HEET by any other name

[chris]

I picked up a generic bottle of gasline antifreeze at Kmart this weekend, figuring that is was the same as HEET since: a) HEET is gasline antifreeze and b) They both warn about methyl alcohol. However, the flame characteristics of the generic was different, needing more preheating and burning slowly, deliberately at first before roaring along. When I got home, I noticed that the bottom of my pot was blackenned. It took a bit of work with a scrub pad to remove the blackenning. This does not happen with HEET, but I have heard of it happenning with isopropyl alcohol. The BTU output did not appear significantly different than with HEET; that is, boil time was about as usual. I am unsure about what to conclude, but it does seem that the contents of the generic, K-mart brand of gas line antifreeze is chemically and functionally different than HEET. That is, it is not HEET by any other name.

[SGT Rock]

My guess is you used isopropyl alcohol. Most off brands I have found are isopropyl. HEET has a red bottle called ISO Heet which is isopropyl alcohol. I have seen another brand called Costal or something like that.

Isopropyl has more BTUs than Methyl or Ethyl alcohol, but has an extra carbon attom (or something like that) that isn't consumed during a low temperature burn. This results in a lot of soot.

Not all bottles list the contents, but every company puts there MSDS sheets on the internet, so you can check that prior to buying to see content. Another big giveway I've noticed is the ISO in the name somewhere.

[Footslogger]

Had been burning straight denatured alcohol from the hardware store and about 6 months ago I scored some HEET. Did a little side-by-side (we own 2 Trangias) and found that you definitely get boilage on 2 cups of water faster with HEET than the generic denatured alcohol. Wasn't a "controlled" experiment so I can't report stop watch timing however it was significant enough for me to become a HEET believer. Plan to burn HEET exclusively on my thru this year unless I can't get my hands on it ...but from what I understand that shouldn't be an issue.

[Hammock Hanger]

I used it exlusively 2001 - 2002. HH

[Streamweaver]

Does HEET always burn with a green flame?? I ran out of denatured alc awhile back and grabbed a bottle of HEET and I agree it does seem to pack more oomph! But every time ive used it it has a bright green flame.Anybody else get this or maybe its something to do with the can I made the pot stand with,it had plastic lining the inside but it should be burned off completely by now. Streamweaver

[Wander Yonder]

Where do you find Heet on the trail? Grocery stores? Convenience stores? Gas stations?

[Footslogger]

Occasionally you can find it at a grocery or convenient store but the most common place is an auto parts store or Wal-Mart/K-Mart

[Footslogger]

StreamWeaver ...have never had the "Green Flame" you described using HEET. My flame is always Blue with a tad of orange. What kind of stove are you using ...and is there any other type of chemical residue in your stove ??

[Streamweaver]

Im using the Pressurized Photon stove,which works great as long as I remember to put the screw in the center hole before lighting lol Ive been using a 20 oz tuna can for a pot stand and the first time I used it I noticed something melted on the inside of the can. somebody online told me all cans these days have a thin coating of plastic on the inside and that it will burn off after awhile. maybe there is still some plastic causing the green flame. im gonna try using a diferent pot stand and see what happens. Streamweaver

[Wander Yonder]

Thanks, Footslogger! :)

[Streamweaver]

I tried the same stove and another stove using a diferent potstand(one made of chicken wire) and it did not burn green this time so it must be the coating on the inside of the tuna can/potstand. Streamweaver