Meths Alternative??

[knifefan]

I keep hearing different ideas about alternatives to meths!! what burns the cleanest is what I'm really after - any suggestions welcomed

Cheers

 

[Ryan Woods]

Sorry, as this adds nothing to the thread, but did anyone else think of something different when you read "meth alternatives"?

 

[jimbo75]

Try a mix of T-Stoff and C-Stoff. Very popular in Germany during the war. But unpopular with allied bomber crews...

 

[ged]

I keep hearing different ideas about alternatives to meths!! what burns the cleanest is what I'm really after...

Depends how you burn it. More or less any hydrocarbon fuel can burn cleanly if it's burned correctly. Meths is way more expensive than paraffin for example, and if you burn paraffin in the right stove (Primus, Optimus, ...) it burns with a clean blue flame. These stoves need to be primed and I use meths for that, but it's a tiny quantity.

Meths and other alcohols are pretty much the only fuels which will burn cleanly with no apparatus to speak of.

 

[rancid badger]

RikUk uses methanol
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Methanol-Methyl-Alcohol-5L-Biodiesel-99-5-Pure-/140351232614?pt=UK_HomeGarden_CLV_Cleaning_CA&hash=item20ad95da66

it's the p&p that kills it for me though!
cheers

R.B.

 

[rik_uk3]

Alcohol, as discussed in numerous threads, please, no paraffin or petrol etc.

How about a sticky on Trangia fuel as its asked so many times mods?

 

[Toddy]

Tell you what Rik, if you put together a post that sorts out the different kinds of fuels and their best applications for stoves, lanterns and the like, I'll see that it's stickied

Bit of a tall order though, even if it would be very useful At present we have bits and pieces of good information in dozens of different threads.

cheers,
Toddy

 

[knifefan]

Mainly for use in my trangia burner - I've heard some peeps recommend pre-paint solvent cleaner???

 

[ged]

Mainly for use in my trangia burner - I've heard some peeps recommend pre-paint solvent cleaner???

Stick with meths. If you go to France, pick up some "burning alcohol" which is undyed and smells a lot better but is otherwise almost the same.

As far as I know the paint system solvents that people talk about are mainly used in pressure stoves which otherwise burn things like petrol and paraffin. There may be health and safety issues. They will burn with a very sooty yellow flame in something like a Trangia.

 

[spiritwalker]

IPA or surgical spirits work if you have access to them. IPA (which i have used) can be a little sooty but with a dash of water its ok personally i find meths quite cheap £1.99 for 500ml in some hardware stores compare that with gas cartridges and i dont see the problem. Also adding upto 10% water to meths cuts down the soot also but it may reduce cold lighting but ok in summer

 

[John Fenna]

In Hungary and Croatia the local home brew is better used in a Trangia than drunk!

 

[knifefan]

Think I'll stick to meths, I think the other solvents mentioned were suggested for pressure stoves - I did try coleman fuel in my trangia once, thought it was gonna melt!!!!!!!!!

Cheers for all the comments