# New alternative Trangia fuel 'Greenheat'



## Brock (27 Apr 2008)

I've not come across this Greenheat stuff before, and not sure how good it is, but I'm thinking one could possibly be worth carrying as a backup for times when meths is scarce. Anyone tried them?

Rather unenlightening website for the company here:www.greenheat.co.za


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## vernon (27 Apr 2008)

Brock said:


> I've not come across this Greenheat stuff before, and not sure how good it is, but I'm thinking one could possibly be worth carrying as a backup for times when meths is scarce. Anyone tried them?
> 
> Rather unenlightening website for the company here:www.greenheat.co.za



It's an expensive way of carrying a spare bottle of meths 

I've not had any problems getting my hands on meths in the UK or in France. If I really desperate for a meths supply, I'd buy a bottle of rum and drink the surplus.....


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## Brock (27 Apr 2008)

Is it expensive? 3.99 for two tins, 2 hours burn time each.. Pretty sure I've been ripped off more for meths than that before. I've ordered some anyway, I'll throw one in the bottom of a pannier along with the cous cous emergency rations.
I think I'd feel safer using that to cook in the tent porch when rained in too, less chance of flaming spillage catastrophes I guess.

I do like the rum idea though, will keep that in mind.


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## Brains (28 Apr 2008)

Used Greenheat before, very good, has the advantage that you can move the flame up and down to a degree.

Also sooting is less that using (watered down) meths

Now a days I use meths or greenheat as the backup to my Trangia. Most of the time I use gas as the main source of power


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## Stick on a Giant (29 Apr 2008)

Brock, make sure you've got plenty of time if you use this stuff - if you think meths is a bit slow...
We used it to boil a kettle once, and haven't used it again since, it was that bad. Possibly we had a duff, but it's put me off.


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## Brock (29 Apr 2008)

Stick on a Giant said:


> Brock, make sure you've got plenty of time if you use this stuff - if you think meths is a bit slow...
> We used it to boil a kettle once, and haven't used it again since, it was that bad. Possibly we had a duff, but it's put me off.



Ah, interesting. Well I got the twin pack delivered this morning, I'll run a Trangia kettle experiment and post results just for interest's sake.


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## Brock (29 Apr 2008)

Ok I've finished my unscientific experimentation, Greenheat vs Meths, let the battle commence!


The Greenheat 'fuel cell' is a tidy little thing, I'd feel fairly safe throwing an unopened one in the bottom of a pannier.






Eww...Icky





The Greenheat 'fuel cells' come with a springy ring thing that allows it to sit in the Trangia burner hole. Helpful marks on the tin show where to position the ring so as to bring the flame higher for the frying pan or lower for the pans.





Here it is sitting neatly in the Trangia. The gooey green slime lights very easily, at the first flick of my lighter, though you can't really see the flame here.





A full kettle (25 series kettle, filled to just below the spout, more than two large mugs of water) placed straight away onto the flame.





Some 18 minutes later the kettle was boiling, not exactly speedy as has been suggested. Ok it's more water than I'd usually boil, but you certainly couldn't call it a 'quick cuppa'.

The greenheat is extinguished with a quick blow, something you can't really do with the meths burner, and very quickly it is cool enough to replace the plastic lid, which fits tightly, but I wouldn't be so keen to throw it back into a pannier now. The green stuff looks really quite messy, I'd hate it to empty itself over my clothes. I'd probably tie it securely in a plastic bag before packing it up. As a plus the underside of the kettle is completely unsooted, which is nice. Very little of the fuel appears to have been burned.





Now the same procedure, same kettle (cooled) on the meths burner, unwatered meths.





It still seems to take an age, watched kettle and all that, but after 11 minutes the water is boiling. So as suggested, considerably quicker.

So in conclusion, Meths certainly wins as far as flame temperature, however honourable mention has to go to Greenheat for it's neat container, spill resistance, lack of soot and, apparently, more environmentally friendliness. I've no idea how it rates against meths for weight / heat output. Maybe speed of boil is less important to you than the rolling weight of your packed touring bicycle, in which case I guess more experimentation would be needed. 


As a little bonus experiment, I let the meths burner cool and then boiled the same amount of water in the large pan, with frying pan lid. As I'd always suspected, this was a faster way of boiling the same amount of water than in the kettle, taking just 7 minutes.
Still, there's something comforting about having a kettle, and it's easier to pour.


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## vernon (29 Apr 2008)

Brock said:


> Ok I've finished my unscientific experimentation, Greenheat vs Meths, let the battle commence!
> 
> 
> So in conclusion, Meths certainly wins as far as flame temperature, however honourable mention has to go to Greenheat for it's neat container, spill resistance, lack of soot and, apparently, more environmentally friendliness. I've no idea how it rates against meths for weight / heat output. Maybe speed of boil is less important to you than the rolling weight of your packed touring bicycle, in which case I guess more experimentation would be needed.



Now try rum. I'm willing to drink the remainder for you


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## Brock (29 Apr 2008)

vernon said:


> Now try rum. I'm willing to drink the remainder for you



I'm not particularly partial to rum, but if I did try it I'm sure there wouldn't be any 'remainder'... hic..
You can send me a bottle though if you like?


