United Kingdom available fuel for use in Alcohol Stoves

Awhitecat..
Fuller's Earth?

Get an old acetylene bottle, it's chock full of the stuff.
Be sure to drain it before cracking it open, tho...

 

You can buy pure methanol in large quantities very cheaply compared to purple meths. It is reputed to be an excellent fuel for Trangias but it is extremely toxic.

 

???????

Ken in NC

 

Acetylene is extremely unstable, prone to auto-detonation if stored as a compressed gas. The cylinders for it are filled with diatomaceous earth or similar, and a solvent like acetone. The acetylene is dissolved in the acetone, making it safe to store under pressure.

Weird, dangerous stuff.

J

 

Yup, anything over about 15 PSI, acetylene can explode by itself. The work around is to have an absorbant material (Fullers earth, diatomaceous earth, or even balsa wood) in the tank, then fill it with acetone. Then add acetylene, which is absorbed by the acetone, and you can pressurize it over 200 PSI.

You have to be careful to never let the pressure in the hose get above 7 PSI. I use maybe 3-4...

 

A friend's family own an old gas station/service station. A couple local yobs worked as tire changers at the garage.

It came to pass that someone figured out that if you filled balloons with acetylene, you could toss'em about and randomly one would explode with a pleasing "POP", usually on contacting something solid.

Halloween.

These brilliant fellows decide to play with a bigger bang. They filled a black trash bag with acetylene. They put said bag of gas in the middle of the bench seat in their quarterton pickup truck. The boys slid into the seat on each side of the bag.

*earth shattering Ka-boom*

The boys are near deaf. The cab of the pickup is distinctly egg-shaped. The windshield, in one piece, uncracked, stabs out of the neighbouring churchyard like a surfboard in the sand.

The boys learned a valuable lesson. Don't try this!

J

 

Where do you buy this pure methanol, David?

Thanks. Regards, mike.

 

http://www.vegetableoildiesel.co.uk/forum/viewthread.php?tid=12091

 

Just clocked the thread, so sorry if a bit late. Have you tried £1 shops for purple meths? I get 500ml for £1.39 chez moi.

Slightly off topic - where is a good place to buy Paraffin? A local shop does it at £8 for 4 litres. Only has two or three left and not sure where to get more.

 

May not be the most practical solution for you but the cheapest Paraffin is heating oil.

Paraffin is Kerosene. 28 sec heating oil is Kerosene and costs about 75p a litre

I live in the cuds and every other house uses heating oil. May not be so common in Manchester though. Got any friends living in the countryside? .

Terry

 

Thanks for that information, David. I'm picturing my BRASSLITE (about the size of a cup and using 1 fluid oz to boil) alongside a 44 gallon drum of methanol!!!!!

Regards, Mike

 

A bit of research . . . . .

"Physical Appearance of Ethanol and Methanol
Ethanol is a colorless liquid that is extremely volatile. It has a strong, burning odor and will burn as a bright blue flame.

Methanol too is a colorless liquid that is also extremely volatile. Its odor is distinctive and it burns as a bright white flame.


Physical Effects of Ethanol and Methanol
Ethanol is a primary ingredient in both fermented and distilled alcoholic beverages. If you ingest ethanol, you will begin to feel intoxicated. Only after a large dose will you feel ill, vomit, or develop alcohol poisoning.

Methanol should never be ingested, inhaled, or come in contact with your skin. Even a small dose, less than half a teaspoon, can cause blindness and less than four ounces is consistently fatal.


Ethanol’s and Methanol’s Reactions with Water
Ethanol is miscible in water, which means that the two substances easily combine to make a homogenous solution.

Methanol is soluble in water, which means that it will break down in the presence of water."


I use ethanol as a substitute for UK meths, but I would never use methanol.
Just my opinion of course.

 

Pardon the ignorance, but where does one find paraffin from pumps?

 

Hardly anywhere now. A few old fashioned hardware stores if you can find them and the odd garage. Rural garages are a good bet. Some heating oil suppliers will sell it 'on draught' at the gate, but not many.

May be worth asking at a gardening club or on an allotment as it's used in greenhouse heaters and most gardeners won't be paying £2.00 a litre at B&Q.

Terry

 

Yep, I get my paraffin via a local allotment society...

 

Look on ebay - its around £1 per litre if you buy 25l at a time. I've been using it for over a year now instead of meths in Trangias and Heatpals with no problems. Yes, it's toxic but a lot of things are, so don't drink it or wash in it and you'll be just fine. I do my utmost not to spill or come into contact (bare flesh to fuel) with any fuel, adopt the same approach and you will have no issues using methanol. Just my opinion.

 

By the way, the treatment for methanol ingestion (if it's not too late), is to drink a lot of ethanol. Most interesting. Apparently it displaces the methanol metabolism process.

 

Anybody know if this is the sort of fuel I'm looking for?



Here is the Brasslite Turbo II-D with extensions.



Thanks for the help.

Regards, Mike.

 

http://biofire.co.uk/services.html

Fuel-wise, it looks fine. The company behind it is talking eco-bollocks though.

I would still burn purple hardware store meths in any alcohol burner without any concerns.