More spirit burning

Another wintry locale

Again, a mini-camping trip in -7°C weather, using the Trangia 27 and a spirit burner.

This time lighting the spirit alcohol wasn't too stressful, because problems were already to be expected. It wasn't very fast with the plasma igniter, but it did fire up without using additional material. Warming the burner in hand might have helped, although the spirit itself was cold.

To the menu. First, two eggs were fried. I wanted to do something really basic, yet avoiding the warming up of a ready-made meal.

They turned out fine, with grease they wouldn't stick to the teflon so it wasn't at all too difficult. At that point the burner was in full effect, so after turning the quartered pieces around I already had to start taking them off the pan.

Eggses

The burner was shut down, but this pause was so short no fuel was really saved. As expected, a warm burner and spirit was easy to re-ignite.

Next up were Marq's tortilla-pizzas with fried champignons, pasta sauce and mozzarella. Here the flame was so strong it could burn the tortilla fast, without necessarily heating everything inside. Making the second one, the flame started showing signs of dying out.

Re-filling meant both the burner and the spirit were again cold, so there was the tedious process of lighting it. The plasma igniter worked, but it wasn't especially fast, I'd say slower than the first time.

Next item in the menu

Using the simmer lid the flame died so much it wasn't really useful for doing the tortilla-pizzas, even if the lid was kept in open position. This is likely because by default the lid already prevents the flames coming from the rim. The middle flame is then really weak in comparison.

It would have been good to dilute the spirit a little with water, it would produce less heat, but also less soot.

The rest of the spirit (less than half of the 150ml) was used for heating two more tortilla-pizzas and 0.5l of mulled wine. The left-over spirit was made again to work on a small amount of clean-up water. It was just about to start boiling properly when the flame finally died.

A cover makes boiling faster...

Compared to last time, there was an overall sense of messiness, not surprising as the cooking was now more complex. 

A plastic bag for the Trangia is a must if there's no intention to clean the pans and pots on site. Even then it's not a good idea to strap the Trangia, as the strap will get dirty too.

The teflon ended up having some burnt residual stuck in a way that was difficult to remove. It remains to be seen if the non-sticking property still works as well.

I suspect it may be easier to ruin the teflon with the spirit than with gas, although I did try to keep the pan filled or greased all the time.

The multi-disc got some damage, likely because it was used as a cover while boiling, and the flame from the burner behaves a little erratically. The instructions do say not to use the multi-disc as a cover in this manner.

...but apparently can result in problems.

Although the cooking was successful and the food was tasty, I ended up having a less positive impression of the spirit burner than from last time.

150ml was easily used up, re-igniting was not too fun, control was a little problematic and there was soot to clean up.

Add to this some general faffing about with placing items, finding surfaces, removing and replacing gloves, and dealing with the backpack... it's clear the experience could have been smoother. 

A lot can be attributed to poor planning and the tricky weather conditions, and not to the spirit burner as such. Winter might not be the best time to practice its use.

The biggest winner were the newly acquired spiked boots, I had no fear of slipping and they kept my feet warm through the whole session.

Trangia in the freezing outdoors

The Trangia 27 was tried in proper outdoor conditions, in about -7°C weather. Some earlier assumptions already had to be revised.

But before that, some words about gear expansion. I got a Trangia 0.3L fuel bottle, Trangia multi-disc and a backpack.

I had the misfortune to find out the multi-disc doesn't properly fit into its "carry" position inside the Trangia 27 stack. This resulted in an annoying 5-7mm gap between the pan and the cover when stacked.

Trangia multi-disc and the 0.3L fuel bottle

Some angry moments were spent wondering how on Earth could Trangia have mistaken two circumferences by the order of several millimeters?

Then, in the clear light of the morning I understood the flaw is not that radical. The folded edge of the Trangia upper windshield can be bent inwards. Then it will fit in the disc groove.

I simply took the pliers and put some protection between the jaws. I did the adjustment with far too much haste, but the edge wasn't entirely ruined. Possibly a round wooden pin rolled hard against the edge could have been better.

I am many things but maybe not a metal artisan

Even after getting the disc to fit, there's a 1-2mm gap between the pan and the windshield in the stack, but I can perhaps live with it.

