Iso Propyl Alcohol storage question

  • Hey Guest, Early bird pricing on the Summer Moot (29th July - 10th August) available until April 6th, we'd love you to come. PLEASE CLICK HERE to early bird price and get more information.

Smith28

Nomad
Nov 26, 2010
441
0
South East
So I've just got a litre of 99% pure alcohol and have been storing it in my house for a couple of days. After some thinking I've become a bit on edge thinking that it's inside my house.

Can anyone tell me.. how volatile is this stuff? Is it safe to store in doors? Is there no worry as long as it's sealed in a bottle?

So basically.. should I put it in the garage? Thing is, I don't want it to freeze. Is that even possible..?

Wow, lots of questions. Hope you guys can see what I'm asking. Just want to know if I'm being silly.

:)
 

Urban X

Nomad
Apr 6, 2012
272
0
Thanet, Kent
I use it to clean cpu compounds such as arctic silver off of cpu's and heatsinks, until you just reminded me I've had a half litre bottle, underneath a book, lying on the pillow next to mine from when I was last cleaning one off, I know very highly flammable and I smoke but it's perfectly safe in the container it comes in, if you respect that it is a highly flammable chemical.

If you're really worried about it stick it outside in a dark place, out of direct sunlight and not near a bbq or bonfire area. :D


Si
 

Riven

Full Member
Dec 23, 2006
428
135
England
Used it all the time in the printing industry. There was a case when several containers exploded due to someone smoking next to them at a works then owned by Robert Maxwell, so not so bad after all. Very flamable then. We had to keep it in a metal storage cabinet.
Cheers, Riven.
 

ged

Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
Jul 16, 2009
4,976
13
In the woods if possible.
Good call on the MSDS. :)

Alcohols don't generally escape quickly from plastic containers, I've weighed one-litre containers filled with alcohols after many months of storage and they've not lost so much as a gramme.

Hydrocarbons are a different matter altogether. A gallon of Aspen 4 in the original container for example loses several grammes over the same time. It just seems to gradually seep through anything that isn't metal.

So if it's in a sealed container, alcohol is going to be fine and won't pose a vapour hazard, but the same isn't true of the hydrocarbons.

Al fuels need to be stored with care to avoid accidental spillage and/or ignition. The temperature shouldn't be allowed to get too high, for example strong sunlight on the roof of a shed or garage can cause the pressure in containers of stored fuel to rise alarmingly. There are also legal requirements for larger volumes of things like petrol.
 

BCUK Shop

We have a a number of knives, T-Shirts and other items for sale.

SHOP HERE