I use Everclear almost exclusively. If it gets on your hands...no problem. If it gets on your gear.......no problem. Its the only one safe to burn indoors. All the others are toxic due to additives, or in the case of meth, just plane toxic. For preppers Everclear can also be a barter object. It is available at all liquor stores, and though pricy, one bottle will last many, many burns. It burns with no soot, and although the burn times may exceed meth, who really cares about a couple more minute's anyway. So many of these videos are about burn times, but the reality is 4 minutes or 11 minutes to a boil really doesn't matter much in the woods.
I buy methanol (Racing fuel) in a 5 gallon metal can from one of the local bulk fuel/oil distributors. 4 or 5 guys can divide this bulk quantity up and split the cost. This way of buying is only 1/5th the cost of buying yellow Heet. Not a common way to buy but a tremendous savings. I learned this from Hiram Cook. Thanks Hiram.
I buy bulk denatured fuel from my local hardware store. I use a small 8.5 oz Listerine bottle to store it in when I'm out. The bottle has a safety cap, packs flat and is food safe which means that alcohol will not leach thru the plastic. Buying in bulk is cheaper.
I love Heat too but Everclear is also on my list of favorite just because it is the most Multi purpose fuels available. You can cook with it you can use it as a disinfectant, you can use it to make natural medicine and you can drink it ... if your desperate and have no access to a good Bourbsn.
Everclear is a good thing to have in prep’s but would NEVER use it as alcohol stove fuel.denatured alcohol is way better stove fuel and a gallon of denatured alcohol costs about the same as a liter of everclear
I was a volunteer during the Iditarod one year. Middle of an Alaskan winter up at Galena, easily 40 below zero and they used the yellow heet. I’ve used it ever since.
I have switched to yellow heet only. Whenever i use denatured alcohol, i experience severe sinus congestion and headaches. I'm always outside and well-ventilated. I can always smell the foul odor of denatured alcohol as well. Even from 10 feet away. I only smell the yellow heet if I'm right over it. I think the denatured alcohol brand i was using was made by Jasco and Klean Strip. I've found the yellow heet is more widely available and cheaper.
I'm a big fan of Everclear; it burns hot and clean. Yes, it is more expensive than the fuels you tested, but it can also be used for wound prep. I have not noticed any noxious smell from burning it either. Please do a video testing Everclear against the other products when you get the chance. Thanks for sharing! :-)
I have gotten excellent results with EverClear it boiled faster and burned longer than denatured alcohol. I believe I paid $17 for 750 ml/25oz here in Mississippi (NOV 2020) but I think it is worth it, less damaging to my expensive ultralight gear if I were to have a leak or spill. All of those other fuels have some pretty nasty by products in them.
@@MichaelStroup.... Everclear is a different brand then Diesel. Like in Virginia , Everclear is illegal here in Florida. Diesel is legal here since it's not the 190 proof like Everclear.
@@Oldsparkey I was so confused until I decided to google everclear vs diesel. I figured you were talking diesel fuel, which would make no sense since we were talking about everclear for fuel because of it's nontoxic side effects. Unfortunately all clear grain alcohol above 101 proof is banned in Virginia. Unless the law has been reversed.
Great video. I use fondue fuel for all my alcohol burning stoves. The main reason I use it , is it has a blue color to it. Its easier to see how much fuel you have burned in my Trangia or Vargo stoves. 5he other reason is you can burn it indoors. If you get a chance you should try it. Cheers 👍
Heet yellow (and the generic version) is all I have ever used. Steve at Firebox showed me I didn't need to try anything else. If I want soot on my pots, I'll just burn sticks in my Nano and cook over that. Take care, Ernie.
I used 190 Everclear, 200 Ethanol and 1-Propanol in the Town's Wastewater Lab back in the late 1990's and early 2000's when I was the lab supervisor. We used it in our alcohol burners and to help disinfect the counter tops. We bought the one that had the best price so, it would change from time to time on which we used. The first board meeting was filled with a lot of questions and jokes about us buying from the ABC store but, the bottom line won in the end.
