View Full Version : question about alcohol fuel
kilarney1902
10-19-2008, 19:29
i use an alcohol stove, and i recently bought a bottle of heet, yes the yellow bottle, to try out. before this, i always used denatured alcohol, and from my tests so far i am thinking that the heet just doesn't burn as well? anyone else noticed this?
MDhiker1967
10-19-2008, 20:09
HEET burns real good.
Go to www.minibulldesign.com (http://www.minibulldesign.com) and check out some stoves and vidoes..
Serial 07
10-19-2008, 20:36
heet is fine...i've seen many a hiker use this as an alternative...
sheepdog
10-19-2008, 22:35
In my tests DA works better than heet. It seems to burn hotter. I get faster boil times with DA.
budforester
10-19-2008, 22:45
I thought yellow HEET burned better, but I've only used one bottle in my homemade rig. I thought I could taste methanol when I spilled it on my skin, so any future use would be with greater care. Maybe there are differences in fuel preference among the various stove designs?
i use an alcohol stove, and i recently bought a bottle of heet, yes the yellow bottle, to try out. before this, i always used denatured alcohol, and from my tests so far i am thinking that the heet just doesn't burn as well? anyone else noticed this?
Your findings are correct. It does not burn as well.
HEET certainly smells worse! However, I end up using HEET more often than denatured because it's been more readily available, and in more realistic quantities (one small bottle instead of a gallon can) when I need it. For me, the two fuels are fairly interchangeable.
Haiku.
LIhikers
10-20-2008, 09:47
I've just started experimenting with home made alcohol stoves and have been using denatured alcohol. I decided to try and bottle of heet to see how it worked and went to 2 auto parts stores but neither carried that brand. Will any gas line antifreeze work? The 2 places I tried both had a brand called Dry Gas and the labels didn't specify what it was.
Footslogger
10-20-2008, 10:21
i use an alcohol stove, and i recently bought a bottle of heet, yes the yellow bottle, to try out. before this, i always used denatured alcohol, and from my tests so far i am thinking that the heet just doesn't burn as well? anyone else noticed this?
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That could depend on which brand of denatured alcohol you were using. But I've done a side-by-side comparison and from my experience, the HEET (yellow bottle) actually burns "hotter" than denatured.
'Slogger
HEET is methanol
DA is (approx) 95% ethanol and 5% methanol.
methanol contains 57,000 BTU/Gal
ethanol contains 76,000 BTU/Gal
DA is better than HEET
ARambler
10-20-2008, 12:02
Seems about right, but a little overstated when compared to BTU/gram
Note, this lower heat of reaction translates to a lower optimum flame temperature. Burning twice the amount of fuel will double the heat, but not make the flame hotter. Also, a big yellow flame is not hotter than a small blue flame. In fact, a yellow flame may be a sign of too rich a fuel mixture and an inefficient as well as a cooler burn.
Methanol has a much higher vapor pressure than ethanol. So at low temperatures, yellow HEET may boil more quickly than ethanol. It may also work better if the stove is "tuned" for methanol, e.g. the holes are too small, and require the higher vapor pressure of methanol. This faster burn does not translate to a more efficient burn.
In most conditions, my stove works a little better with DA.
Rambler
HEET is methanol
DA is (approx) 95% ethanol and 5% methanol.
methanol contains 57,000 BTU/Galn
ethanol contains 76,000 BTU/Gal
DA is better than HEET
Methanol has a much higher vapor pressure than ethanol. So at low temperatures, yellow HEET may boil more quickly than ethanol. It may also work better if the stove is "tuned" for methanol, e.g. the holes are too small, and require the higher vapor pressure of methanol. This faster burn does not translate to a more efficient burn.
Rambler
Does that explain why I get faster cook times with less fuel with HEET over DA in my homemade white box stove?
lonehiker
10-20-2008, 15:04
I used both this past summer and noticed no difference in boil time. I would suppose that if you actually did a side-by-side test, one might boil quicker/hotter/whatever.... But, on the trail you aren't doing a side-by-side test, so you won't see much of a difference. The only observation that I did make between the two is that the Heet seemed to be more easily lit. It seemed to ignite sooner when I put the lit lighter into the stove.
Yea! I didn't really notice it, at least I didn't think I did, but now that you mention it, it is a bit slower, & takes more fuel. I thought it was just me (operator error).
Here I thought I was doing good getting HEET.
Thanks all!!
Has anyone tried mixing the yellow heet (methanol) and the red heat (propanol). I'm guessing the methanol would burn off first, and the propanol would still smoke a little, but if the pot of water is already warmed up by the time the propanol kicks in it might burn ok, properly wickanized and all that. A little ground insulation under the burner might help also. Just thinking if you ever had to resupply some place where heet was the only thing available.
Homer&Marje
10-22-2008, 07:39
I use heet with all 4 of my alky stoves. Including the super cat. It works just fine, never had a problem, but also have not made side by side comparisons with DA. Sounds like the difference is minimal.
i use an alcohol stove, and i recently bought a bottle of heet, yes the yellow bottle, to try out. before this, i always used denatured alcohol, and from my tests so far i am thinking that the heet just doesn't burn as well? anyone else noticed this?
Your findings are correct. It does not burn as well.
My side-by-side tests have proven you are correct.
Dirtygaiters
10-23-2008, 12:25
Glad to see there's a consensus on this. I have also noticed that DA seems to burn hotter than HEET.