Denatured Alcohol

“Any one now where to get some?? Our local gear store do not carry it which is kinda stupid!!”

“Prowler, last week was a thread called "Q on a homemade stove" where this is discussed. I got denatured alcohol at Home Depot next to the paint thinner. I bought HEET (close to the same thing) at WalMArt in the automotive dept. with the gasline antifreeze. SuperTroll said that you should use 99% isopropol alcohol (drugstore?).”

“Any hardware store will carry it in the paint thinning section. If you do use isopropol alcohol, be sure it is 99%. The regular "rubbing alcohol" is only 70%, does not burn as hot and will soot up your pots.”

“Stop at the local gas station and get some stuff called HEET. I find it burns hotter, faster and less fuming. It's just as cheap too.”

“Get all the alcohol types at Walmart. Isopropyl alcohol doesn't burn as hot as the denatured stuff - and it produces soot on your pots. But denatured is expensive.”

“Try putting a teaspoon of water into the burner with the Alcohol. It will stop your pots from sooting.”

“I can take it that because HEET burns hotter that it burns more efficiently and that I can take less fuel or does it just burn up faster?”

“This I do not know. I've never been one to time my stoves with a stop watch. I can't tell any difference but you may have a point. Sounds like a job for Sargent Rock. I have found HEET for as cheap as .50 a bottle too.”

“prowler, home depot for denatured alcohol”

“Methanol is very nearly as good as denatured alcohol and 1/5 of the price. 70% isopropyl is very sooty although it still works. I've never found 99% isopropyl.

Be aware that some dry-gas is isopropyl, and some dry-gas has more additives than just alcohol.”

“It's been said before but be careful using methanol. It's toxic, readily absorbed through the skin and can make you go blind. From what I understand, HEET is pretty much straight methanol whereas denatured alcohol is primarily ethanol with a little methanol added. I'm not sure what iso health effects are but I'm sure they're an improvement over anything with methanol in it. Personally, I use denatured.”

“wow! thanks all! I just had my dad that lives in Lowes pick me up a tank! It burns pretty good!”

“Roseymonster, thanks for the warning. I knew that, and I handle it carefully, but I didn't think to mention it to the others. Good catch.
BTW my can of denatured alcohol fills the back with warnings, also. We could use ethanol, but that has it's own unique set of dangers ;-)”

“I work with methanol every day, it won't kill you to spill it on your skin. 1/4 cup ingested could kill you though. It causes blindness when your liver adds an oxygen atom to it causing it to oxidize into formaldehyde. The formaldehyde step is actually the problem.

The real hazard of methanol in my mind is that the flame is invisible in daylight. It can be burning and you won't even know it, except that you might see the heat shimmering.

The beauty of alcohol is that it evaporates without a trace leaving your stove and fuel container about as clean as it can get. Clean enough to fly with.

Usually I use white gas, but when I need it I get my denatured alcohol (ethanol with a touch of methanol to avoid alcohol tax) from Home Depot in the paint section, but the price hurts!”

“Even "acute" exposure will add up with time. It doesn't have to be a chronic exposure to do you in.

The "aldehydes" cause toxic effects such as hangover and blindness. Ethanol is more readily metabolized than methanol, so when both are present, methanol is not metabolized and can be excreted before forming formaldehyde.

ethanol>>>acetaldehyde>>>acetic acid
methanol>>>formaldehyde>>>formic acid”

“Yea! Buddur knows stoves.

BTW, Buddur, check something out - what you said last week got me thinking:

http://www.hikinghq.net/honor.html#Buddur”

“Ethanol MSDS
Methanol MSDS

Acetaldehyde MSDS
Formaldehyde MSDS

Acetic acid MSDS
Formic acid MSDS

All things considered...ethanol laced with methanol (compared to straight methanol) is the lesser of the two evils.

(and that is cool idea Mr.ROck.)”

“Relax Mr. Buddur! I agree with your viewpoint.”

“I would really like to see your slit-top stove design mentioned in the above link.”

“Relax??? But inquireing minds want to know!!!

I got the metabolized info from my Hazardous Materials Toxicology and Exposure book...and that just led to more questions for me. Everything anyone would want to know to compare ethanol to methanol is contained in the MSDSs for all other inquireing minds to read and synthesize themselves.
NOW I can relax! Ahhhhhhhh!”

“And how is it that you have a HazMat book Mr. Buddur?”

“use grain alcohol from the package store,, a bit pricey, but you don't use much, after all”