Might as well enjoy one of those 20 oz Imperial Pints while you're at it! Ben Dang that's a big beer. Puts our 12 oz can to shame.
Despite the pressures of the European Union, the UK Imperial system remains dominant in everyday life, just like the non-metric system remains in the US - the most technological society in the world. Long live pints, miles, gallons and everything else. The Imperial system had and has many superior advantages over the French's logical but poor system of measurements. Give people a soap box in a convenient place and they will stand on it again and again.
Pinched from Zen Stoves www.zenstoves.net Excuse the photos being missing. Fuels for Alcohol Stoves Denatured Alcohol (ethanol with methanol (added as a denaturing agent), methyl ethyl ketone, acetone, water, and possibly other chemicals - aka methylated spirits, shellac thinner, marine stove fuel, liquid fondue fuel, chafing dish fuel)- and Found in marine shops and in the paint department of most hardware stores. Many brands of this solvent are specifically marketed for use as marine stove fuel and/or chafing fuel. This form of fuel has anywhere from 1% to 80% methanol and other poisonous chemicals in it. Because of the great variability of contents in denatured alcohol, some brands burn better than others. One trick to test the suitability of a particular brand of denatured is to burn a small amount in a dish and reject it if there is any residue left after it has burned. Lab grade ethanol may have benzene or other chemicals mixed in with it. Grain Alcohol (aka pure ethanol, pure grain alcohol, PGA, grain neutral spirits, GNS, rectified spirit, rectified alcohol, medical grade ethanol, ethyl anhydrous, moonshine) - Everclear Grain Alcohol and Golden Grain alcohol from the David Sherman Corporation come in 95% (190 proof) bottles. This fuel works well but is an expensive option and may be illegal or difficult to purchase in many places. It is also non-toxic and can double for medicinal uses. Grain alcohol can also be made at home in large quantities, though perhaps not legally in your area without special permits or permission (See TTB Forms). Pure ethanol (aka absolute alcohol or dehydrated alcohol) can also be purchased from chemical supply distributors and as medical grade ethyl alcohol for a very high price. Since production of alcohol greater than 95.4% requires a special dehydration process that includes benzene or glycerine, these fuels can be very toxic. Methyl Alcohol (aka methanol, wood alcohol, methyl hydrate, liquid fondue fuel, camp stove fuel, gas line antifreeze) - Found in some hardware store paint departments as paint thinner or at gas stations and general stores as gas-line antifreeze such as HEET brand (Yellow is Methanol, Red is Isopropyl). You may also be able to purchase this for around US$3 per gallon at race shops that sell it as race fuel. The vaporization pressures of methanol are much higher than ethanol throughout the applicable temperature ranges and the jets in your stove might light up faster when using this fuel. This is also a very poisonous fuel and you should consider the health concerns of this fuel if you decide to use it long term (thru-hikers beware and others may want to avoid storing contaminated stoves in their cook pots or bowls). Isopropyl Alcohol (Isopropanol, 2-Propanol, rubbing alcohol) Not recommended - Found in drug, food and general stores (HEET in red container). Rubbing alcohol is generally only 70% alcohol and won't work in many stoves. Alcohol with 91% or greater alcohol content will work, but will leave a sooty residue on your pot and brown water in your stove. The heat potential for this fuel is high, but it doesn't generally burn completely (yellow flame and unburned soot) and is generally mixed with water that isn't burned and hinders fuel efficiency. If you want to use rubbing alcohol (cheapest easily available fuel on this list) for fuel, you may want to use an open flame stove instead of a jetted stove. If you decided to use a jetted stove, you may need to use larger jets in your stove (#57 drill, pushpin size, ~1.4mm or larger) and try to empty as much left over liquid from your stove as you can after each use (as this will further hinder future fire ups) for it to operate. Gelled Alcohol (Sterno, Canned Heat, jelled alcohol) - or This is either methanol or ethanol trapped in a network of solid calcium acetate forming a gel. This gel is a little safer to use than liquid alcohol since there is less of a spill hazard. Unfortunately, most gelled alcohol stoves have small top openings and often don't get food hot enough to cook or bring water to a boil. This fuel usually comes in a resealable can and may be the best choice for young and clumsy campers, since kicking it over is less likely to cause a significant fire hazard as would other liquid and gas stoves. Due to costs and limitations, it is not highly recommended for most long distance backpackers. See Gelled Alcohol Stoves for more information. Diethylene Glycol (DEG, 3-oxa-1,5-pentanediol, diglycol, ethylene diglycol, or dihydroxy diethyl ether) Not recommended - Diethylene glycol is used in many brands of chafing fuels and must use a wick to burn. It is considered nonflammable by the US Department of Transportation, can be air transported and is therefore much more economical to transport and store. These transportation and storage classifications make it ideal for the retail market and it's safe to assume that any chafing fuel can with a wick uses diethylene glycol until proven otherwise. This fuel is difficult to light and is extremely poisonous. It is in fact the deadly chemical implicated in the 1937 Elixir Sulfanilamide Incident that killed 107 and was the main motivation for hastening of the enactment of the 1938 Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act. This fuel can be used but is not recommended for backpacking stove use due to its toxicity and nonflammable nature.
"he previous poster is Geeves, not Geeveston (a small town in Tasmania). " Totally off topic The town Geeveston is the reason my father and aunt havnt spoken in nearly 30 years. My aunt spent many years doing a genealogy and came to the conclusion that if I didnt have any sons the Geeves name would die out. Dad replied with a page ripped out of a Tasmanian phone book which includes many people from that town with the name Geeves. They havnt spoken since
