Diesel Stove

[Amarillo]

Diesel stoves exist, and the California uses a diesel heater, so why not a diesel stove?

 

[Hotel California]

Diesel stoves exist, and the California uses a diesel heater, so why not a diesel stove?

Becose you want to carry a dirty and smelly tin of diesel inside your Cali .....?
No thanks!

 

[kave]

For safety its great I guess since it wont explode etc. A small hassle to turn on since it requires high pressure pumped up.

 

[Amarillo]

For safety its great I guess since it wont explode etc. A small hassle to turn on since it requires high pressure pumped up.

There are some great diesel stoves out there:

 

[johnyboy]

One of the vans I looked at had one of those webastos in - I thought brilliant no gas as they tap the fuel tank for it... however I read many reviews that said the surface took a LONG time to cool down and was a bit of a hazard

 

[Borris]

Diesel stoves exist, and the California uses a diesel heater, so why not a diesel stove?

It looks like a cheap copy of a Number 12 army field stove.


We have a No 12 and they are extremely well made and will last for ever (if regularly serviced and looked after). However, like everything else, this kind of diesel stove has pros and cons:

Pros:
They are built for the army and are very very well made.
They have a built in wind break so can be used anywhere.
They will run on diesel or paraffin.
They are reasonably compact.
They can be easily dis-assembled for cleaning and servicing.
They heat things very quickly.

Cons:
They require methylated spirits to heat the burner apparatus up to starting temperature and paraffin or diesel fuel to run them.
These stoves can be dangerous if not used correctly. One of the main issues is that methylated spirits often burns without visible flame so NEVER refill the preheat reservoir with meths if you think it's gone out. Wait until the whole think is cool before trying again.
You have to completely empty them after use or they can leak smelly diesel.
You'll need to keep it in a Really Useful Box as a bund (just in case it leaks), along with the meths, the fuel and a kitchen role for cleaning etc.
Such a box takes up more valuable space than many alternative camping cookers.

If you are still interested you can occasionally find them advertised on Ebay but they are not cheap. Expect to pay well north of £100. We no longer use ours on a regular Cali basis but keep it for picnic outings in our car. They are brilliant little cookers providing you operate them with care and empty them after each use.
In our Cali we use either the built in two burner stove or a single burner Campingaz Super Carena stove which fits directly onto our spare 907 cylinder.

 

[Amarillo]

These stoves can be dangerous if not used correctly. One of the main issues is that Methylated spirits often burns without visible flame so NEVER refill the preheat reservoir with meths if you think it's gone out. Wait until the whole think is cool before trying again.

I met the man responsible for outdoor activities in Lewisham and Greenwich schools. He told a tragic tale the occurred on a camping week at one of his primary schools.

The children, in small groups, were cooking their dinner using Trangia meths stoves. They had been correctly briefed beforehand on the correct use. The stove of one group had gone out, so they asked for support, and a volunteer Australian student teacher came to help. The stove had run out of fuel, so the student teacher went to the supply tent and came out with the quarter full 20L clear plastic jerry can. As he refilled the Trangia, the jerry can exploded, enshrouding them all in a fireball and splattering the student and pupils with warm methylated spirits. This caused third degree burns to the face and body of the student and to the body of one of the pupils, second degree burns to three other pupils, and first degree burns to others.

Methylated spirits doesn't explode, but its vapour, especially if kept in a hot supply tent, will. The Trangia stove was not out, but burning with a blue flame. As a direct result of that accident, Trangia have brought out this bottle for storing meths:

The first reaction at a flare up will be to release the button, preventing the vapour from exploding.

Trangia have also developed a gas burner for its stoves.

The only lucky part of this story is that the camp was close to East Grinstead, where there is a world class burns and plastic surgery unit. The student and pupil's lives were probably saved by being so close to this hospital.

 

[Borris]

I met the man responsible for outdoor activities in Lewisham and Greenwich schools. He told a tragic tale the occurred on a camping week at one of his primary schools.

The children, in small groups, were cooking their dinner using Trangia meths stoves. They had been correctly briefed beforehand on the correct use. The stove of one group had gone out, so they asked for support, and a volunteer Australian student teacher came to help. The stove had run out of fuel, so the student teacher went to the supply tent and came out with the quarter full 20L clear plastic jerry can. As he refilled the Trangia, the jerry can exploded, enshrouding them all in a fireball and splattering the student and pupils with warm methylated spirits. This caused third degree burns to the face and body of the student and to the body of one of the pupils, second degree burns to three other pupils, and first degree burns to others.

Methylated spirits doesn't explode, but its vapour, especially if kept in a hot supply tent, will. The Trangia stove was not out, but burning with a blue flame. As a direct result of that accident, Trangia have brought out this bottle for storing meths:

The first reaction at a flare up will be to release the button, preventing the vapour from exploding.

Trangia have also developed a gas burner for its stoves.

The only lucky part of this story is that the camp was close to East Grinstead, where there is a world class burns and plastic surgery unit. The student and pupil's lives were probably saved by being so close to this hospital.

Yes, sadly I had to attend the Burns Unit at the Queen Victoria on a number of occasions as part of a Fire Investigation role I use to perform in a past life. Your right, it's a truly exceptional facility thanks mainly to the pioneering work of Sir Archibald McIndoe. If you didn't already know, he founded the Guinea Pig Club at East Grinstead to treat and rehabilitate badly burned aircrew during WW2.

Unfortunately, the incident that you describe sounds all too familiar. When you poor a liquid from a container it is replaced by in-rushing air. Once the flame has been drawn back into the partially filled container, the highly flammable meths/air vapour within will ignite violently. This creates a rapid rise in internal container pressure which inturn instantaneously expels the remaining contents out through the neck to form a fire ball with obvious consequences for anyone unlucky enough to be in the way.
It is used in many different applications including camping and IMO people often don't take enough care when using it. MS can be very nasty stuff if not treated with extreme caution.