Fuel Spilling

[Slow John]

How do I pour without half of it dribbling down the sides? I have to keep track of a tiny funnel? Did I miss chemistry class that day?

[Slo-go'en]

What kind of fuel are you using and what are you pouring it into?

Back in the good old days when I carried a 2 pound white gas stove, I had a fuel bottle which had a cap with a built in pouring spout. Otherwise, yes you'd want a small funnel.

These days I use an alcohol stove made from a soda can and just pour some alcohol into the middle of the stove and eyeball the amount.

[nsherry61]

. . . These days I . . . just pour some alcohol into the middle of the stove and eyeball the amount.
I just take a swig and spit the amount I need into the stove. :eek: :-?


. . . For anyone thinking about taking my remark seriously, please don't. Putting 95% ethanol into your mouth can do serious damage to your tissues. There is a reason that distillates for drinking are diluted to 40%!!

[Feral Bill]

I just take a swig and spit the amount I need into the stove. :eek: :-?


. . . For anyone thinking about taking my remark seriously, please don't. Putting 95% ethanol into your mouth can do serious damage to your tissues. There is a reason that distillates for drinking are diluted to 40%!! Not to mention that fuel alcohol is denatured. That is, deliberately poisoned.

[Slo-go'en]

Not to mention that fuel alcohol is denatured. That is, deliberately poisoned.

Even worse if it's white gas :)

[MuddyWaters]

How do I pour without half of it dribbling down the sides? I have to keep track of a tiny funnel? Did I miss chemistry class that day?

Yep
You missed the day where they showed you what a bottle with a flip top was.

[Feral Bill]

Even worse if it's white gas :)
That's the reason my Svea no longer rides in my pot set. Yuck!

[nsherry61]

Not to mention that fuel alcohol is denatured. That is, deliberately poisoned.
Yeah, but lab alcohol isn't, and neither is everclear. And, they both work as fuels AND mixers. Not that I would know from experience of course.

[Puddlefish]

Recognizing that it doesn't pour like water is the start. I'm probably going to get the chemistry/physics terms incorrect, but... water coheres to itself more, it's thicker, it streams out of the bottle in a way that we can easily predict, and we can get in the habit of dribbling it out in tiny portions fairly accurately.

Alcohol, not so much. It's far more likely to stick to the bottle and dribble back down the side.

My solution, pour faster, and stop faster. It takes a little practice to get the amount correct. I just use a small soda/pop bottle.

[rocketsocks]

Aluminum foil funnel

[gpburdelljr]

https://www.amazon.com/Vargo-T-304-Alcohol-Fuel-Bottle/dp/B001OPKH6M/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1529890714&sr=8-2&keywords=Alcohol%2Cfuel%2Cbottle

[Jayne]

Yeah, but lab alcohol isn't, and neither is everclear. And, they both work as fuels AND mixers. Not that I would know from experience of course.

I tote Everclear myself: a true multi-function item: fuel, disinfectant, & muscle relaxer :)

[Jayne]

I tote Everclear myself: a true multi-function item: fuel, disinfectant, & muscle relaxer :)

and yeah, a flip top squeeze bottle works great

[Puddlefish]

https://www.amazon.com/Vargo-T-304-Alcohol-Fuel-Bottle/dp/B001OPKH6M/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1529890714&sr=8-2&keywords=Alcohol%2Cfuel%2Cbottle

Mine leaked badly.

[gpburdelljr]

Mine leaked badly.
One of the reviewers put a rubber-band around the bottom of the screw top, put the top back on, and that stopped the leaks. I guess the rubber-band acted like a gasket.

[Puddlefish]

One of the reviewers put a rubber-band around the bottom of the screw top, put the top back on, and that stopped the leaks. I guess the rubber-band acted like a gasket.

I tried a few gaskets I had lying around, didn't seem like it would be worth the risk for a leaky solvent near all the expensive gear.

[nsherry61]

For carrying alcohol fuel I use a range of bottles depending on how long I'm out.


- I use those little 2 oz, 5 hour energy bottles for short overnight or two day trips depending on how much I'm heating water.
- I have a 4 or 6 oz Sriracha or other small pepper sauce bottle that has a great working squeeze type dispenser cap that doesn't leak.
- I have an 8 oz pull-top drink bottle from some kid's colored sugar drink that also dispenses alcohol well and doesn't leak at all.
- If I need more volume than that . . . well, I never have, but I would probably graduate to either smart water bottles or dish detergent bottles.

The trend here is a variety of pull-top or twist-top dispenser bottles with the exception of the 5 hour energy, which seems to pour just fine, so I haven't spent time trying to figure out a more elegant solution for short alcohol trips.

