]

I lived off the grid for 5 years and relied on kero mostly for lighting, cooking and warmth.

If you don't mind me asking, why so long, and why did you come back "onto" the grid?

Max

Hi Max,
sorry for the late response but I nearly missed your post.
A situation of a personal nature created the need for an alternative source
of heat and light.
That situation no longer exists.

Gotcha. I asked the question because (as it turns out) you and I mean different things by "off the grid". I thought you meant "off the grid" as in completely off the radar/out of sight/out in the boonies/unabomber shack/no fixed address/homeless/government doesn't know you exist/living in a cult/something like that. It turns out you meant "off the power grid". Geez, I was hoping for a juicy tale of self-sufficient living off the land, or maybe a story of how you escaped from the tin-foil brigade!

Max

[rifraf]

Dunno if it's still there but there used to be a shop in Elizabeth St Melb on the left heading north, a bit up from Cecil Walkers, that specialized in these lamps too.

I'm suspecting that the shop you "might" be referring to is T W Sands & Co at 449 Elizabeth St Melbourne
They have now moved to 508 Swanston Street Carlton 3053
Mon-Fri 9:00am – 5:00pm
Sat 9:00am – 1:00pm
Tel: (03) 9347 2804
Fax: (03) 9347 9120
Email: sandsman@ozemail.com.au

[rifraf]

Try to find de-odoured kero if you can.
I'm not sure if its available over here but it is in some countries.

I wasnt looking for it but spotted this site:
http://www.recochem.com.au/index.php/pr ... _low_odour
So I believe that yes!
De-odoured kero (or low odour) is available in Aus.

I dragged out my Optimus 111C stove today and cranked it up.
I found a single mug stove top expresso machine at Aldi for $10 so I grabbed it.
As I type I'm enjoying a mug of coffee - I'll justify it somehow when I tour.
Cant resist the luxury of a real coffee even when roughing it.
The stove is going good but I notice that the defusers (theres two perforated caps) on the Optimus are old and corroded
and in need of replacement.
I've added these to my must get list with the alcohol nipple/jet for meths burning

[rifraf]

Well FFS,
Wiggles package arrived today.
Wrong Trangia with different model number.
I see they have now put up the price of the model I ordered.
I'm just about over this buying over the net.
First order was via starbike and took a month to arrive.
This order was nine day and now its gotta go back to the UK and then get checked and then another nine days.
Seems like what I'm saving in cash I'm forking out in high blood pressure and frustration.
Easily done I suppose from a rushed staff member but bloody frustrating all the same.
I've just sent them an email but of course being the weekend.........
I'll update you when I get a result

Result
Well I got a good result from Wiggle.
My Trangia 27-8 arrived today.
I dont have to send back the 27-2
It took 14 days to get to me as opposed to the original orders 9 to get to me
which took the edge off all my fingernails but I'm now a happy camper.
Good on them for sorting it out at no cost to myself.
Very professional

I feel I now have something I'm prepared to try to use as opposed to
not being interested in the plain aluminum of the 27-2.

I cranked it up to boil the jug as I fancied a cuppa.
FFS - you wouldnt want to be gasping....
I went inside and flicked on the electric kettle as I was thirsty "NOW".
I wasn't impressed by the "soot"(?) on the bottom of the jug especially
as the Aussie metho is clear (I've only ever seen purple before).
No probs as it wiped off with a sponge, some detergent and a bit of elbow grease.
I'm going to try to do some porridge in it tomorrow morning if I've time.
The Optimus is a little too hot for this and tends to burn in hot spots if you stop stirring.
Saying that nothing beats the Optimus in my limited experience for sorting some hot water for a cuppa though.

[WarrenH]

... I wasn't impressed by the "soot"(?) on the bottom of the jug especially
as the Aussie metho is clear (I've only ever seen purple before)...

Add about 20-25% water by volume to the metho then light the Trangia burner ... goodbye soot.

Warren.

[il padrone]

I reckon 20-25% would be way too much water to add. You'd run the risk of severely blowing out your boil times. Recommendations I've heard have been around 5-10% max.

Personally I don't bother. The stove will boil more efficiently without the water and the soot is controllable. I reckon it just works like pot black, as long as you don't let it build too much. I try to avoid cooking with the smaller pot so the soot doesn't get transferred from the base of it into the big pot when packed up, and also use some chux clothes to pad the pots out. About every 5 days or so (or where I have good hot water supplies) I will scrub the soot off with a pot-scourer.

[rifraf]

... I wasn't impressed by the "soot"(?) on the bottom of the jug especially
as the Aussie metho is clear (I've only ever seen purple before)...

Add about 20-25% water by volume to the metho then light the Trangia burner ... goodbye soot.

Warren.

Adding water eh?
I seem to remember reading that somewhere before.
Thanks for your contribution and reminder.