Have used yellow heet for maybe 10 years. Comes in its own bottle to toss into a pack. I did my own boil test about 7 years ago on various fuels but one or two choked me out with in the bathroom even with the exhaust fan on and window open. Heet is the way to go, I think. Though, last summer I found an old bottle that I had squirreled away for 5 years and brought it on a kayaking weekend overnighter - it didn’t have the same BTUs. Had some fuel tabs as a backup and so it was no big deal. The fuel tabs and my iso canisters never seem to lessen over time but I am not sure about the Heet. I am just more careful now to keep it on a 2 year use-and-replace schedule. Hope this was helpful.
Thks, you inspire me; I just got a REDCAMP mini alcohol stove & it would start burning with cheap %70 alcohol. Sooo I started it with %90 alcohol & got it hot. Then it burn just fine with the cheap %70 alcohol. I guess the better question is ?what combo of stove fuel is best? Oh I put the min alcohol stove into much larger foldable camping twig stove.
One thing to keep in mind, heat usually goes on clearance at walmart in the spring. I bought about 6-4 packs for $1.50 each, this past spring. It stores well as long as you don't break the seal. All alcohol absorbs moisture from the atmosphere once it's open until it neutralizes. Methanol does this even faster.
Good insights on the fuels enjoyed the video. I haven't used 99% isopropyl, but I have used 91%. You're right, it's sooty and the smell is pretty rough. Adding water cleans up the flame but doesn't help the smell. My favorite is heet because of the same points you mentioned. It burns clean and you don't have to buy a gallon of it. I think by the ounce isopropyl is the cheapest then denatured followed by heet. I'm sure those prices vary.
Thanks Ernie, another top draw video, as always much appreciated. Here in the U.K. Heet is as rare as hens teeth and the cost of that small yellow bottle is extortionate!! Like lots of the comment on here there are many different types fuel , I usually use methylated spirit, here it’s a purple colour to stop its human consumption! It burns well produces little or no soot but does have a distinctive odour which is hard to remove if you get it on clothes or kit! Kind regards from deepest Dorset England 👍
Same here in Italy, ours is coloured pink and "denaturated", i.e. substances are added to make it stink and not suitable for human consumption. The edible alcohol is available but taxed, so the pink stink is cheaper.
Same here in Australia; Methylated Spirits is all I've used. Appears to have a high component of Ethanol (ethyl alcohol) with Methanol. They've purple coloured Methylated Spirits here as well, but that's just because it looks better in cocktails. I use the standard clear MS (not in cocktails) for my stoves. I'd like to use anything reasonably priced that minimises blackening pots.
I use booze exactly for the reasons you said. Non toxic. My Trangia handles it well so far. And good morning homie. Someday I have to come back and come home.
Interesting results for you. In my case, that clean burning stuff is much easier on me. Anything with much methanol in it, let alone straight methanol makes me sick and gets me coughing. Thanks for the video
@@phoenixrising4073 the problem here is that heet contains other proprietary additives other than methanol. this is the real culprit ! since it's trade secret, the contents are not revealed to the public. unlike denatured alcohol which is mostly ethnol, heet is entirely of methanol, along with other proprietary additives ...... as indicated on the safety data sheet
I use Blue fondue fuel, liquid not gel. Costs about $2-3 for a pint at dollar stores. It is used indoors, in chaffing dishes. A tent is a well ventilated space. Almost no soot. Flame is visible.
Hiram Cook was a proponent of methanol. Denatured alcohol runs about $17/$18 per gal. Methanol racing fuel runs about $5 per gal. Isopropyl burns dirty without the proper stove. If you reduce the height of your inner can to 1/2” above the outer can, it will burn cleaner.
Lol I came here to see if someone else commented this. Absolutely to not add to your brake fluid. Yellow heet is for gasoline only to remove water and prevent fuel lines from freezing. Red iso-heet is for diesel and gas both
In walmart denatured alcohol is found in the paint section. Its funny because it has the word Fuel in big lettering right on the front of it. At less than 7$ a can, its a pretty inexpensive purchase for how many meals/cups of coffee one can of the fuel will provide.
