View Full Version : Denatured Alcohol vs. HEET
pcasebere
03-30-2011, 07:19
Has anyone done a comparison (or know of any test that have been done) of the burn rate and BTU content of denatured alcohol and HEET? I'm asking because a while back when I get into spirit burners I was using denatured alcohol, but these burners fell roadside due to fuel consumption at high altitudes in cold/wet weather. Now-a-days, I'm reading about everyone using HEET for these burners.. is this burn hotter and longer, or is it simply the "new fuel" for spirit burners?
HEET (yellow bottle) is basically all methanol while denatured alcohol is typically mostly ethanol - you can check the burn characteristics in chemical texts but it is my opinion that ethanol provides slightly more heat per volume. The real advantage of HEET is ease of access - you can find it in more places and in a more reasonable size (12 oz.) than denatured (32 oz.) while on the trail. That said it is also reasonably common to find denatured sold by the ounce at hostels, outfitters, etc. along the trail.
Bare Bear
03-31-2011, 16:59
I have used both and HEET was more sooty. I only had a couple times when I could not find denaturd alcohol, although once I got some "70%" that did not burn well....make sure it is 100% I guess.
StubbleJumper
03-31-2011, 18:44
HEET works, and it's available everywhere. Maybe denatured is better, but who has time for the hassle of finding it when every gas station has heet?
I have only used HEET (yellow bottle only) and have had no issues with it, not a bit of soot. If you are getting soot from HEET, something is wrong.
One guy did a side by side comparison of HEET and SLX (http://www.backpacker.com/cgi-bin/forums/ikonboard.cgi?act=ST;f=832107219;t=9991147526) and found that the SLX brought the water to a boil just a little faster.
Also, 190 proof Everclear is a great option to use in alky stoves. In the same thread as linked above, another guy says that compared to HEET, the Everclear took about 30 seconds longer to bring the same amount of water to a boil however it used approximately 23% less fuel to do so. Also, the Everclear doesn't burn off toxic fumes such as the HEET or the SLX.
DBCFlash
04-01-2011, 08:26
I love the smell of burning Heet in the morning. It says,"coffee time!"
I've used heat and denatured extensively in my supercat stove, and while I've never timed it, I don't notice any major difference in boiling times. Given how easy it is to find HEET versus denatured, I think it's not worth worrying about small differences in heat output.
doodah man
04-01-2011, 14:59
Has anyone done a comparison (or know of any test that have been done) of the burn rate and BTU content of denatured alcohol and HEET? I'm asking because a while back when I get into spirit burners I was using denatured alcohol, but these burners fell roadside due to fuel consumption at high altitudes in cold/wet weather. Now-a-days, I'm reading about everyone using HEET for these burners.. is this burn hotter and longer, or is it simply the "new fuel" for spirit burners?
burger,
There are a few things to consider on the fuel issue, both the BTU content and rate of burn. While the time to boil is a consideration, I found that the amount of fuel necessary was more important to me. I was willing to wait a few more minutes if I could use less fuel. After a little bit of fooling around, I found that a 50/50 mix of yellow bottle and red bottle HEET (basically 50/50 methanol/isopropyl) worked well and is not too sooty. I found that adding a few drops of water to the 50/50 mix going into the stove for each meal slowed the burn rate a little and improved the efficiency. (i.e. carry the 50/50 mix and add a little water for each burn and use less fuel). There are lots of variables, so I would be willing to bet that each stove/pot combo has its own ideal blend for maximum efficiency. Mess around a bit yourself and see what you find about your rig. My set up could get a two cup boil with about 1/2 oz of the alcohol mixture with about 10 drops of water added under most conditions.
doodah-man
bronconite
04-01-2011, 16:08
http://jwbasecamp.com/Articles/SuperCat/index.html
Scroll down a bit less than half way for the fuel discussion.
For a very interesting discource on fuel go to: zenstoves.net/fuel The bottom line is there is little difference between the two.use what you can get your hands on ,on the trail and what you want at home. Have a good hike!
atraildreamer
04-01-2011, 22:16
From a thread I started a while back:
http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/showthread.php?t=19616
Methanol (Heet Yellow) 10,200 BTU/LB
Iso-propanol (Heet Red) 12,960 BTU/LB
Denatured Alcohol 12,500 BTU/LB
Ethanol 11,570 BTU/LB
Download the article and the spreadsheet and have some fun! :)
Zelph's site has very good info!
Bare Bear
04-09-2011, 14:28
I believe it is the Red bottle HEET that is sooty..