Diesel 153 Proof

[oldsparkey]

As you know I always have one of the alcohol burning stoves with me on trip's. Well I have been using Denatured Alcohol in them and at times the odor from them really stinks.

I also like to have the alcohol as a disinfectant for scrapes , cuts and even bug bites. So something to fill the bill for all the uses has to be pure without any additives or poisons in it and burn with a nice blue flame. Looking around for the answer and something better on a whim today I stopped by the local beverage store and found it.

Also this on YouTube is a good reason to switch to the grain alcohol.
The 6 minute mark is what I'm referring to.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h8btpPJyGu8&t=561s

It's Diesel 153 proof alcohol , could not locate the 190 proof but this 153 burns really good. From what I have been told it is like Everclear that a lot of folks use.
If I was still in the Navy ( medical section ) we used 200 proof grain alcohol to disinfect surgical instruments when we were in the field ( Fleet Marine ) and even at times aboard ship. We would get it in 5 gallon tins.

Sorry Jack but this has to be about as bad as Scotch and I'm not using it for drinking even though it is nothing but grain spirits. Unlike Scotch this has a nice blue flame and works fine in the stoves.

Before you ask , YES if I can find the 190 proof I will get some and try it in the stove. I will proably have to go out of state to find that.

 

[Wannabe]

That could light your fire in more ways than one :mrgreen:
Bob

 

[Kayak Jack]

(Blowing the moths out of my billfold here, unfolding the first dollar I ever earned, pondering a question) How much does a 750ml bottle of that stuff COST? One of the appealing things about alcohol stoves was cheap, plentiful fuel. Anything from a liquor store isn't cheap. About 90% of the cost is likely to be state taxes.

 

[oldsparkey]

A lot more then the same amount of denatured alcohol would cost.
Not really that bad on the cost at $19.00 for a liter jug considering what you have and I expect it to last a longtime.
The little alcohol stove only uses a ounce at a time. Plus the alcohol stove is used as a second stove in junction with the wood burner as the primary stove.

 

[Kayak Jack]

It sounds to me that, compared to a stove burning, say, Coleman fuel, it would cost more per BTU to use this as a fuel? I've also heard of using Heet, the stuff that soaks up water in fuel.

What is all of a sudden wrong with denstured alcohol from a hardware store?

 

[oldsparkey]

Denatured , Heet and even Rubbing alcohol all of them have additives added to them that are poisonous. That is why it is non consumable and if ingested can cause death or brain damage.

So when you burn it , I assume it is safe to say , the stink from the burner ( flame ) are the additives ( poisons ) being burned off and a person would be breathing them in. Again not the most healthy thing to do and it does stink.

Pure grain ( Consumable ) alcohol does not have the additional additives ( poisons ) in it so there would not be any health hazards when using it , a clean , poison , free flame.

Coleman Fuel , White Gas you spill some it really stinks up everything and leaves a residue , spill some alcohol and nothing is left. I'm sure everyone has spilled some fuel when filling a stove. In case it would ever happen an Alcohol fire is easier to put out then a Petroleum fire is. Or so I have been told.

The main thing to consider/remember is that the Alcohol stove is used as a 2nd or backup stove while a wood burning stove is the primary one and the fuel cost for it is nothing more then picking up some sticks. Can't find any sticks or mainly just to lazy to get some for a pot of hot water I have a 2nd heat source.

The Solo Stove Lite , Silver Fire Scout , Firebox Nano are three wood burners I can use a alcohol stove in. The little Evernew Appalachian set is primarily a alcohol stove set up but does doubles as a wood burner.

 

[Kayak Jack]

Wood alcohol is poisonous without additives, and has been used in chemistry labs for over a century. Probably over several centuries. Gasoline stoves have been used over a century too. I guess there must be some thing, or someone, that has changed?

 

[grandpa paddler]

NOW I know whats wrong with me. I've been using Heet in my alky stoves for years.

 

[Kayak Jack]

Hmm, let me think this one over, Jon.

 

[oldsparkey]

Wood alcohol is poisonous without additives, and has been used in chemistry labs for over a century. Probably over several centuries. Gasoline stoves have been used over a century too. I guess there must be some thing, or someone, that has changed?

Just because something was used for century's does not mean it is safe. What will they find out about wood alcohol or even petroleum or what have the found and not said anything ?
Asbestos was considered the best insulator and used for years and years and years then they found it causes cancer and today it is considered a hazard to your health.
The nice thing is that everyone has the ability to change or to stay with what they have always done ( My grandfather taught me this when I was a kid ) and not bother to try something different.

 

[Kayak Jack]

Never having observed circles of dead campers around remains of a Coleman stove, but having observed several inert campers after results of grain alcohol (yours truly being amongst them from time to time), I'll stick with my stoves that burn Coleman fuel, and also deliver enough heat to do the job, not just get close to doing it.

 

[oldsparkey]

Never having observed circles of dead campers around remains of a Coleman stove

Neither have I but I have observed a few Dead Coleman Stoves and irate campers.

I'll stick with my stoves that burn Coleman fuel, and also deliver enough heat to do the job, not just get close to doing it.

I clearly see that you are sorely uninformed of the pleasures and ability's of the little alcohol stoves but then you are not carrying everything on your person but loading it in a boat.

No matter what a person uses for heat it still has to get the water to 212 to reach boiling. A stove that is one tenth of the weight of the Coleman is really nice when you have to carry it. Heck there are some even lighter like the Vargo Triad Titanium which weighs one ounce. Or just skip all the stoves even that heavy one ounce Vargo and use a open cooking fire. No matter which one a person decides on all of them will heat a skillet to cooking temp or a pot of water to boiling.

I'll go with the ones that don't break down or you have to have spare parts to operate.
Might be one reason a lot of long distance backpackers chose the little alcohol stoves over all the other stoves on the market and the % of hikers using them is increasing everyday.

Even the wood burning ones are gaining popularity in areas when a hiker can have a open fire. Never understood that condition imposed by some of the parks. The fire is enclosed withing the stove like a gas or alcohol stoves fire is. Especially the Solo Stove or the Silver Fire Scout which has a ash pan in them. I would think there is a greater possibility of a fire from an improperly used white gas or canister stove.

 

[Kayak Jack]

Having our choice is important - one of the very most important parts of our lives. I strongly concur with each of us having that.

Something I haven't tried yet, are my two, nesting cake pans. Fire in one, the other erected behind it as a reflector.

 

[oldsparkey]

Something I haven't tried yet, are my two, nesting cake pans. Fire in one, the other erected behind it as a reflector.

Looks like someone is going to try baking some goodies.

I haven't tried this YET since I do not have the pot they suggest using.
Here is another way to bake items........
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-RNnaLdQxQUIf

I want to bake anything out camping I have the Bakepacker that I got from Mrs. Jean. She is the author of the Bakepackers Companion.

 

[Kayak Jack]

No, just a lightweight, portable "fireplace" for carbonaceous soils. Don't want to start a muck fire.