It's a liquid chemical (hazardous material) in a can so they put it with the paint thinner and the linseed oil and the lacquer thinner and the Acetone. Has multiple uses. I myself use it to test if the paint on a particular piece is oil based or latex based. It will soften latex almost instantly but really only clean off the oil based. If you keep rubbing, it will eventually start removing the oil based paint. My question is when it come to denatured alcohol is there some that's more flammable or potent than others. Is there a rating? Higher octane per say?
I use Denatured Alcohol. It can be found everywhere , low in cost and does not dirty ( soot ) the pot or pans. Down side , it stinks and you should not breath it so it's great outside or inside with ventilation. One I use inside or if I'm cooking something which the fumes will contact. Then it's the food grade alcohols . Everclear or Desiel. Both are clear , good burning alcohol's ( No Poison in them ). They can also be used to disinfect injuries ( be ready to learn new words if use that way ). Plus when diluted properly ( with a mixer ) they can be a adult beverage. Downside , They cost a lot more and can only be located in Liquor stores.
I find yellow Heat in Montana usually less than two dollars in other states like Utah and Idaho it's more than $5 and red heat is usually even higher priced and burns with black smoke and gives headache
I keep coming across accounts of people using soap on the bottoms of their pots to prevent soot from attaching to the pot. Maybe this would be a good idea for a video and isopropyl alcohol fuel.
Wayne Brandenburg Exactly what I always do, a little soap to create a film on the bottom of the pan. I learned it from my grandmother. And I use isopropyl 91% alcohol. No soot or only a trace of it. Maybe it is the alcohol brand.
In my neck of the woods I use denatured alcohol. It is cheaper and easier to find than the other types. It is available in 1 l bottles. Most of those bottles are pretty sturdy and have a nozzle that would make dividing fairly easy. I carry it in Trangia safety fuel bottle.
I like yellow Heat the best and I can find it in most gas stations auto parts stores convenience stores supermarkets Walmart sporting goods stores truck stop add mini gas stations along the freeway during road trips
Have tried both flavors of denatured alcohol in a Trangia. The red-can stuff leaves little or no soot, unlike the green-can - bigger fire, but black stuff on the pot that’s tough to clean off! I use the green stuff in shellac.
We use methylated spirits in Australia. It's about 98% alcohol and is perfectly clear like water.. It burns hot and leaves zero soot, and it's only $4 AUD for 1 litre..
Denatured Alcohol in the US is the same thing as Methylated Spirits. Basically alcohol w/ methanol added to make it non-potable and exempt from liquor tax.
Ernie as a man of science and medicine I highly value your opinion and knowledge. Do you believe that the fuels with methanol are safe to cook your foods over ?
PaleoHikerMD Turn soot in Art ... ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-_yyyKiiAYDw.html Lamp Black used to be made from the soot that would accumulate on old oil lamps. Nowadays it is produced in a more efficient way and contains pure carbon which is gained from an incomplete burning of oil and gas. PaleoHikerMD Turn soot in Art ... Lamp Black used to be made from the soot that would accumulate on old oil lamps. Nowadays it is produced in a more efficient way and contains pure carbon which is gained from an incomplete burning of oil and gas.
I can't find any denatured alcohol locally anymore (thanks CARB, though seriously it's probably for the best as some businesses would just go through barrels of the stuff as a solvent). Oddly enough, Crown Camp Fuel, which is basically the same stuff, was available at REI, probably because it's explicitly marketed as stove fuel. I'm told that denatured used to be like 9 to 1 ethanol: methanol, but now it's more like half and half. There's no set recipe, "denatured" just means "you can't drink this", so there can be other stuff in there like bitrex or even isopropanol. Now that vaccines are readily available and the cities aren't as locked down, I can find things like laboratory grade ethanol, 190 proof ethanol for extraction or sanitizer, or electronics grade isopropanol. Probably won't ever use IPA for stoves (it should work fine as accelerant for lighting wood or charcoal), but I'll probably get a couple of bottles of 190 proof ethanol so I can run the stove indoors without worrying about methanol exposure. I read somewhere that if you use ethanol as the girl you really want 90% for the cleanest burn.
