I am currently using Denatured Alcohol as my fuel for in my small alcohol stove. I know there are other options (heet, high % isopropyl, etc.).

Does anyone know the safest fuel to use for accidental inhalation??
I sometimes catch a few breaths of the denatured alcohol and I know it is very toxic to inhale.

Thanks!

Everclear.

2nd choice: Kleenstrip Green (not the regular)

Isopropyl is the worst.

Lot of threads on this if you want details, but the consensus seems to be (IIRC): highest percentage of ethyl:methyl you can find is best (HEET is 100% methyl); isopropyl sucks as a stove fuel; weird, undisclosed stuff is used to "denature" ethyl alcohol in the US; if you want 100% safety (and live in a state that sells it), go with Everclear (which is multi-use).

I've been using "Ace" branded denatured alcohol, labeled for shellac thinner and stove fuel. I checked the MSDS once--seems like it was 90% ethyl, but I could be mis-remembering. 50-50 ethyl:methyl seems more common.

Just don't huff it if you're worried--same advice that applies to white gas.

Edit: Just re-checked the MSDS on Ace alcohol--I was wrong, it is the 50-50 stuff. So I think I'll be buying Klean Strip Green next time.

Edited by DavidDrake on 04/05/2012 21:06:33 MDT.

Daniel,

I use Everclear when I can despite the cost.

I recently came across another option. The ISO-Clean Stove - for use with isopropyl (rubbing) alcohol. It sells for $24.95 and is made of stainless steel.



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yi687Kw-FOA&feature=youtu.be

Here is the link to their website.

http://flatcatgear.com/page2.php

Scroll down three quarters of the way down the page.

This stove has my curiosity piqued. I can still see myself using an alcohol stove with a much less toxic and / or expensive fuel.

The video mentions that you'll have to fab your own pot stand but that shouldn't be such a difficult thing to do. I'm thinking some stainless steel hardware cloth formed into a circle, cut to the right height and inserted into the stove itself.

Check it out as a possible option for a less toxic alcohol fueled stove.

BTW I have no vested interest in Flat Cat Gear other than I may soon become a customer of theirs. ;-)

Party On,

Newton

http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/alcohol_fuels_part_one.html

http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/alcohol_fuels_part_two

Edited by annapurna on 04/06/2012 08:43:41 MDT.

Heh, I check Daniel's location to see if he can find the everclear ... Kentucky! Home free. (I have a stash of pure ethanol, but being in California, I have to shepherd it until I can get out to Arizona for the everclear.)

Everclear 190 is not available in California: Everclear 151 is readily available and works fine. It does cost ~$18 a bottle. Best regards –Jon

Good excuse for a trip to Montana (they have the 190 proof). Goes great a little powdered sports drink. I prefer a nice Scotch whiskey, but I'm NOT putting that in a stove :) It is spendy as fuel, but gets points for multiple purpose, right?

We have the good everclear in Kentucky. We Kentuckians never saw a hard liquor we didn't like, but you can't buy it on Sunday. Just be careful; it's more potent than moonshine.

Imagine my surprise when they shipped 2 bottles to my front door.




http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/forums/thread_display.html?forum_thread_id=21091&skip_to_post=441262#441262

I recently was testing my new Backcountry Boiler II with the Kleenstrip SLX alcohol. I noticed I had a headache the rest of the day. I am sure that was mostly due to my being too close while it was burning and not being in a well vented area (was testing indoors in my kitchen).

Fortunately my local retailer carries 190 proof Everclear. Going to pick up a liter of that will plan to use that going forward.

Extra cost is well worth the preference to be safe from more toxic fumes.

Edited by randalmartin on 04/06/2012 10:22:38 MDT.

dihydrogen monoxide is by far the safest thing to pour into your stove.

I use 91% isopropyl (rubbing) alcohol (the highest percentage I could find in a drugstore) in my plain old 50 cent Fancy Feast cat can stove. It gets the water boiling, and creates some soot, but not more than a wood fire. It's multi-purpose with first aid properties. I started using it because it was cheap, easily available, and seemed (from my highly unscientific perspective) to be less toxic than something like HEET. I don't know if it is, but it works for me.