[rifraf]

I reckon 20-25% would be way too much water to add. You'd run the risk of severely blowing out your boil times. Recommendations I've heard have been around 5-10% max.

Personally I don't bother. The stove will boil more efficiently without the water and the soot is controllable. I reckon it just works like pot black, as long as you don't let it build too much. I try to avoid cooking with the smaller pot so the soot doesn't get transferred from the base of it into the big pot when packed up, and also use some chux clothes to pad the pots out. About every 5 days or so (or where I have good hot water supplies) I will scrub the soot off with a pot-scourer.

That chux idea is brilliant as I was contemplating today an alternative to the wrapping brown paper that they came with.
I was thinking of something to slow down any scuffing or chaffing of the anodizing/non stick.
I certainly dont wont to blow out my boil times which was slow enough with the Trangia compared to the Optimus.
I think I'm going to grab a new Optimus Hiker plus as well as after reading some of the other products available from the website
you were looking at a new tent - I've decided that my wallet, like my liver, is evil and must be punished!

[il padrone]

I certainly dont wont to blow out my boil times which was slow enough with the Trangia compared to the Optimus.
I think I'm going to grab a new Optimus Hiker plus as well as after reading some of the other products available from the website
you were looking at a new tent - I've decided that my wallet, like my liver, is evil and must be punished!

Or there's this one - not cheap but designed to match in with the Trangia.

[rifraf]

They dont appear to name the stove there but I did mention in an above thread seeing a kit on ebay to convert the trangia to
run via an optimus nova plus.
I'm pretty relaxed about the boiling/cooking speed of the trangia but sometimes I do appreciate a speedy cup of tea/coffee.
I could see myself taking both on a tour, much to the chagrin of the weight weenies.
I'm someone who drinks tea.
I have probably 10-12 cups a day as well as a couple of cups of perk coffee.
Going back to the conversions;
I like the cased optimus because of
1, its intense heat for fast water boil
2, its multi fuel use
3, its easy fold away and forget ability (dirty or clean)

The nova, msr, primus bottle with pump versions just dont do it for me at all I've decided.
I just like the fold away case versions of the hiker, the 111's and the 8R.
I can no longer be bothered sourcing the white spirits for the 8R so lean towards the 111 for its "any fuel" and the Hiker for its "most fuels".
Now I've got both the Trangia and the Optimus it'll have to be either a coin toss on the day or a lower gear to lugg both around me tinks

[rifraf]

I got my Nova from America through ebay a few years ago, I think it was just under $200 but couldn't be sure, a bargain anyway. I think they have been upgraded a fair bit since I got mine but mine still works fine. It seems to be such a well made piece of kit, very hardy and it came with a few little bits for maintenance which I'm yet to use. One of the things that impressed me about it is how well thought out it is in design. I can't speak highly enough of it, my only gripe is that I don't get to use it more. I use shellite in it which I have found burns nice and clean but it's a multi-fuel job so anything goes probably, even jet fuel if you are game.

I'm not so sure I'd worry about the upgraded version is this is anything to go by:
http://adventuresinstoving.blogspot.com ... -nova.html
They seem fairly sure the older version is the better one.
The current ones have just been under recall
http://www.aushiker.com/2010/12/recall- ... epair-kit/

[gdt]

I own a few stoves. The factor no one has mentioned is noise. I own some MSRs from the 1980s and 1990s and they sound like a Concorde on the runway. Those stoves only have two temperatures -- off and burning your dinner to the bottom of the pan -- as they are optimised for turning snow into water at altitude (and for that one job they are unmatched). The multifuel feature is a bit misleading -- you only ever eat one meal cooked with unleaded petrol before deciding the food would taste better cold.

I also own various Trangias and they're much slower (and thus controlled) and very quiet. The "frying pan" is a joke, and not a funny one as it is heavy. You might consider replacing it with a thin plastic cutting board with the corners cut off to fit inside the trangie. The Decor plastic cup is just the right size to slide over the cooking element, and so you can fit all of your cooking and eating tools into the one folded trangie. I also toss in a cutting knife, high quality plastic cutlery (thanks Qantas of old), a chux, a corner of a plastic scourer, and standard matches inside a Kodak 35mm film canister. If you put the whole thing inside a nylon bag (and some manufacturers make those in trangie sizes) then the soot won't transfer to other things in the pack.

[hartleymartin]

http://homemadealcoholstoves.webs.com/p ... tstove.htm

I made one of these about a year ago, and have been quite happily using it to cook my campsite dinners. Uses about 45ml of Metho per burn, which goes for about 6 or 7 minutes. Boils a pot of potatoes in one go, boils a litre of water in about 3 minutes. I use a pot that I bought from salvo's for about $2. One Litre of Metho is good for up to about 20 cooks, so nearly a week if you play your cards right.