If you check the BTUS and temperature that heat and denatured alcohol burns at denatured alcohol is superior. You’re right 12 ounce bottles is more convenient than a whole gallon of denatured alcohol I use denatured alcohol exclusively. I used alcohol stoves for four years when I lived in an RV and used my stove 3-4 times every day and a gallon of denatured alcohol lasted 6-7 months.
Got into these stove just a couple months ago. Here in Canada it seems we're stuck with methyl hydrate. I'm no chemist so for all I know it may be no different from methanol. Either way it seems to work as well as what I've seen on RU-vid. Burns clean and fast no nasty smell. I get a cup of coffee and a package of Raman out of an ounce or so of fuel. It could suck a bunch more and still be nicer than dealing with a bulky butane canister and the noise it makes. Thanks btw your videos were a big help in getting started.
I've heard that once you open a bottle of HEET the shelf life/effectiveness diminishes. Have you found this to be the case? How long can I expect a bottle to last once opened?
I’ve had heat bottles in storage through very hot temps in summer and cold in winter. They were probably 3-4 years old. Some of the bottles were completely empty and some had just a bit left inside. After all those years the little bit that was left still burned just fine.
Thanks. Have you (anyone?) tried any of the bioethanols that are denatured with isopropyl? I'm curious if the smell/soot level is similar to the clean burning denatured alcohol. The other alternative which I've seen advertized as being 'safe' for inside use is the liquid fondue fuel which looks to be mostly methanol. Can anyone comment on the smell/soot produced by this fuel? (as a note, I'm from Canada so the yellow heet is harder to find. For us, denatured alcohol = methyl hydrate at the hardware stores)
I just watched another video of yours and subscribed only a few minutes before you put this video on. I'm new to "camping" here in South Louisiana and enjoyed this video. I'm intrigued with the homemade stove and about to look for videos about it. Looking for anything that can make me comfortable in the woods, especially on the cheap.. Thanks! 😎
I was very sceptic about the performance of the cat can stove at first. After some trying I am very fond of it. The integral pot stand is great. The carbon felt wick is a little on the pricey side but you do not need much of it. Also it nests well in various pot sizes for a small kit.
I’ve aware now of warnings about using methanol (or “Heet”) because it’s toxic. The warnings include not allowing it to get on your skin. By contrast, isopropyl alcohol, which doesn’t work nearly as well as methanol, is non-toxic on skin, and is of course used as “rubbing alcohol.” My question is, once methanol has been either burned away or evaporated away, does anything toxic remain behind? Is there any sort of residue remaining in the burner that is harmful if touched by bare skin? Thanks for your very useful information and very approachable presentation.
👍 Very helpful your vlogs, where can I buy that kind of alcohol here in Manila Philippines? What more of alcohol can I use if there is no kind of alcohol in my area? Thank you so much for sharing this knowledge to help in case of trouble 👍😀
Standard, Denatured alcohol with the red label, is further labeled “Stove Fuel”. That label serves a purpose. It is the safest, most effective alcohol that the industry can produce for burning in alcohol stoves. It also produces no soot. And calling this form of alcohol “stove fuel” reduces the industry’s liability. The alcohol labeled “clean burning” Fuel, differs from regular alcohol only in having slightly lower levels of methanol than the regular denatured alcohol. It is recommended for “glass cleaning”. Plus it does produce some soot. Both of these products are ninety to ninety five percent ethanol. HEET, however, is pure methanol, and is intended for use only as a gas line dehydration solution. It is the most toxic alcohol, and any handling of the rapid skin absorbing methanol or inhaling any of its fumes is well documented to cause significant health risks especially with liver toxicity among others. Lastly, I saw and heard several references to the regular denatured alcohol as only being available in large amounts, as in gallons, but I have yet to see it offered for sale anywhere without there being one quart/liter cans available. And it’s pretty cheap! Thanks, Robert Shirley MD
From the manufacturer product descriptions it seems you have this backwards: Green: "Green Denatured Alcohol produces the hot, clean, odorless and smokeless flame you desire in a marine stove or alcohol burner" Red: "Denatured Alcohol is a gentle, multipurpose solvent that is essential for thinning shellac and cleaning brushes. It evaporates quickly, making it an excellent glass cleaner."
