Trangia 27 Small Spirit Stove

A spirit stove is one of the simplest ways to boil water and cook a small meal when the power is off, and the Trangia 27 is a compact set built around that idea. It burns methylated spirit in a small burner, uses a windshield to shelter the flame, and packs down into its own pots so it takes up little space in a cupboard. For a household getting ready for a power cut, it is a backup cooker that needs no gas cartridge and no mains supply.

The most important thing to know before you buy or use one is where it must not go. Fire and rescue services are clear that camping stoves should not be used indoors, because they can cause carbon monoxide poisoning even with doors and windows open¹. The carbon monoxide they produce can kill, and the heat they produce will set a tent on fire². Treat the Trangia 27 as an outdoor cooker that you bring out when the kitchen has no power, not as something to run in the living room.

This page sets out what the set contains, what it can cook, how to fuel it, light it and put it out, how to keep it ready between emergencies, and where to get support. It is written for an ordinary UK household with no prepping background, and it names the fire and rescue service, the Health and Safety Executive for Northern Ireland and other official bodies wherever their advice bears on how you use the stove.

What the Trangia 27 is and what it does in an emergency

The Trangia 27 is a small spirit stove set from the Swedish maker Trangia. It is built around a burner that holds methylated spirit, a windshield that shelters the flame and doubles as a pot stand, and a set of pans that nest together for storage. In an emergency it gives a household a way to heat water and cook simple food without electricity, gas mains or a gas cartridge.

That matters most in the situations a UK household is most likely to face: a power cut that takes out the kettle, hob and microwave, or a storm or flood that interrupts the gas supply. A spirit stove is independent of all of those. It needs only fuel and a flame, and it stores flat in a cupboard between emergencies.

It is not a replacement for a kitchen. It is a small, single-burner cooker for boiling water and cooking small meals, and it is designed to be used outdoors. The fire and rescue service advice is to head outside to use a camping stove to boil water or cook small meals⁷. Plan for it as the cooker you use on a patio, in a garden or on a balcony, not at the kitchen table.

Specifications: size, weight and what comes in the set

The Trangia 27 is the smaller of the maker's two main set sizes. The larger set is the Trangia 25 Large Spirit Stove, and the maker also offers the Trangia Triangel Spirit Stove and the Mini Trangia Spirit Stove. The 27 sits between them: small enough to store easily, large enough to cook a proper small meal.

The set is built from a small number of parts that nest together. Trangia's use and care guide describes the parts you handle: the lower windshield, the pots and pans, the burner and the pot grip. The guide's instructions for setting up, cleaning and packing away all refer to these parts⁴.

The maker's guide gives the practical instructions that decide how the set works for you. Place the lower windshield on a flat piece of ground, away from flammable materials and sheltered from the wind, with the air holes facing the wind⁴. Make sure there is free space above and around the stove so that nothing can catch alight⁴. Use only plastic or wooden utensils in non-stick pots and pans⁴.

What you can cook on it and for how long

A spirit stove is a small, single-burner cooker. It is suited to boiling water for drinks, heating soup or a ready meal, cooking pasta or rice, and warming through tinned food. It is not built for a large family meal cooked all at once. The fire and rescue service is clear that camping stoves belong outdoors: don't use camping stoves indoors, head outside to use them to boil water or cook small meals⁷.

For a household of one or two, that is enough to keep hot drinks and hot food going through a power cut. For a larger household, cook in stages: boil water first, then cook food, and keep finished food warm rather than crowding the pot. The 27 is the smaller set size, so the larger Trangia 25 Large Spirit Stove is the one to look at if you regularly cook for more than two.

How long a burner lasts depends on the fuel you put in it and how high you run the flame, and the maker's guide does not give a burn time in the material here. What the guide does give is the routine that keeps the stove working: keep the parts clean and dry, and wash pots and pans directly after use⁴. A clean burner and clean pots heat food more evenly and are less likely to scorch.

Fuel: what to burn and how to store it safely

The Trangia 27 burns methylated spirit, often called meths. It is a liquid fuel, so it needs storing with care. The fire and rescue service advice for liquid fuels applies directly: store fuel in approved containers and keep it away from heat sources⁵. Store fuel outside the home where possible and keep quantities to a minimum⁵.

The same service warns against overstocking: don't overstock fuels of any type, including paraffin or biofuel, and store them safely⁸. Spare fuel should be in purpose made containers and stored away from sources of heat⁹. Fuels should be stored separately to reduce fire loading and prevent a fire from starting and spreading¹⁰.