[reppans]

I tote Everclear myself: a true multi-function item: fuel, disinfectant, & muscle relaxer :)


and yeah, a flip top squeeze bottle works great

Another Everclear liquid multitool guy here. Found a 3oz squeeze bottle that nests w/ stove, stand, screen (~size of an empty toilet paper roll), but now worried about plastic leaching risk in my dehydrated vodka. It has a recycle #2 symbol.... any idea if that's safe with 190 grain?

[reppans]

I tote Everclear myself: a true multi-function item: fuel, disinfectant, & muscle relaxer :)


and yeah, a flip top squeeze bottle works great

Another Everclear liquid multitool guy here. Found a 3oz squeeze bottle that nests w/ stove, stand, screen (~size of an empty toilet paper roll), but now worried about plastic leaching risk in my dehydrated vodka. It has a recycle #2 symbol.... any idea if that's safe with 190 grain?

[nsherry61]

. . . It has a recycle #2 symbol.... any idea if that's safe with 190 grain?
High Density Polyethylene is some of the best. The same as your milk jugs, your oil "cans", most lids on most containers. Only down side is it doesn't come clear, so you don't see it used for water and booze where clear is important for marketing. HDPE will leach a bit of plastic flavor into water after several hours in the sun, but it is some of the most food-safe plastic made.

[MuddyWaters]

Mine leaked badly.

Quality bottles like nalgene dont leak
Cheap...do

[reppans]

High Density Polyethylene is some of the best. The same as your milk jugs, your oil "cans", most lids on most containers. Only down side is it doesn't come clear, so you don't see it used for water and booze where clear is important for marketing. HDPE will leach a bit of plastic flavor into water after several hours in the sun, but it is some of the most food-safe plastic made.


Thanks! but I came across something that mentioned that, while it is resistant to inorganic solvents, organic solvents can break it down... and alcohol is an organic solvent?

https://sciencing.com/dissolve-polyethylene-8660947.html

[George]

Thanks! but I came across something that mentioned that, while it is resistant to inorganic solvents, organic solvents can break it down... and alcohol is an organic solvent?

https://sciencing.com/dissolve-polyethylene-8660947.html

chemistry definition of organic is contains carbon, so yes for ethanol - more important: is the solvent polar or not.....

couple years of chem should give you a good idea

[nsherry61]

Thanks! but I came across something that mentioned that, while it is resistant to inorganic solvents, organic solvents can break it down... and alcohol is an organic solvent? . . .

Gasoline is an organic solvent also, and, if you own a plastic gas can, it is almost surely HDPE.
Benzine may dissolve PE as suggested in the article you linked, I don't know that for certain. But, we used to store 95% and 100% alcohol in HDPE in our labs for extended periods of time, and all three of the bottles of 91% and 70% rubbing alcohol in our house are HDPE, all the bottles are years old, and there is no sign of damage. As for acetone melting PE as suggested in the linked article, it might, under some circumstances, but my wife's fingernail polish remover (yes, it is acetone) is in the same HDPE bottle it was purchased about 5 years ago and again, no apparent damage or obvious aging of the bottle.

Also, for what it's worth, many wineries ferment their wine in large PE tanks as standard practice.

HDPE is really amazing stuff. I would not be the least bit concerned about storing alcohol in it.

I just hunted down this table (https://capolight.wordpress.com/2010/08/10/solvent-compatibility-and-plastics/) that may put your concerns into context.

[reppans]

Gasoline is an organic solvent also, and, if you own a plastic gas can, it is almost surely HDPE.
Benzine may dissolve PE as suggested in the article you linked, I don't know that for certain. But, we used to store 95% and 100% alcohol in HDPE in our labs for extended periods of time, and all three of the bottles of 91% and 70% rubbing alcohol in our house are HDPE, all the bottles are years old, and there is no sign of damage. As for acetone melting PE as suggested in the linked article, it might, under some circumstances, but my wife's fingernail polish remover (yes, it is acetone) is in the same HDPE bottle it was purchased about 5 years ago and again, no apparent damage or obvious aging of the bottle.

Also, for what it's worth, many wineries ferment their wine in large PE tanks as standard practice.

HDPE is really amazing stuff. I would not be the least bit concerned about storing alcohol in it.

I just hunted down this table (https://capolight.wordpress.com/2010/08/10/solvent-compatibility-and-plastics/) that may put your concerns into context.

Awesome! thank you so much for that, puts my mind at ease and restores the liquor functionality. (FWIW, THIS (https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1766/42234173924_db34d6ef85_k.jpg) micro stove is the specific application - boils, simmers, vodka bar, general purpose cleaner/solvent/sterilizer, and survival heater. For me worthy of EDC.

[Another Kevin]

Yeah, but lab alcohol isn't, and neither is everclear. And, they both work as fuels AND mixers. Not that I would know from experience of course.

Don't drink lab alcohol, though. Most of it is contaminated with benzene - the process to get the water down below 5% is a dirty one.