Me too. Used Toolstation for years. 500ml or 2L. When travelling I order ahead negating the need to carry it
Where to buy decent meths ?
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Dunno. I’ve never knowingly used bio-ethanol. @Damascus says it’s not so hot and I just wondered why. Conjecture - is there a difference in distillation / fractionation between Industrial wet and dry mill production? Surely all commercial ethanol (and non commercial come to that) is “bio” 
. Does one push over more water than the other? As I said, I don’t know.
I’d like to try bio-ethanol if I could buy it in smaller (<5 litres) quantities, if it burns clean (ref the OP) and if its price compares reasonably.
Who cares how quick it is when you’re camping.
Have you found any decent purple potion yet @Toddy ?
. Does one push over more water than the other? As I said, I don’t know.I’d like to try bio-ethanol if I could buy it in smaller (<5 litres) quantities, if it burns clean (ref the OP) and if its price compares reasonably.
Who cares how quick it is when you’re camping.
Have you found any decent purple potion yet @Toddy ?
Like all "alcohols", I would have expected ethanol and methanol to be sold as a %tage proof. I confess I've never checked and I don't have any commercial stuff at the moment. The heads from my process come out at over 70% depending on how long I collect it for.
I have a faint recollection having read sometimes in the past that ethanol containing some water burns cleaner than 100% (or 96%). I do not recollect how much is useful but I do remember that below freezing water is no more so useful.
I've bought a few 205 litre drums of methanol (maybe just three drums, I can't remember for sure) then stored em at mine to be picked up by a mate who lived in the hinterlands.
I considered using some for a camp stove but he pointed out that its genuinely nasty stuff and methalated spirits is much less of an issue.
Toxic via ingestion, dermal absorbtion and inhalation.
Or, Don't do that, it'll make you go blind.
I considered using some for a camp stove but he pointed out that its genuinely nasty stuff and methalated spirits is much less of an issue.
Toxic via ingestion, dermal absorbtion and inhalation.
Or, Don't do that, it'll make you go blind.
I see no reason to play with methanol the oxidation product of which is highly poisonous. Ethanol burns nicely and isopropanol burns ok even though it tends to soot a bit.
EdS
Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
Not just me then.I just use the heads from my distilling
And with lemon rind as a cleaner
An interesting question is will ethanol absorb water indefinitely. Apparently the answer is not trivial as no real answers came out on the first few searches. I do know that 99.9 ethanol absorbs water until azeotropic but it is not clear if it continues to do that.
Taking that “until” literally would appear to suggest that absorption stops at 96% by volume - but that looks high to me. I’ve used ethanol to dry hydrogen gas but perhaps it wasn’t doing much after a while.
I’ve also mixed my meths with water to eke it out before now; probably more than 10%. It doesn’t splutter in a Trangia it burns OK - plenty hot enough to boil water and make a stew.
I’ve got an old quarter bottle of meths that started out purple and it’s now yellow but I’ve no idea whether that is sunlight, water or something in the plastic bottle that’s caused that.
Even though my experience says diluting meths is fine I checked on line to make sure which end of my alimentary canal I’m talking through.
I found an old an old BcUK thread by @FlashPan (6th Feb 2017) on the subject.
Let’s see if I or someone can find it.
Yep!
To answer the OP - I maintain that added water does no harm and gives you a bit more cooking time when you are short of fuel. I’ve never seen it splutter. The only difference I’ve found between retail sources is price.
However back in 2017 Not everyone agreed:
bushcraftuk.com
To answer the OP - I maintain that added water does no harm and gives you a bit more cooking time when you are short of fuel. I’ve never seen it splutter. The only difference I’ve found between retail sources is price.
However back in 2017 Not everyone agreed:
Adding Water to Meths for Trangia Stove
Hello all, I've just bought a couple as backups and am now reading up more and more on them. I've read some very old posts on other sites about adding water to meths/ethanol as it can create more heat and less soot on the burner and pots. Some people say add a spoonful direct to the burner...
bushcraftuk.com
A lot of people confuse methanol for methylated spirit. The latter is ethanol that has been adulterated so you cannot drink it and it does not attract duty. Traditionally it is dyed purple and given a bitter taste, which is why it smells the way it does.
As I have understood it adding water to ethanol makes it burn cleaner as water vapor reacts with hot soot in a water gas reaction in the flame and also on very hot surfaces. I have tested a few times adding water and never noticed all that much difference in burning so at least it does not hurt much.
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