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Cozy
10-15-2012, 22:27
What color HEET bottle do I get if denatured alcohol isn't available? Also, if HEET brand isn't available, what do I need to look for when buying a generic brand? For example, 7 Eleven has their own brand but I wasn't sure which bottle to get. Thx!

Rocket Jones
10-15-2012, 22:35
Get the Yellow HEET, which is methanol. The red HEET is isopropanol and doesn't work nearly as well.

thebrewguy
10-15-2012, 22:35
Yellow bottle of Heet. It's Gas line cleaner/water remover I believe so just look for that on a generic. It's should contain Methanol or "Meths"

Theosus
10-15-2012, 22:58
Definitely yellow. Denatured alcohol is even purer, and burns hotter/faster. Its almost too hot for my cat stove. Look for anything generic called "methylated spirits". In a pinch get a pint of everclear...

Lyle
10-16-2012, 11:19
From what I've seen, and in my experience, the generics have used the same color of bottles. Red and Yellow. Yellow is what you want. But check the labels too. :-)

88BlueGT
10-16-2012, 11:21
Yellowwwwwww

cabbagehead
10-24-2012, 21:39
They both have advantages.

yellow = methanol

the least visible flame
not as hot
the cleanest


red = 2-propanol

highly visible flame
hot
sooty


With any new brand: It should contain only alcohol/water. Less water is better.

leaftye
10-24-2012, 23:48
Good post cabbagehead. I've found that isopropanol is more efficient than ethanol with a side burner stove and a narrow pot, but ethanol is still more desirable because it burns clean. Ethanol can be made a little more efficient by adding a little water.

Mr Breeze
10-25-2012, 00:39
I used the yellow heet for my alcohol stove on my thru hike this year, and it worked great. I did have to but a red bottle once because nobody had the yellow ones. It did burn hotter, but i had to use twice as much than the yellow, and it did make a mess of both my stove and pot because of the soot it leaves when burning. So i would agree that the yellow is what you would want to use if you choose to go that route.

leaftye
10-25-2012, 01:10
Isopropanol (red bottle) is easier to cut with water. If you do it right, you can simmer with an alcohol stove.

88BlueGT
10-25-2012, 10:36
.... or you could use a simmer ring.

yellowsirocco
10-25-2012, 11:45
Yellow - camp fuel

Red - light duty bike chain solvent (for when you don't want your apt. smelling like strong chemicals)

cabbagehead
10-26-2012, 17:17
I thought that pure 2-propanol was the most efficient. I should test it some time. I would prefer methanol for the cleanliness. If I was going to the middle of nowhere (at least 1 week without a resupply) I would want the most efficient fuel (regardless of the cleanup time).

leaftye
10-26-2012, 18:21
I thought that pure 2-propanol was the most efficient. I should test it some time. I would prefer methanol for the cleanliness. If I was going to the middle of nowhere (at least 1 week without a resupply) I would want the most efficient fuel (regardless of the cleanup time).

It should be the most efficient, but with any type of alcohol, you have to make sure the flames actually hit your pot instead of shooting out the side. I find with 75% 2-propanol and identical amounts of straight ethanol, I can boil two pots of water instead of one. I would dilute ethanol too, but it hasn't diluted as well for me. I wish it did, or that isopropanol burned without covering my pot with soot all the way up to the rim. It doesn't clean up easily either. You should try boiling a few pots of water with it at home. You might find that you'd rather never use it again unless it was the only type of alcohol available.

Matt65
10-26-2012, 21:35
I always use Yellow.

Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk 2

Wise Old Owl
10-27-2012, 00:19
Good post cabbagehead. I've found that isopropanol is more efficient than ethanol with a side burner stove and a narrow pot, but ethanol is still more desirable because it burns clean. Ethanol can be made a little more efficient by adding a little water.

to be honest when I used the over the counter Iso which had a little water - it was very disappointing.... I only use Yellow Heat now.... I have several simmilar stoves and a side by side test would possibly kill any idea of myself using Iso.

leaftye
10-27-2012, 01:13
to be honest when I used the over the counter Iso which had a little water - it was very disappointing.... I only use Yellow Heat now.... I have several simmilar stoves and a side by side test would possibly kill any idea of myself using Iso.

I need you to be a little more specific.

When I use 75% isopropanol, it burns with an ideal flame pattern and lasts a long time. It can be difficult to light in the field when it's cold though. 99% isopropanol can burn quite vigorously, although it has better flame control than ethanol, and I haven't had a problem with lighting this.

Still, any isopropanol...aka, rubbing alcohol...aka, 2-propanol...makes a lot of soot that makes it worth avoiding. Ethanol burns clean and is inexpensive when bought by the gallon. Burning clean is enough reason to use it. I would conduct some comparison tests, but I really hate cleaning up isopropanol soot.

SunnyWalker
10-27-2012, 20:44
Heet-yellow. D. Alcohol (SLX), and last but not least, brake fluid. Go see a video on Youtube on the subject. Mini Bull Design did a video on it.

lucifer
10-29-2012, 02:28
Definitely yellow so, I would prefer methanol for the cleanliness.

Quadzilla
10-29-2012, 15:01
In case anyone hasn't provided you with the correct information (but I see that most have), YELLOW....YELLOW and only YELLOW. Anything else in the "generic" version of denatured alcohol will cause soot and smoke to the high heavens.

leaftye
10-29-2012, 16:14
In case anyone hasn't provided you with the correct information (but I see that most have), YELLOW....YELLOW and only YELLOW. Anything else in the "generic" version of denatured alcohol will cause soot and smoke to the high heavens.

Let me correct this. Denatured alcohol burns very clean, with virtually no soot or smoke. It is another type of alcohol that is sooty and smoky, that is, isopropanol, aka, rubbing alcohol.

Yellow HEET is methanol, and not the best thing for the environment or your body, so be careful about spills.