The Trangia fuel bottle ("red") is quite handy and the safety cap looks very sturdy. 

I have to wonder though about the build quality here too, the cap plastic shape isn't very precise and what looks like a metal ring around the container is painted into metal color? And even dispensing said color to my hand? But in functionality, all appears to be well. 

A backpack was dedicated to outdoor gear (Black Diamond BBEE 11 if you must know). Cheap, it has numerous features for attaching equipment, and a nice hook inside for hanging the bottle vertically, inside near the top of the bag. The Trangia 27 stack fits snugly at the bottom of the bag. I thought the small size might encourage more minimal thinking, hopefully this decision doesn't backfire.

Helsinki January breeze

At the site

I had read the spirit might be tricky to ignite in the cold, but I had assumed this would really only happen in -20°C conditions.

But the plasma igniter wouldn't do on its own and a piezo lighter wouldn't ignite even warmed-up spirit. A few tries with burning paper handkerchief material got it going, but even this happened rather randomly, possibly some quantum cascade when it was not observed.

No wonder pre-warmers exist. After the spirit and the burner had warmed up, it could be safely shut out and re-ignited, which is a good thing. At that point it's really not more difficult than operating gas. The simmer lid was not adjusted, I simply used it to snuff out the flame when needed.

A little less than 100ml of spirit was burned. A few drops of water were added to prevent soot.

First, a 0.5l pre-warmed water was made to boil for a Blå Band instant soup, another Swedish institution. (10 minutes) Then, some cheese sticks on the pan and then 0.5l of mulled wine.

Just as a test, some more water was put on, but there wasn't enough spirit to get it to boil. Especially not without a cover.

So, what felt like an overkill of spirit to carry was actually a reasonable amount for the tasks. This means about 10 comparable sessions with 1L of spirit.

The flame is on

At least in the cold, the burner flame isn't as stable as my meager previous experience had suggested. I would say it did its job reliably, but it's not exactly on/off. After a rough and cold start it will improve in time, and then it will die out as the fuel runs out.

Compared to gas, I had some negative expectations especially after the difficulties with ignition. All went well, considering the lack of experience. But then again the spirit burner is the original Trangia product, whereas the gas burner is a later addition.

The spirit is almost uncomfortably silent compared to gas. I don't mind the gas noise, and it's often a good tell-tale sign of how things are going. There's nothing in the spirit burner that "says" about the condition of the fire.

Campers who make longer treks have compared the weight of spirit fuel unfavorably to gas. But what about this kind of quick foray? If 100ml of spirit weighs about 100g, together with the Trangia bottle (93g) it's getting near the 200g territory, comparable to the weight of a 230g gas bottle. Ok, alcohol is less dense than water, so I have to measure this empirically.

If you're confident with taking ~70ml and carrying it inside the burner, sans bottle, then obviously it will be a very, very light load.

For this kind of 1-2 person tasting trip, the small Trangia set proved easy to use. I'm looking forward to using it in warmer weathers...!

Not so sooty as last time

2024

Time for the yearly recap. As usual, I don't dwell on work and home life. I'll still note that 2024 is a weird year to retrace, as my time use has become disrupted. I watched less films and TV than probably ever. I didn't play that many games. I didn't read many books.

There was some coding, tinkering with stuff and visiting demoparties, though.

The retro year was bookended by two ZX Spectrums. I gave intense attention to the Spectrum Next at the beginning of the year, even writing a small article for Skrolli about it. This enthusiasm ceased almost as rapidly as it was built up. It's an interesting hobby computer, but somehow I can't get my head around working with such a niche-of-a-niche platform. Now that a QL core has arrived, I may be tempted to dig it out again.

A family of Sinclairs and Spectrum-likes

The Spectrum from Retro Games also appeared late in the year, got it up and running with the nearly mandatory HDMI/VGA, memory stick and joystick tests. I've been fiddling with some extra material during the holidays, and the fruits will be posted in the blog eventually...

Demos and Games

In 2024 I visited the most demoparties ever, which isn't all that much though. But, most of my retro and demoscene motivation coalesced around the Vammala Party, Assembly, Alt Party and especially the Zoo 2024 event. I partook in my first ever Assembly contribution with the LVL001 entry Astral Plane Mechanism for the Tic-80 fantasy console platform.