I’m not sure I quite get the whole concept. How much time lapse is there between 212 degrees and a rolling boil? Here is my set up. Redcamp stove w/ 1 oz of denatured alcohol (alcohol appliance and marine stove fuel ), 2 cu. of water-room temperature of 62 degrees, contained in stainless steel canteen cup/cover with the aluminum USGI canteen cup stove-cup sitting perpendicular on top of stove. My numbers are 11.5 minutes for a rolling boil and 16 minutes till it’s outer ring starts to fade b/c of lack of fuel. Altitude-WI. Why are my numbers so much different than any of your tests?
Watching video with several fuels awhile back. Everclear and yellow HEET cleanest burning. As you say, though Everclear more expensive, it has other valuable uses
Im absolutely floored, I was going to hold off on buying the Evernew because of how hard it is to find 99%. Yet I just found a source for it, blow my mind...better yet I have a free delivery service to the place...so I am poppin 4 bottles now to see how well this stuff works in my Lixada woodburning/alcohol burning stove...then maybe I will splurge for the Evernew seeing as I have a good source for clean fuel...so you are telling me I can buy something called heat and it's pretty effective as long as I avoid the fumes? Ok well that is good news 2! I was going to order a bottle of 70% just to see if that stuff will burn, will it even work? ALL the stores sell 50% like the dollar store etc. still in Canada...yet what about that, is that total trash, or will it burn also? Because that would make me happy if it would at least work...the unit is super high quality titanium as you well know having one yourself so rust should be zero issue. Thanks for any and all knowledge here in your expertise, after all you are the portable stove KING here on youtube IMO :)
actually just found an online resource that said the 70% will work...so I ordered one bottle of that also just so I can see / test this properly to make sure what differences I notice. Always good to run stuff through your equipment first to know what you are doing...yeah absolutely amazed, almost impossible to find any of this stuff around and now I hit a goldmine, wild!
I live in California where HEAT in the yellow bottle is no longer sold. Likewise Denatured Alcohol is no longer available. I have to import these products from out of state. I have used 90% alcohol or Acetone both of which are very sooty.
They all have a little bit of water in. Propan-2-ol is a longer hydrocarbon chain, and the stove doesn’t burn hot enough/long enough to combust it fully, so you get soot. Also why you shouldn’t put petrol in there
@paleohikermd i'm new to the channel and wanted to thank you for all the content! what a great resource, i really appreciate all that you've shared :) you touch on this towards the end of the video, but what is the cleanest burning fuel for alcohol stoves? i hate dealing with soot.. any tips on soot mitigation or clean up? i see a comment below on everclear (i used to get spiritus) pricey, but eh if you're having a rough day, you can have a sip as well ;) how about a soot test in future?? thanks again
Awesome video !!! Thank you for posting ! I watched a video of yours and I think you used a Prandi hatchet . Im needing a hatchet for carving . Would that be a good one to buy ?
There are "bioethanol fuel" products for alcohol burning fireplaces and fire pits, which include isopropyl alcohol so they all burn yellow... And yeah, they all leave soot.
never seen clean burning denatured I find that methyl alcohol has an annoying smell, race cars using methyl smell isopropyl I will not use ethyl is best imo but it's expensive & you have to go to a liquor store so I end up with standard denatured for my alcohol stoves, but it by the gallon
Complete newb which is why I'm binging these videos. Saw a guy on different channel that suggested adding 5% water to fuel to keep soot down. Any opinion?
We don't have Heet on sale does'nt get cold enough here, rubbing alcohol is almost impossible to find, very high strength drinking alcohol is probably banned, so it's denatured alcohol here known as Methylated spirits (purple) known as Meths bio ethanol works bit sooty mix a small amount of water, up to 10%, before burning or...really cheap alternative, nail varnish remover in 400ml bottles from Poundland it burns but oooh boy does it stink.
TheTrailDancer As mentioned in this video, he was testing 1 oz fuel, 1 cup water, how long to boil and how long the fuel burns. I do not know the room's temperature and the water's temperature before starting the test.
