I have always been a great fan of the Ti Tri Caldera, and having tried the compact caldera with the MLD 850 cup I soon began to wonder whether it was possible to get a Compact Ti Tri Caldera Inferno for the MLD 850 cup. I contacted the folks at Trail Designs and they said sure no problems and in a bit over a week I had a shiny new Compact Inferno. I have now been able to test it out and this is a report of its first use. My first pleasant surprise came when I realised that everything fitted in side the cup and it was possible to place the lid of the pot loosely on top. However, the bending the fire grate is a little problematic but it fits in the base of my foam cozy so all in all a compact cook set.
The weights are as follows
MLD 850 pot including lid 90 gms
Compact Titanium Caldera 21 gms
Titanium Inferno 38 gms
with a Gram Cracker (3 gms) as a backup the total cooking system weight (not including 2 Ti stakes) is 152 gms. The following photo indicates the assembled system without the Ti stakes.
I set about lighting the Inferno in the normal manner and soon there was fire going, I allowed it to establish itself before putting the pot on.
The fire burned well with wood collected from a nearby forest, some of which was a little damp.
Whilst I did not time it, in around 10 minutes the water was boiling, a faster time would have been possible if the wood was dry.
After a few minutes the Caldera had begun to cool and was even cool enough for one of the local spiders to approach, see top of the concrete block in the picture.
My feelings is that this is perhaps the optimum solution when wood is available but you would like to carry fuel as a back up. I will be using this arrangement in up coming trips and will report further once I have used it whilst out and about.
Perfect. Everything I wanted in a stove in one neat bundle. Thanks for posting Roger.
ReplyDeleteHi Roger!
ReplyDeleteNice report. And a perfect solution for my trips. Have to order asap.
What do you think abt use of the esbit? Read your former report. Have tried esbit a few times, but wasn´t impressed then.But it was before I looked into UL.
Thanks Holdfast, yep seems like the ideal system to me too, time will tell.
ReplyDeleteThanks Roger, Esbit in conjunction with the Gram Cracker works well in the Calderas in my view but there is not much difference between Esbit and Alcohol in regards heating efficiency. I prefer Esbit because the fuel is in measured amounts and there is no extra bottle to carry. If you expect to be cooking inside a vestibule then alcohol is probably better because the fumes from Esbit tend to be a bit on the strong side.
It sure does look good, Roger. The possibility to have it all in the pot is a winner, and the weight is excellent. Does it still use a lot of wood, especially in comparison to the BushBuddy Ultra? I found my Inferno needs quite a lot more wood than the BBU.
ReplyDeleteNeed to shoot an email out to Rand and inquire if this would also be possible for a 1100 pot.
Thanks Hendrik, not sure about wood usage, but I assume that the performance is similar to the full size inferno and therefore needs more wood.
ReplyDeleteIt is possible to get a compact caldera for the 1100 pot so I assume that it is also possible to get the Caldera Ti Tri compact Inferno.
Hej Roger,
ReplyDeletemy cup of tea...
and i love always the xxl size of your jepg´s.
Best regards,
Rio
Hi there,
ReplyDeleteI already have an Al UL compact cone with the similar SP Mini solo. I'd like to get a Ti version, but I'm not sure if I should get the regular or the UL Compact for the optional wood burning. I'm just getting the missing pieces needed, not the caddy. Do you have any leanings one way or another that I should consider? Also, how wide is the Ti floor?
Thank you.
Hi Roger,
ReplyDeleteI don't do much cold weather camping. Just thinking about which would make less fuss when in wood burning mode. Would the regular size cone provide greater volume for wood, thus less fuss? Weight difference between Ti cones is minimal. Thanks again and for such prompt response. Is there an email better to ask if further questions?
Cheers!
My experience with the cones indicates that the most likely problem that will arise is too much wood is added which can reduce air flow and thus more smoke. Having said that the full size cone would allow you to place more wood in the cone and would thus reduce the ¨fuss¨of always adding wood. The critical element is ensuring that enough heat is generated within the cone to get a good and continuous combustion.
ReplyDeleteHope this helps
I'm considering buying the same stove system to use with my MLD 850 mug. I'm wondering how much soot has collected on the outside of the mug? In the photos it appears the kit is fairly new, the soot on the mug is minimal and could still be used to drink from without getting black soot on your lips and face.
ReplyDeletethanks
J
Thanks for your question J, there will be a build of soot around the base of the pot, which I usually remove by wiping the base on the ground. However, there is no soot around the lip of the pot and as such I have never had a problem with soot on the lips or face. When packing the pot I usually have a cozy or similar around it to keep any remaining soot out of the pack.
ReplyDeleteHope this helps
Roger
Is this stove legal to use in areas where open fires are prohibited? You may email me at thinshaw@dslextreme.com
ReplyDeleteTom
Thanks Tom for your question, to be honest I could not say. My origins are in Australia and in that country the wood burning caldera would be seen as banned on days of total fire ban.
ReplyDeleteIf in alcohol mode I would think that the caldera is in the same category as a Trangia so it would then depend on local regulations. You may need to ask your local Forest Service.
Hope this helps