Are there downsides to rubbing alcohol that I'm not mentioning?

Is it really "cleaner" than other alternatives except for Everclear?

Newton, I was intrigued by your post of the stainless steel isopropyl stove because I haven't had a problem with rubbing alcohol in my cat can. EDIT: I looked at their website--their stove burns rubbing alcohol without any soot.

Am I missing something? (probably!)

Note that I am a relatively recent convert to alcohol stoves and have only used it about a half dozen times in the field.

Edited by GregPehrson on 04/06/2012 12:43:45 MDT.

Anyone know if you can buy it in the following locations:

Spain, France, Italy, Ireland, Scotland, New Zealand?

Greg, check out the links that Anna provided above...

Thanks Gary and Anna. Eye opening (from the first article):
"IPA is a nasty unhealthy fuel, either in the pure state or as a blend. You should avoid it completely."
I guess I hadn't noticed the fumes because I've been using the stove in very ventilated areas. But I'm sure I'm still breathing the stuff.

Just curious- how many of you wear respirators and rubber gloves while putting gas in your tanks? Do any of you work on your own cars? Come into contact with used motor oil? How about household cleaners? Drive down the freeway or just live in urban areas? I probably inhaled a years worth of sniffing burning stoves in the 2 or 3 miles I drove down the highway following a few cars behind this 1972 Chevy 4wd gross polluting pickup. I even had my windows up and the a/c on recirculate. The smell of raw gasoline inside my car was overwhelming.

I mean, with the amounts of chronic exposures to harmful chemicals we deal with in our day to day lives, it really seems to me that occasional contact with some form of stove fuel or another is a rather trivial matter. Just don't stiff the bottle or run the stove without adequate ventilation and quit worrying.

I grew up in a blue collar work environment. I was a mechanic for a while (both automotive and over the road trucks), eventually moving on to welding and fabricating. I've spent hours with my hand immersed in gasoline or diesel fuel as a teen (using it as a solvent to clean car parts, using gas was a bit stupid, I'll admit that, diesel is a lot safer) and breathed welding fumes for 10hrs a day for many years. For about the first 10yrs of my adult life my hands were permanently stained black from grease and grime. Only when I was on vacation for at least a week were my hands finally clean. This exposure to harmful chemicals is commonplace to anyone working in many blue collar trades. I've had a handful of jobs and no company I worked for did any more than the absolute minimum required by law to protect their workers. I'm now doing white collar work most of the time, and my exposure to chemicals is way reduced, but I still have to get my hands dirty when testing / building prototypes.

I like alcohol for these main reasons- #1) it's water soluble. If you have an accidental fire, it's easily doused with water, unlike white gas. #2) it evaporates clean w/o damaging gear or clothing if spilled in your pack, unlike white gas. #3) it's cheap. If you've got grade school arts and craft skills, in a couple of hours you can have a light, efficient, complete cooking kit for under $20 (assuming you have the tools on hand- push pin, hole punch, scissors, etc.) using a kmart or walmart grease pot, or an imusa mug. I don't have any experience with canister stoves. They just seem to expensive to justify the minor increase in convenience and safety. I admit knocking over a lit alky stove is a far more likely scenario than blowing up a fuel canister, which is one reason I stay away from unstable stoves in the first place. IMO, any setup where you balance your pot on top of a narrow stove is an accident waiting to happen.

Sorry for the rant- and the run on sentence in the first paragraph...

BM

Edited by Ultra_Magnus on 04/06/2012 15:45:25 MDT.

But how are you going to light it? Esp. with UL equipment!

Edited by Hitech on 04/06/2012 15:52:05 MDT.

When I've burned alcohol out doors (typically regular SLX or HEET), I have felt no ill effects. Seems pretty clean burning and fairly safe.

When I've done repeated tests indoors with SLX, I have gotten a headache. Not such a good idea to repeatedly expose oneself to that. Outdoors though? I think you'd be fine with SLX or HEET.

HJ
Adventures In Stoving

SLX will cause headaches only when the stove has insufficient oxygen. That could happen with a variety of stoves that claim the ability to simmer. Depends on the original design also. It could come from the manufacturer improperly designed.