The Gold Standard
I think that the Trangia B25 spirit burner is instantly recognizable to anyone who has ever camped and cooked using a spirit burner. Since its initial production in 1951, it has become the de facto gold standard burner. Most new burners look either identical to or at least very much like the original. There’s a good reason for this – the Trangia is hard to improve upon.
Construction
The burner has no moving parts. Built of solid brass, it is robust and unadorned. It burns any one of several alcohol spirits as fuel. The deceptively simple exterior disguises some innovative technology.
Liquid alcohol doesn’t burn; the vapors do. The hotter the alcohol is, the more it evaporates, and that, in turn, generates even more heat. The majority of the heat doesn’t come from the big central opening but from the small holes in the top section of the burner. The walls of the burner are double, with a cotton wick stuffed between the inner and outer walls for much of the height. This allows the liquid to wick up and then evaporate below the vents. When lit, the flame only comes from the central opening, and the vents don’t start working, or “blooming”, until the system heats up. Once the evaporation creates enough pressure to push the volatile gas out the vents, it ignites and produces a clean flame and heat. This is why these types of stoves get really hot – it isn’t a design flaw, as many suppose, but a design feature!
Use
After ignition, it takes a while for the burner to get hot enough so that the gas comes out the holes and ignites. This is called the “bloom”, and before that happens, the stove is not particularly efficient. Spirits are not particularly energy-dense, as opposed to mineral fuels such as diesel, petroleum, and gasoline. But they are readily available, inexpensive, and adequate for the task of heating.
These small burners are, unfortunately, quite susceptible to wind, and even a small draft can significantly disrupt efficient heating. But with a windshield, they will heat a meal and are perhaps the most reliable method of heating available. While gas canisters and pressurized petroleum-burning heaters are much more powerful and can heat meals much faster, they are not maintenance-free as is the Trangia.