Telefunken VR520, in glorious PETSCII

At best, the party bubble persists even after the event, with recurring fantasies of giving up one's day work and concentrating on 8-bit platforms for the rest of my life. As the fog subsides, reality returns and I find it less meaningful.

Zoo did have a longer afterglow than usual, further helped by the mythical Fishbomb demo from Extend, which failed to appear at Zoo. (It was presented in the Transmission64 online event.)

Zooparty: Elite turned 40

Alt Party likely served as a gentle reminder of the "I ought to have had" mindset that always follows when not contributing anything. This may have helped me create a whole game for the Zoo Party, The Last Z-8. However, made under a month it was still a little rough around the edges and I have been adjusting it still.

I also finally organized my game imperium into a bare-bones representation at drterrorz.itch.io, also featuring the Multipaint release. Time will tell if this is somehow useful, or if enshittification will eventually eat itch.io too.

Sound

The quest for the perfect music/sound creation environment continues, the old Akai EIE sound card serving as a catalyst for change.

I'm now thinking that computer-gear hybrid setups are too clunky, whereas either doing everything on a computer or without a computer, is more viable or suitable for my approach. The former means using Goattracker to create SID music for games, the latter means messing around with mini-synths and a MIDI-synced multitrack recorder. More about this later, maybe.

A Roland Boutique JX-08

God forbid actually producing, or learning more music.

Films, TV, Games

Ok, I did really watch TV and played some games. But No Man's Sky was the only substantial new game I got my hands on to. But I just couldn't become hooked to what is essentially an endless customization, crafting and tinkering trip. Otherwise games were limited to the occasional 5-minute plunge into vintage ZX Spectrum, Amiga and C64 games.

I restarted my Lichess account for playing chess, and concentrated on playing only the 5+3 games and puzzles, with varying success. I've now again lapsed, it remains to be seen if I can find the time and better sleeping patterns to continue it meaningfully.

No Man's Sky

Three Body Problem at Netflix didn't entirely mess the books' premise, but it was still more of a slideshow collection of all the cool ideas and iconic moments. Then again the books were mostly one cool idea after another.

Umbrella Academy is one of those series that started with a promise, but kept dwindling. I'm glad it is now finished.

I watched some original Star Trek from Netflix, concentrating on the episodes I already knew to be good or at least iconic. Which mostly means seasons 1-2. The Doomsday Machine, Amok Time, Journey to Babel, The Ultimate Computer, The City on the Edge of Forever, Balance of Terror, The Squire of Gothos, Naked Time...

Acolyte was a modestly interesting Star Wars series for a change, so of course the army of tiny JD Vances had to review bomb it out of existence. I haven't still finished Star Wars: Skeleton Crew. It looks like it's more aimed at kids, which is ok – nearly all Star Wars is – but altogether it seems the series didn't really need to exist in the Star Wars universe.

Physical space

The 2024 was marked with more activities oriented in the physical reality, which I also blogged about. 

The electric kickbike customizing pretty much died for 2024, although I did ride the rentals just as before.

I did get a few more woodworking/DIY tools. One reason for this is the near-constant modification and attempt to squeeze something out of fairly small spaces, but also making boxes for electronics and joysticks, which require more precise tools.

The Z-saw "best" 90-degree sawing guide

A pro might make do with simpler tools and learn to be accurate, but I can't resist the idea of having gimmicks that make tasks easier. Seeing as nearly every task has a corresponding life-saving tool, such a tendency can easily fill your non-existent garage.

Gadgets may be doomed to gather dust at the back of a shelf. Hopefully blogging about them reminds me of their existence.

I've also learned not to buy the cheapest alternative, which can deal a blow to the old wallet. There are the cheap "Temu" knock-offs, which are to be avoided. I'm also a little suspicious of what one finds at Clas Ohlson or Motonet, even though they can be reasonable. 

Then there's always the Woodpeckers® ultimate solution, imported from US will cost an arm and a leg.

Trangia cooking with spirit alcohol

Last but not least, I had some experiences with Trangia camp cookers, first through "passive smoking", eventually receiving one version myself.

Again, a hobby that involves material configurations and acquisition of extras, accessories and superfluous crap, it does have the positive side of doing something outside. That is, if I get that far.