Thanks Ed/Terry. I read that link and I know now what you're referring to. We have a fireplace insert at the house and the door is lined with that material (albeit thicker/flatter). I assume it replaced that nasty asbestos. I like the carbon felt too, and that is available through Home Depot here in Ottawa. One of my stoves, the Coleman/Rogers M-1950, had a circle of that glass rope in its priming cup, completely dried out and blacked on top. Now I know what that was made from, thanks. I wouldn't think carbon would hold or wick any moisture, but I don't know much about her properties. Obviously it does though.
The smooth glass matting used for fibre glass repair jobs will do, too. Just cut a 1 cm wide strip and wrap. The ones in the link are very tidy , mine usually go from the bottom of the collection ring right up to the needle valve junction and are held in place with a couple of turns of heavy copper wire. After that I nearly always prime with gas borrowed from the tank using the cap for a bailer. Three capfulls is about right. 8)
I picked up this 2 oz. squirt bottle at REI. The long spout makes it easy to get the right amount of alcohol into the spirit cup.
Thanks again. Wanted to update this thread as I have found a spirit container that meets all my needs -both at home and in the field. Having used various other plastic ones, all sourced from sewing machine stores or sewing departments within other stores, my favorite is the one I picked up at Walmart of all places. She has sufficient volume (110 ml) for trips of at least 5 nights (summer temps) priming 2 stoves/twice a day, has an extendable 5" tube that recesses neatly inside the body for packing, supports any stove with ease regardless of the size or difficulty in accessing their priming cups, doesn't leak, squeezable, clear sided to check volume level and easy to fill. Anything less volume won't cut it for all but the short summer trips or home use, unless you plan on refilling it by bringing a 500 ML SIGG-type bottle of spirit with you.
I am a bit of a traditionalist, and the older I get the more traditional I get. I know it will be not easy to use, but I will be using this old meths bottle I came across as soon as I clean out some dried on deposits. The bottle holds about 200ml. By the way, I put in a new cork as the old one had disintegrated.
8-[ Boots had prohibited hours of sale on methylated spirit? Couldn't buy on Sundays by the look of it. I need to think about that. Is this example from Wales perhaps? Actually given it's age what shop would have been open to sell it during those hours anyway.
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/50ml-Carex-aloe-vera-hand-sanitizer-gel-pump-bottle-x2-/360373261113 OK, that auction's ended, but it works exactly the same (if not better) than Fire Star gel, smells nice, and comes in a handy pump dispenser. And you can use it to sanitise your hands, too. What's not to like?
The price, I'll stick with my €6.50 for 5litres Alcool a Bruler 90. And you can sanitize your hands with that to your hearts content. Link
Bottles for refuelling nitro powered model aircraft look suitable. They are plastic bottles with an alloy filling spout. Not expensive but may be a bit too big. The smallest I could find was 250ml. Plenty on evilbay. Or just search for "plastic nozzle bottle" or something like that. I found 5 X 100ml plastic bottles with sealable nozzles for £3.49.
Gary be careful washing hands with that, methanol can be absorbed through the skin, not a great idea chap. I use methanol in Trangia's and Heatpals but don't sanitize hands with it. Bruler may only be 10% methanol or so but better safe than sorry. Richard
G,,day i think i forgot to say about storing/ carrying meths etc in tablet/pill bottles. i use a fairly large syringe, no needle, the type that the needle pushes onto . to suck the metho up and gently squirt into the primer pan. i have no problem buying the syringes here. dont know about elsewhere on the planet. cheers kerry
yes , i find the combo very convenient for usage and storage. kerry ps cheap, the containers cost me nothing. the syringe is cheap, must be my scottish ancestry coming out, in fun ,HAHAHA.
i use a empty 5 hr engery bottle and a syringe with out the needle in it ... the smaller ones fit right in the gas tank on the svea or i can use the meths
"Vanilla extract" bottles that you get from your local cooking shop/supermarket - once empty and washed make great spirit bottles. Many many primes for a pressure stove! If you want a syringe, cookshops will also sell a syringe type "baster" for injecting stuff into meat - add a little plactic tubing and bob's your scutter uncle! Also Basecamp do a nice squeezy bottle with long nozzle which is great for priming those awkward spirit cups!
I use a syringe to fill my Eccles Safety Lamp... Ideal for that as they have a tiny refilling hole and they don't need much fuel.
You have seen the glass bottle earlier in the post that I have now filled with meths. Unfortunately, it is not very practical to fill stove priming cups - it is also too delicate and the label would be ruined in no time. For a few years now, I have used a 1 litre Trangia fuel bottle with clear, flexible tube attached. It works well but sometimes the meths comes out with a bit of a 'gush' and overfills the cup. So I have bought this: It is a 250ml bottle and is normally used for giving doses of fuel to model cars and planes. The reason I have bought this is because of its nozzle. It can deliver precise amounts easily and the flexible tube allows access to awkward places. Also (the reason I bought it), the nozzle is able to lock the fuel in the bottle. One turn of the knurled brass opens the nozzle and one reverse turn seals it. Notice the volume scales. It has two - one the normal way up and one reversed so that if the bottle is used upside down, a precise amount of fuel can be delivered. The company also sells a 500ml version as well. I might buy one for dispensing petrol into stoves such as the Svea 123 and similar.
I wonder if I can fit that little brass nozzle into the outlet of a 1-litre laboratory wash bottle I have...
Hi David - it might well fit. But there is one problem - how to get hold of the brass nozzles alone. I think the bottle is from a US manufacturer. Our US friends might be able to find out. If we can source the nozzles, I think stovies will buy one.
