Best Trangia/Alcohol Stove Fuel

[crosslandkelly]

For the hive mind.
I've used plain old meths in my Trangias for years. My question is, are there better, cheaper alternatives?
What do you use, and where do you get it?

 

[Kadushu]

I buy 5 litre bottles of plain meths from Ebay, ~£18 last time IIRC. No idea if it's the best, I'm just glad road fuel isn't that pricey.

*Laughs nervously*

 

[Brizzlebush]

I use "bio ethanol" from b&q.
2 or 3 L bottle.
I think it was about £5 last time I bought some? Anyway it seemed the best value to me, but there's probably cheaper options.

 

[billycoen]

I use I.D.A, I get it for nowt from my old place of work,but there is this..https://www.bonnymans.co.uk/product-page/industrial-denatured-alcohol-ida-industrial-meths-ims

 

[MikeeMiracle]

Regular meths from Toolstation, £2.99 for 0.5L. Never felt the need to use the official fuel bottle, regularly have half liter water bottles in the bag and never had an issue with them leaking.

 

[Mesquite]

I use Bio ethanol as well. Doesn't burn quite as cleanly as meths and apparently it's not as hot a flame. Can't say I've ever noticed much of a difference but tbh I've never done a comparison side by side either End of the day it does what I want and heats stuff up

Currently it's £8 for 2 ltrs at B&Q compared to meths there at £4.50 for 0.5 ltrs

 

[MikeeMiracle]

Doesn't burn quite as cleanly as meths

That's interesting to hear, I thought I heard you less less soot build up on your cookware as it burns cleaner.

 

[swyn]

I used meths when travelling on my old Honda m cycle. That was a whole years worth.
20 years back one could buy ‘denatured alcohol’ so I bought 25 litres. There was then a rush so the goal posts that enabled folk to buy were moved much, much higher.
I still have the drum and it has 15 litres remaining so I’m ok for my lifespan!
Alcohol burning stoves are ever so slightly frowned upon hence the demise of the original Origo stove.
IMO stick with meths as it’s really not that bad.
S

 

[Minotaur]

I am changing to the Bio-Fuel for the anti-soot reason. Fingers crossed.
I have had no problem with meths except often being in the middle of nowhere and no one selling it.

 

[swyn]

I am changing to the Bio-Fuel for the anti-soot reason. Fingers crossed.
I have had no problem with meths except often being in the middle of nowhere and no one selling it.

Ah, not had that experience as yet coz I haven’t tried to buy any.
S

 

[Minotaur]

Ah, not had that experience as yet coz I haven’t tried to buy any.
S

For some reason it is getting harder and harder to get hold of and has become something to buy from large stores. It seems to be being replaced by white spirits.
Has anyone tried the car/brake cleaner the Americans seem to use instead?

 

[swyn]

For some reason it is getting harder and harder to get hold of and has become something to buy from large stores. It seems to be being replaced by white spirits.
Has anyone tried the car/brake cleaner the Americans seem to use instead?

Could be the scenario re the faithful Origo stove no longer being produced. This was, I have been told, due to a serious fire when an Origo stove was being filled when still lit…..
S

 

[nigelp]

I did a 24 litre order of this fuel and split it with friends. Burns well.

1L Bottles of Bio Ethanol Fuel

Ekofuel - Bioethanol Fuel for Fireplaces, Alcohol Stoves and Burners

ekofuel.org

 

[swyn]

I did a 24 litre order of this fuel and split it with friends. Burns well.

1L Bottles of Bio Ethanol Fuel

Ekofuel - Bioethanol Fuel for Fireplaces, Alcohol Stoves and Burners

ekofuel.org

I wonder if Aspen 4 would be suitable for stoves. Must make a note to try it.
S

 

[nigelp]

I wonder if Aspen 4 would be suitable for stoves. Must make a note to try it.
S

Not Trangia style stoves no.
I use Aspen 4 in my Colman ‘petrol’ stove and it burn very well indeed. Very clean and much less fumes than using petrol or Coleman fuel. I buy Aspen 4 from a local garden machinery store.

 

[Nice65]

Not Trangia style stoves no.
I use Aspen 4 in my Colman ‘petrol’ stove and it burn very well indeed. Very clean and much less fumes than using petrol or Coleman fuel. I buy Aspen 4 from a local garden machinery store.

According to the eccentric and knowledgeable husband and wife at The Base Camp, Aspen 4 is the ideal fuel for anything that runs on Coleman fuel. I still have a bit of Coleman that I use occasionally in my SVEA, but I’ll be getting Aspen when I run out.

Years ago I used to use surgical spirit that my dad used in his vets practice, but it left a residue, it burns a yellow flame that is sooty. Denatured alcohol seems to burn hot with an almost invisible flame. Quite expensive compared with meths. There are some fuel comparisons here:

Alcohol Stoves – Safe to Use Indoors or Outdoors - The Provident Prepper

Alcohol is a good cooking fuel which has the potential to be used safely indoors for emergency cooking. Always use great caution around open flame and provide adequate ventilation when burning anything.

theprovidentprepper.org

I’m seeing 5lt of meths at Wow Camping for about £13. Lost the link, but that’s quite cheap.

 

[nigelp]

£13 for 5 litres is very cheap for meths. There used to be a furniture restoration shop Romsey/Southampton way that sold meths in bulk.

 

[TLM]

I am a bit lost.

Denatured ethanol is by definition any mixture that is made undrinkable (or nearly so) by addition of some chemicals. Methanol, simplest alcohol is just one of them. Here on can get about 10 different formulations of denatured ethanol (for mostly technical applications) depending on your needs.

Pure methanol burns very cleanly, ethanol is not much worse but propanol tends form soot more easily in my experience. When burning hydrocarbons the longer the carbon chain the more soot they tend to give as a general rule. So longer chain denaturing agents tend to soot more. Glowing soot is usually what gives flame the yellow colour, about the same can be achieved by adding something containing sodium.

I have read that alcohol burns cleanest when it contains a little bit of water but I have never found reliable test data on that, some very good reason for it though, it depends on the temp of the soot particles, the higher the better.

I understand that "meths" usually contains about 10% methanol so the defining ingredient is still ethanol.

 

[billycoen]

Never felt the need to use the official fuel bottle,

I just re-use an empty Redex bottle.

 

[Minotaur]

Could be the scenario re the faithful Origo stove no longer being produced. This was, I have been told, due to a serious fire when an Origo stove was being filled when still lit…..
S

No, I think it to do with it being drunk. It a lot like knife crime and other things it became a press thing and then the lawyers got evolved so now it hard to get.

I am a bit lost.

By what?