Takes about 15 minutes to make one from two discarded cans. I use either the lid of my camping tiffen or a milo tin lid for a primer pan. (It is quite literally made from rubbish!) It burns well, and I used a map pin to make the holes. Don't know if this has had any effect on the burn time or heat, but it works.

It is more environmentally friendly because:

1. It is made from rubbish
2. It burns methylated spirits (one of the cleanest fuels)
3. No cartridges to through out (metho bottle is recyclable plastic)
4. Didn't have to get it airmailed or shipped from anywhere

It also has the advantage of weighing practically nothing, and fitting inside my camping tiffen along with a few other cooking odds and ends.

[rifraf]

I own a few stoves. The factor no one has mentioned is noise. I own some MSRs from the 1980s and 1990s and they sound like a Concorde on the runway. Those stoves only have two temperatures -- off and burning your dinner to the bottom of the pan -- as they are optimised for turning snow into water at altitude (and for that one job they are unmatched). The multifuel feature is a bit misleading -- you only ever eat one meal cooked with unleaded petrol before deciding the food would taste better cold.

Hi gdt,
I've had the unleaded petrol conversation with many a tramper and been told that "unleaded petrol" or "gasolene" is Euro talk for white spirits
and nothing really to do with what goes into your car, motorbike or lawnmower.
I agree with your mention of noise factor.
The reason I paid a premium for my 111C optimus was because the B version (which was heaps cheaper) came with a burner unit known as a "roarer"
for obvious reasons (well obvious if you've ever used one in the sanctity of a previously quiet place).
The B totally ruined the ambiance of any back country place with no noise pollution.
As bad as someone turning up with a generator in my opinion.
Hey they work great but definitely no good for the morning after a night on the sharaz.
I'm currently tempted by a new Optimus Hiker plus as you can no longer easily find a 111T (with the silent burner).
I've been hoping to find a new old stock 111C or T but they are like rocking horse droppings now.
I may have to get used to the roarer burner of the current hiker/nova range.

[rifraf]

If you put the whole thing inside a nylon bag (and some manufacturers make those in trangie sizes) then the soot won't transfer to other things in the pack.

I've been surprised at the amount of soot given off by metho as I mentioned in an earlier post.
I have just bought a Trangia myself as mentioned above in a previous post.
One of the things I love about the Optimus if you can just close the lid on it - dirty or clean- and not visit soot or fat etc. on any other item.
A very handy feature if you arrive at your campsite late or just too knackered to clean up after a hard days slog in the saddle.

[rifraf]

I dragged out my Optimus 111C stove today and cranked it up.
The stove is going good but I notice that the defusers (theres two perforated caps) on the Optimus are old and corroded
and in need of replacement.
I've added these to my must get list with the alcohol nipple/jet for meths burning

I just managed to pick up a brass burner unit for my optimus 111C off fleabay.
It arrived safely today and set me back $40 delivered from the UK.
This was an absolute steal as new old stock or second hand in good nick and low use 111C's or 111T's fetch big bucks on Ebay.
I still have to get the appropriate metho nipple and a holed jet housing for my unit but I've just made sure I'll have it
for many a year to come.

[Aushiker]

Hi

Nice find rifraf and thanks for reminding me I need to look into an alcohol stove (or some other alternative) for my dreaming tour. Getting canisters maybe an issue up north and I suspect posting them does not go down well with Australia Post or do people post gas canister cans okay?

Thanks
Andrew

[il padrone]

Trangia would be the best idea I'd think (subject to metho availability - questionable in some places). You have neither the cold temps nor the altitude that makes gas or shellite stoves a wise choice. A lot of places out in the bush you may find yourself resorting to the time-honoured campfire for cooking anyway. Saves on fuel

[Aushiker]

Trangia would be the best idea I'd think (subject to metho availability - questionable in some places). You have neither the cold temps nor the altitude that makes gas or shellite stoves a wise choice. A lot of places out in the bush you may find yourself resorting to the time-honoured campfire for cooking anyway. Saves on fuel

Sold my Trangia ... really way to bulky for my needs but I am considering an alcohol stove. I need to keep in mind but that "up north" is only part of the ride ... I will over time of course be heading south into the end of winter/spring where it will be colder and so wood fires maybe not be so easy to get happening. Mind you it can even rain in the dry in NT. Also at least in WA gathering wood in NP is not allowed.





I suspect I will be able to get methos at the bigger towns okay.

Something like the AntiGravityGear Katahdin stove is a possible option



or I might splash out on a new cooking kit and get the Evernew Titanium Minimalist Set (ECA268) as I could do with a new pot anyway. This kit uses Esbit tablets, alcohol and wood as fuel plus has the windscreen of course and more importantly is is Titanium





Andrew