Thanks Travis.

Burning alcohol? Yes. Everclear is quite a bit more expensive but it's worth it to me. Methanol is really nasty stuff. I use it for testing stoves as I'm not sitting around them when I do so I'm not worried about breathing the fumes. But in camp, I do sometimes sit near the stove or even under the tarp while I cook. And I don't want to breathe methanol fumes of any kind no matter how small the amount.

Just so we are clear, Klean Strip SLX is mostly Ethanol not Methanol. Not sure that really makes a difference in your analysis though.

For some reason I thought it was 50-50 but I could definitely be wrong on the mixture. The can was sitting right next to me on my work bench but it doesn't say. It does say:

VAPOR HARMFUL. Avoid breathing vapor. (Those are minor compared to the rest of the warnings.)

I already had a no breathing methanol policy anyway. :) For me personally, that is enough to use it for testing stoves only. I light them and walk away. I used to deal with large quantities of methanol when making bio-diesel and the rule was always hold you breath when exposed to it. I still follow that.

Earlier in this conversation I had found a thread that pointed to SLX being 50-50. The Green SLX though is over 90% ethanol.

I'm pretty sure it is 50-50. Check the MSDS on the company's website.

My last gallon of S-L-X was _approximately_ 50-50, but it varies.

--B.G.--

That's correct 45-50% Methanol, 50-55% Ethanol. Definitely not good stuff to be exposed to for extended periods. Maybe that's why I had a slight headache yesterday after testing my BCB II with it :(

When outdoors fortunately I will most often have some sort of breeze. Just stay upwind of it.

Kieran,
The Boy Scouts' policy on stoves is to use Esbit or isobutane gas stoves. They discourage liquid fuels for the reasons you cited.

The soot from Esbit is water soluble and rinses off easily. Wide-based gas cartridges are preferred for use around rambunctious scouts.

Thanks Vick - the wide based canister is what I'm going back to.