Fuel Bottle Woes

gonzo_the_great

Forager
Nov 17, 2014
210
71
Poole, Dorset. UK
I've tried repairing fuel bottles, tilley lamp tanks etc.
I have found that epoxy resin works great for paraffin. You can pour a little through a fuel filler and warm the tank/bottle, then the expoxy will flow around and you can coat the affected area of the tank.
But this does not work with meths. The epoxy just goes sticky and disolved in the meths.

(I am trying a repair with silicon RTV rubber on a meths bottle at the moment.)
 
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R.Lewis

Full Member
Aug 23, 2009
1,098
20
Cambs
I use mostly contact lens solution bottles of varying size, works really well and they are typically designed for slow flow so can adjust spout flow easily with sharp point to suit. Come in sizes from 10ml to 250ml, very light and tough, often good shapes to pack too. I used to work in an Opticians so tried many!! No degradation after many years use either.
 

Muddypaws

Full Member
Jan 23, 2009
1,114
355
Southampton
Just a quick update.
I was thinking about the Trangia bottle, but in the end, after a bit of googling, I came across this.

Tatonka bottle by Alan Muddypaws, on Flickr

A Tatonka stainless steel bottle. Not cheap, and it is only 500ml compared to my old 600ml Sigg, and it is a little heavier (164g vs 127g for the Sigg), but the cap threads are the same, so if the Tatonka cap is not meths resistant then I can use the old Sigg cap. (Also the Tatonka cap feels quite cheap, and the Sigg cap has better pouring holes)
 

Janne

Sent off - Not allowed to play
Feb 10, 2016
12,330
2,297
Grand Cayman, Norway, Sweden
I think the Sigg bottles are still alcohol fine. I suspect they only changed the recommendation to avoid legal repercussions from todays snowflakes.

Why I think so? I took my ancient Sigg bottle to a sports store, and compared them. Looks and feels exactly the same? Same dimensions on cap, on seal. Same materials on everything.
 

gonzo_the_great

Forager
Nov 17, 2014
210
71
Poole, Dorset. UK
I have been using similar bottles, from the pound shop. Cheap enough to not worry about hacking them about.
I have cut one down to fit inside my titanium mug, with a hobo stove and trivet.
But I found that the threaded ring that was crimped into the neck, for the cap to screw into, were not tight enough to seal. Also the seals would expand with meths. So have sealed the cap ring with silicon RTV rubber, and replaced the seal with a Buta-nitrile one. And the seam, where I cut the bottle down, is done with silicon.
The seem seems (!) to be holding up. But that was a press fit.
The recently sealed cap, ok so far.
 

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