Getting started with alcohol stove - Denatured Alcohol vs Heet

[zelph]

ATTENTION:

Denatured has a higher BTU/lb rating than Heet. According to Zenstoves it is 11,570 vs. 8419

[jeffmeh]

For me the decision maker for using alcohol stove is mainly for winter use. I have recently returned back to winter camping. In Maine it means - really cold. Canister stove just won't work well. Alcohol stove or wood burning stove is the way to go IMHO.

I may return to my pocket rocket in the summer or use my wood burning stove more often but for winter camping I need to have the backup of an alcohol stove.

So do you have a white gas stove, like a Whisperlite, to try in the winter? Far superior to alcohol in those conditions....

[G-FOURce]

So do you have a white gas stove, like a Whisperlite, to try in the winter? Far superior to alcohol in those conditions....

define "winter"? winter in SC isn't the same as winter in ME or NH, right? also, would the use of a windscreen (snug fit to pot/mug) and a reflective base under the stove not be sufficient in "winter"? i am asking b/c i have never used an alcohol stove and am considering one.

lastly, the ~37% lift in BTU/lb mentioned above... would that equate to about a 2.3% lift per ounce of fuel used in a stove? if so, that seems negligible to me. is my approach to measuring the value suspect?

[T.S.Kobzol]

I used to have on but it got confiscated on one of backpacking trips where I had to use airlines. I think.it was in 2003. They called me back to baggage handling and pulled it out of my bag. Even though it was empty, it still roles of gas and that was enough for them. I offered to rinse it in the bathroom but didn't get anywhere with the TSA. I ended up buying my first pocket rocket at Pinedale, Wyoming.

So do you have a white gas stove, like a Whisperlite, to try in the winter? Far superior to alcohol in those conditions....

Sent from my GT-N7000 using Tapatalk 2

[jeffmeh]

define "winter"? winter in SC isn't the same as winter in ME or NH, right? also, would the use of a windscreen (snug fit to pot/mug) and a reflective base under the stove not be sufficient in "winter"? i am asking b/c i have never used an alcohol stove and am considering one.

lastly, the ~37% lift in BTU/lb mentioned above... would that equate to about a 2.3% lift per ounce of fuel used in a stove? if so, that seems negligible to me. is my approach to measuring the value suspect?

Given that the OP is in Maine, I was thinking winter in Northern New England. I would not bother with a white gas stove for winter in Cancun. If it is going to be consistently below freezing, if you are going to be melting snow for water, if you are cooking for more than two, or if you don't want to risk that your canister or alcohol stove will not perform under the conditions, then a white gas stove makes sense.

I agree that the efficiency differences between alcohol and Heet are negligible.

[jeffmeh]

I used to have on but it got confiscated on one of backpacking trips where I had to use airlines. I think.it was in 2003. They called me back to baggage handling and pulled it out of my bag. Even though it was empty, it still roles of gas and that was enough for them. I offered to rinse it in the bathroom but didn't get anywhere with the TSA. I ended up buying my first pocket rocket at Pinedale, Wyoming.

Good thing. We all know how dangerous a stove can be with no fuel. I hope you didn't try to take on a nail file or more than 2 oz. of toothpaste, because those could take down a plane.

[T.S.Kobzol]

About the Whisperlite: I did not like the ergonomics of the constant pressure pumping but I liked the fact that I could pretty much pour gasoline into it and it would still work great. All in all, I don't really miss the stove.

Now I have a Solo woodburning stove that I would use for melting snow when necessary, otherwise I am hoping that the alcohol stove will do the trick for boiling water.

[RWheeler]

I use an aluminum bottle stove with sideburner jets, so the stove itself can act as the pot stand. I honestly used whatever I could get access too while hiking. Mostly it was denatured alcohol by the ounce on the trail, but I had to buy a bottle of yellow Heet once. Since I was at different altitudes, and there were different temperatures for the duration, any differences I may have noticed can't easily be attributed to *just* the fuel. All I know is that except while in the Smokies (altitude, plus temps in the low 30s), the stove bloomed and fully lit in about 30 seconds. It gave me hot foods and non-crunchy Knorr meals.

You really can't go wrong with either, just grab whatever you can. I topped off my bottle (a Coke bottle that I had happily drank on my way to Amicalola and I still use for fuel) when places sold by the ounce, and it was incredibly cost-effective in my mind.

[bogey]

Not to knock our hard-working brethren at TSA, but once they confiscated my bottle of dandruff shampoo, but examined and repacked my razor with it's enclosed Wilkenson Sword double edge blade intact.

[lonehiker]

I have used both heet and denatured alcohol and don't notice any difference in boil time. A casual observation is that heet seems to light easier. A wnd screen is important but another factor is the diameter of the pot. The wider the pot the more the flames/heat aren't wasted escaping up the sides.

[JAK]

I can get 95% denatured alcohol here in some drug stores as rubbing alcohol that is 95% ethanol, 5% water, and denatured with only denatorium and camphor as the denaturing agents. It burns really well, and I think it is the safest readily available alcohol fuel to handle and for first aid purposes, although pure hooch would be better I suppose. Drug stores here also carry 99% Isopropyl Rubbing Alcohol and it has a higher BTU content but is sooty and slow burning, but a fun challenge to see if you can get a stove to burn it. Another challenge is vegetable oil stove, which makes a good lamp fuel with a simple wick like twine, and not a bad simmering stove, and doubles as food of course. Oil and wax can be potentially more dangerous than alcohol stoves though, because they can get bone charring hot, so I never use more than 1/2 oz of fuel at a time in case it spills, and always burn it over dirt not ground cloth or whatever. So when I hike I carry some 95% denatured alcohol for fuel and first aid, some canola oil or olive oil for fuel and food, a beeswax candle or two, also burn wood sticks, and try to remember lighter and/or firestarter. ;-). Sucks when you can't make tea, but it happens.

Always bring a lighter. lol

[zelph]

I can get 95% denatured alcohol here in some drug stores as rubbing alcohol that is 95% ethanol, 5% water, and denatured with only denatorium and camphor as the denaturing agents. It burns really well, and I think it is the safest readily available alcohol fuel to handle and for first aid purposes, although pure hooch would be better I suppose. Drug stores here also carry 99% Isopropyl Rubbing Alcohol and it has a higher BTU content but is sooty and slow burning, but a fun challenge to see if you can get a stove to burn it. Another challenge is vegetable oil stove, which makes a good lamp fuel with a simple wick like twine, and not a bad simmering stove, and doubles as food of course. Oil and wax can be potentially more dangerous than alcohol stoves though, because they can get bone charring hot, so I never use more than 1/2 oz of fuel at a time in case it spills, and always burn it over dirt not ground cloth or whatever. So when I hike I carry some 95% denatured alcohol for fuel and first aid, some canola oil or olive oil for fuel and food, a beeswax candle or two, also burn wood sticks, and try to remember lighter and/or firestarter. ;-). Sucks when you can't make tea, but it happens.

Always bring a lighter. lol

"Ring of Fire" and "Venom Super Stove" will burn iso with no soot.

Olive oil stoves are hard to light.

I like the smell of beeswax candles. Dadant & Sons Inc.51 South 2nd Street,Hamilton, Illinois 62341 are manufactures of honeycomb "foundation" for the bee keepers of the world. As soon as you enter the town of Hamilton you can smell the beeswax.
I had 4 hives of bees at one time. Lost all 4 due to a virus that came in from Australian bees.