For a household planning for an emergency, the practical rule is to keep a modest quantity of spirit in a proper container, stored cool and away from anything that could ignite it, and to top it up rather than stockpiling. The What Fuel to Use in a Spirit Burner and How Much page covers the fuel question in more detail.

How to light, use and put out a spirit stove

Trangia's own guide sets out the routine for using the stove safely, and it is worth following it in order⁴. The maker's instructions are for its own product, so they are the ones to follow for the Trangia 27.

1. Set up outdoors on flat ground, away from flammable materials, with the lower windshield's air holes facing the wind⁴.
2. Check there is free space above and around the stove so nothing can catch alight⁴.
3. Fill the burner with methylated spirit, away from any heat source, and wipe up any spills.
4. Light the burner and keep hands, sleeves and anything flammable well clear.
5. Cook with the pots on the stove, using only plastic or wooden utensils in non-stick pans⁴.
6. Never leave the stove unattended⁴.
7. Put the flame out, then let the burner cool completely before touching or refilling it.

The flame from methylated spirit is pale and hard to see in daylight, so treat the burner as lit whenever you have applied a flame to it. Never assume an invisible flame means the stove is out. Let the burner cool fully before you refill it, and never top it up while it is lit or warm.

Where a spirit stove must never be used

This is the section that matters most for safety. Fire and rescue services across the UK are consistent: camping stoves should not be used indoors, and you should head outside to use them to boil water or cook small meals⁷. Never use camping stoves inside tents, awnings, caravans, motorhomes or enclosed spaces¹³. Cooking appliances should never be used in small tents³.

The reason is carbon monoxide. The carbon monoxide that camping stoves produce can kill, and the heat they produce will set the tent on fire². Camping stoves can cause carbon monoxide poisoning even if you have the doors and windows open¹. Carbon monoxide is odourless, so you cannot rely on smell to warn you¹⁴. Smaller rooms containing fuel-burning cookers are particularly at risk, as the pollutant concentrates more quickly in confined spaces¹⁵.

The maker's own position is more permissive. Trangia's support guidance says you can use its stove indoors, keeping in mind good ventilation, a fireproof surface, free space above, supervision at all times, and following local regulations, laws and injunctions⁶. Where the maker and the fire and rescue service differ, the official safety advice leads: use the stove outdoors. If you ever do use it indoors, follow the maker's conditions to the letter and treat it as a last resort, not a routine.

The Is It Safe to Use a Camping Stove Indoors? page covers this question in full, and the Camping Stoves for a Power Cut guide sets spirit stoves alongside other types.

Cleaning, storing and keeping it ready

A spirit stove that has been sitting in a cupboard for a year needs a check before you rely on it. Trangia's guide gives the routine: wash pots and pans and other parts with regular washing-up liquid and a brush or soft sponge, and make sure all parts are clean and dry before packing them away for storage⁴. Do not store food in the pots or pans; they should be washed directly after use, because moisture and food residues can cause corrosion, discolouration and holes⁴.

Keeping cooking appliances clean is advice that runs across all fuel types, and it applies here too¹⁷. A clean burner lights more reliably, and clean pots heat food without scorching.

• Wash and dry every part after use, and never pack it away wet⁴
• Wash pots and pans and other parts with regular washing-up liquid and a brush or soft sponge, and do not store food in them⁴
• Keep cooking appliances clean⁵
• Check the set before winter, alongside the rest of your cooking kit

The Backup Stove Kit Checklist and the Before-Winter Checklist for Your Heating and Stove are the places to build this into a household routine. Store the stove somewhere you can reach it in the dark, and keep a lighter or matches with it so you are not searching for one during a power cut.

Support, spare parts and warranty

Trangia publishes a use and care guide and a support section on its own website, and these are the first place to look for instructions on setting up, cleaning and packing away the stove⁴. The maker's guidance is written for its own product, so it is the authority on how the parts fit together and how to look after them.

If a part is lost or worn, the maker's support pages are where to check what is available. The set is built from a small number of parts, so a missing pot grip or a damaged windshield is the kind of thing to sort out before an emergency rather than during one. Check the set at the start of winter, alongside your other emergency kit, and replace anything that is damaged.

For the wider picture of cooking without mains power, the Heating and Cooking Without Mains Power or Gas guide sets spirit stoves alongside other options, and the Gas Cartridge or Spirit Burner Stoves comparison helps a household decide which type suits it. The Emergency Kit and Power Cuts guides show where a backup cooker fits into a household plan.