Re: [Paddlewise] Carrying Stoves

I have tried burning rubbing alcohol (70% isopropyl alcohol and 30% water), and it
burns Ok although a little bit sooty.  The reason they use 70% is because that is
the most effective alcohol concentration for disinfection.  The old Navy test for
100 proof (50% alchohol) was to light a glass of rum to make sure it had not been
watered down.  Unless you warm the booze or alcohol it generally needs to be 100
proof or more to burn.

 Based on anecdotal experience and my own experience Methanol burns the cleanest,
Ethanol a close second and 2-propanol (isopropyl alcohol) is a bit too sooty for my
taste.  That said 2-propanol is a damn sight less dirty than burning little twigs -
any wood fire is going to blacken your pots but good.

Finding Methanol or Ethanol is easy if you know what to look for in the stores.  I
nabbed eight liters of reagent grade Methanol that my companies lab was going to
dispose of as hazardous solvent - I disposed of it as most excellent fuel.  Ethanol
sold as denatured alcohol is available at most hardware stores as an alcohol paint
thinner, as Patrick pointed out marine alcohol stove fuel is not hard to come by.
If you get desperate rubbing alcohol will work as will any booze that is 100 plus
proof.  I once ran out of fuel in teh Baja after steaming to many tasty shellfish
but regrettably our supply of Tequila was only 80 proof and could not be coaxed to
burn.

Dave Kruger wrote:

> Gypsykayak_at_aol.com wrote:
>
> > What is denatured alcohol anyway?  Why won't isopropyl alcohol (available at
> > any drugstore work).  And please don't get too scientific on my you techies!
> > :)
>
> Denatured alcohol = 2 carbons and one oxygen.
>
> Isopropyl = 3 carbons and one oxygen, so it does not have as much oxygen per
> carbon in the mix as the deantured alcohol.
>
> You can reconfigure a stove to burn other fuels, but it usually means altering
> an orifice somwhere to increase or decrease the fuel flow, which is easier than
> altering the air flow.
>
> BTW, folks from OZ and the UK are claiming to burn methanol (1 carbon, one
> oxygen) in their Trangias -- does it burn hotter, or what?
>
> --
> Dave Kruger
> Astoria, OR
>
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