More dangerous than what? My stoves and lanterns are dual fuel (coleman fuel and/or gasoline) And my grandkids (and most kids I know) definitely know not to drink it. Although back when I was a kid (and even a teen) it was common to use either to wash oil and grease from ones hands; and to start a siphon by sucking on the hose until you had to spit gasoline or diesel from your mouth. We all lived. Not the smartest thing we ever did, but we did live.
I would hope they would know not to drink Gasoline!!! People drink Ethanol and sometimes Methanol by mistake and on purpose, not Gasoline! With respect the fact that you ask the question suggests you haven't read all of the thread carefully.
I should imagine the risks of Gasoline/Diesel poisoning by accidental ingestion are a little lower than for Methanol! Children usually have limited access to Methanol unless of course:
http://www.hindawi.com/crim/nephrology/2014/652129/ Luckily this had a good outcome.
Sucking on Methanol can cause blindness etc.. It is more dangerous than Meths for the various reasons I have said. I really don't get this nitpicking, are you advocating that people use chemicals with no understanding of safe handling? If I allowed someone to handle chemicals in the lab with no understanding of the COSHH specifications I could be prosecuted and worse they could get injured. Methanol is a hazardous liquid, like many, and to advocate allowing people to use it without understanding the COSHH implications is, as I have said, highly irresponsible and illogical. To nitpick and criticise someone for calmly advising people in one original line to be aware is laughable.
Oh never mind.
Methanol is obviously a cheaper viable alternative particularly if you can get it from a biodiesel bod that is ordering it in bulk and won't charge you much for a small quantity from his stock. Asking around will usually find one. As I have said, for some of those lurking or reading in the future, there are additional safety considerations when using Methanol rather than Meths that a responsible person should make themselves aware of for their own health and the health of those around them. IPA can also be used but can produce a sooty burn. Industrial Ethanol is very difficult to get hold of for most people because it is restricted. It is cheap and clean so good luck to you if you can wangle a source.
Fast panel wipe is also clean burning, can be cheap depending upon the source and is better for you and your stove than using petrol. It can't be used in a Meths stove though as it is effectively Coleman Fuel and therefore the fumes would be explosive in use in open stoves. That said, if you can follow Shewie's Meths source advice then that sounds like a good price.
