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#87631 - 01/20/08 08:12 PM fuel
jakem456 Offline
newbie

Registered: 01/20/08
Posts: 2
i have a pop-can stove i made and i filled it with perlite. does anyone have a cheap easy-to-find fuel i can use?

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#87632 - 01/20/08 08:50 PM Ethanol alcohol [Re: jakem456]
cheap Offline
member

Registered: 01/06/08
Posts: 46
I suggest you go to a marine/hardware store and buy some ethanol alcohol. Don't buy isopropyl, it burns all sooty. I found that shoppers drug mart stocks life brand rubbing alcohol compound that is 95% ethanol. costed about 4 dollars for a big bottle.
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#87633 - 01/20/08 09:32 PM Re: Ethanol alcohol [Re: cheap]
NiytOwl Offline
member

Registered: 11/06/04
Posts: 501
Loc: California
Adding to what cheap said: Denatured alcohol is ethanol with a bit of methanol and is available in the paint department of - lessee...Walmart, Kmart, Home Depot, Orchard Supply, Ace Hardware, Sears....

You can also buy a product called Heet. It's a fuel line de-icer that's sold in a YELLOW plastic bottle in the automotive section. It's pure methanol and not quite as good a fuel as denatured alcohol. Don't buy the red bottle!

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#87634 - 01/21/08 08:47 AM Re: Ethanol alcohol [Re: cheap]
KYratshooter Offline
member

Registered: 10/25/07
Posts: 29
Loc: North KY, S of Cincinnati
You can also burn hand sanitizer. %60 alcahol. Clean your hands and heat your food.

Pure grain alcahol will work but is not cheap. But, how else can you cut your stove fuel with water, add koolaid and have a stiff drink.

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#87635 - 01/21/08 05:49 PM Re: Ethanol alcohol [Re: cheap]
cheap Offline
member

Registered: 01/06/08
Posts: 46
Don't use hand sanitizer!!! It will cover your pots with soot and hardly produces any heat. It is 60% alcohol AND about 40% water.

A good fuel is Everclear. It is a bit expensive, but it is a good fuel and it also makes good cocktails.

(pure grain alcohol can make you go blind)
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#87636 - 01/21/08 10:29 PM Re: Ethanol alcohol [Re: KYratshooter]
phat Offline
Moderator

Registered: 06/24/07
Posts: 4107
Loc: Alberta, Canada

Hand sanitizer will burn but not well. Don't try it in a stove.

use denatured ethanol, or methanol.
methanol can usually be found as "Heet" brand in the states in a yellow bottle in car places. In Canada it's just "gas line antifreeze" or methyl hydrate. read the label - if it
says methanol, or methyl hydrate, it's good stove fuel. If it says Isopropryl, use only as
a last resort - it's sooty and nasty.
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#87637 - 01/22/08 05:05 AM Re: Ethanol alcohol [Re: cheap]
Pika Offline
member

Registered: 12/08/05
Posts: 1814
Loc: Rural Southeast Arizona
Quote:
(pure grain alcohol can make you go blind)

You can certainly cause problems with your throat and larynx if you drink pure ethanol (grain alcohol) but won't make you go blind the way that methanol (wood alcohol) can. Ethanol is the active ingredient in Scotch, Bourbon and Gin (and Everclear). Rubbing alcohol (isopropyl alcohol) is another thing to avoid drinking; makes a lousy stove fuel too! <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />
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#87638 - 01/22/08 06:03 AM Re: Ethyl alcohol [Re: Pika]
Paddy_Crow Offline
member

Registered: 11/08/04
Posts: 2285
Loc: Michigan
Sorry to interrupt, grammar cops here. I have to change the subject line before I go nuts.

Ethanol alcohol is redundant. It's ethyl alcohol or simply ethanol.

<img src="/forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

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#87639 - 01/22/08 06:35 AM Re: Ethanol alcohol [Re: Pika]
layla17 Offline
member

Registered: 01/14/08
Posts: 22
Yeah I've heard of people having big problems with their larynx from drinking grain alcohol too often. A friend of mine drank grain alcohol straight one weekend and he said he had a horrible sore throat for a 3 days.
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#87640 - 01/22/08 08:29 AM Re: Ethanol alcohol [Re: layla17]
NiytOwl Offline
member

Registered: 11/06/04
Posts: 501
Loc: California
Quote:
A friend of mine drank grain alcohol straight one weekend and he said he had a horrible sore throat for a 3 days.


Alcohol is hydrophilic. It pulls water out of the air, your skin, and your mucus membranes better than the driest air. This is also how it kills bacteria - by dehydration. When you drink Everclear straight, some of the alcohol remains in your throat after you swallow and is subsequently inhaled where it dehydrates the cells lining the trachea. The cells die and you get a sore throat.

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#87641 - 01/22/08 09:24 AM Re: Ethanol alcohol [Re: NiytOwl]
Earthling Offline
member

Registered: 02/22/03
Posts: 3228
Loc: USA
Great trivia Nity <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/smirk.gif" alt="" />
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PEPPER SPRAY AIN'T BRAINS IN A CAN!

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#87642 - 01/22/08 01:05 PM Re: Ethanol alcohol [Re: NiytOwl]
jakem456 Offline
newbie

Registered: 01/20/08
Posts: 2
thanks for the help! i think im going to try using the denatured alchohol

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