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## vernon (29 Apr 2008)

Brock said:


> I'm not particularly partial to rum, but if I did try it I'm sure there wouldn't be any 'remainder'... hic..
> You can send me a bottle though if you like?



I can happily recommend Wray and Nephew's overproof white cane spirit. It burns very well and I intimidate drinking cronies by igniting an oral spray of the stuff. It makes a pretty good fire ball.

S'pose I could squander some in a Trangia.....schurppp....belch....nahhh....


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## JackE (1 May 2008)

*trangia*

Brock,
Noticed your small bottle of meths in the photos. As part of my work, I buy gallons of it each year in 4 ltr containers for just under £9 (inc Vat) from my local paint wholesaler. It's the cheapest way of firing up a Trangia and it will "keep" for years.


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## Brock (1 May 2008)

Yeah you're right Jack, those small bottles are a complete ripoff. That one is a leftover from a cycle tour in the summer. Isn't stashing 4 litres of the stuff at home a bit of a fire hazard?


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## vernon (1 May 2008)

Brock said:


> Yeah you're right Jack, those small bottles are a complete ripoff. That one is a leftover from a cycle tour in the summer. Isn't stashing 4 litres of the stuff at home a bit of a fire hazard?



Shouldn't be. It's got a lower vapour pressure and a higher, lower explosive limit(lel). It's also got a higher flashpoint (14 C) than petrol (-40 C !!!) and lots of folk park 10 or so gallons of the latter stuff in garages everyday not to mention the petrol in lawn mowers, chain saws, strimmers and the gallon fuel container for the petrol driven devices....

I don't balk at keeping my overproof rum by my bedside and I'd be quite happy having four litres of it at the ready


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## Tamsinodile (9 Nov 2009)

Hi, can any of you tell me where I can buy the Greenfuel for my Trangia? After seeing your post Brock, I thought I'd try some out, but have scoured the net and can't find a stockist! Where did you get yours from?


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## Brock (9 Nov 2009)

Hi Tamsinodile, I've just scoured the net and can't find any either. I guess it's died a death. Shame because I kind of liked it. I think I got mine from Amazon, but can't remember exactly.
Back to the meths then


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## andyfromotley (10 Nov 2009)

The USA may have NASA, the swiss may have the large hedron collider, but by god, whilst the UK still has people like Brock theres still hope!


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## Tamsinodile (10 Nov 2009)

Thanks Brock! As Andy seems to think you're the font of all knowledge, I'll ask another! I really don't get the difference between the Trangia gas burner add-on, and the multifuel add-on. Is it that the gas one accepts the small blue campingaz type cannisters only, but the multifuel one comes with a cannister that you can pretty much fill with anything? Thanks again!


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## Brock (10 Nov 2009)

hehe....
Yeah I think you're right Tamsin.. the gas one is for gas cannisters, and the multifuel has a bottle into which you can chuck parafin, petrol, kerosene or chicken soup, pump it up a bit and away you go.


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## ComedyPilot (10 Nov 2009)

Brock, if you want free, readily available fuel, try a wood-gas burner.

Just collect dry twigs as you go along.

[Edit: looking for the thread on it]

http://www.backpackinglight.co.uk/page118.asp

Et voila


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## Brock (10 Nov 2009)

That looks nice, something soothing about burning bits of wood. I do like pretending to be Ray Mears when camping


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## willem (11 Nov 2009)

As for Trangia fuel. There was a test recently on Backpackinglight.com of various alcohol types. The brief conclusion was to get high grade (denatured) ethanol (95%) if you can. Methanol is much slower, and poisonous.
Willem


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## andrew_s (11 Nov 2009)

Tamsinodile said:


> Hi, can any of you tell me where I can buy the Greenfuel for my Trangia? After seeing your post Brock, I thought I'd try some out, but have scoured the net and can't find a stockist! Where did you get yours from?


Looks like they've gone bust - they don't have their domain registered any more.
The South African side of things may still be going OK.

There seems to be plenty of the gel sachets still around, but for the Trangia cans this is all I found without looking too hard:
http://www.campingstoves-uk.com/greenheat-gel-cell-69-p.asp

Willem:
What's called "meths" in the UK is about 90% ethanol, 10% methanol


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## ASC1951 (12 Nov 2009)

Brock said:


> I do like pretending to be Ray Mears when camping


Then you are Bear Grylls and I claim my £5!!

Actually, BG doesn't even camp: he gets helicoptered back to his hotel in between shots.


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## Dayvo (12 Nov 2009)

I sat next to a bloke on a flight once who is good mates with Ray Mears.

He said that when Big Ray is back in town, he spends a lot of his time in McDonalds and Burger King!


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## Brock (12 Nov 2009)

Dayvo said:


> I sat next to a bloke on a flight once who is good mates with Ray Mears.
> 
> He said that when Big Ray is back in town, he spends a lot of his time in McDonalds and Burger King!



yeah well.. that'll be because Mcdonalds straws make excellent wicker snow shoes. Don't diss Mears, he's fat because he can bring down a caribou with a cleverly whittled curlew leg without even thinking about it.


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## Brock (12 Nov 2009)

ASC1951 said:


> Then you are Bear Grylls and I claim my £5!!
> 
> Actually, BG doesn't even camp: he gets helicoptered back to his hotel in between shots.



Bear Grylls isn't fit to wipe the fried yak fillet grease from Mears' chin.


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