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Edited by annapurna on 05/02/2010 06:16:39 MDT.

Hi Anna,

I just saw their website. There was another one that was a little cheaper too. But you are right, the shipping is $$.

While looking I came across an interesting alternative- Race fuel. It is cheap, and the contents are 95% Ethanol and 5% methanol. I know,methanol, but at only 5%, that seems reasonable when dentured is 50% methanol and other bad stuff is in there. And many people use the HEET at 99% methanol.

It says in the description that you can use it for indoor fireplaces(?) and stoves.

Best thing is that it's $8 a gallon! Here is the link;

http://www.goestores.com/storename/highfuelsn/ViewDept-81051.aspx

Greg

Greg, that race fuel would be interesting to try. I wonder how much a difference the 5% methanol vs. 5% water in the Everclear would make. I'm guessing it'd burn a smidge faster (if at all measurable) because its all flammable, whereas the water in the Everclear may prolong the burning time. It bay burn hotter though. But, I'm just guessing at this.

I do believe part of the article on fuels dealt with the effects of water blends in fuels.

Travis,
Yes, according to the article up to 25% water can be added to help control the flame so that the heat is not all wasted up the side of the narrow pot. That in theory seems like a good idea. Maybe experiment a little by adding from 5% to 15% water.

It seems as though this may be a good option. the other option besides grain alcohol was to look for a denatured alcohol (Sunnyside) that is mostly ethanol. This is still cheaper and there are no other additives. I will have to see if I can locate an MSDS to confirm this.

Greg

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Edited by annapurna on 05/02/2010 06:15:50 MDT.

I'm currently experimenting with water blends as I type this!

Hi Anna,

I was just on the website to figure that out. To get 1 gal to Seattle is $12 shipping. So $20 for a gallon of E95 as opposed to about $30 per liter for the Everclear. Not a bad deal unless you want to drink the booze too!

I will most likely order a gallon on Monday. I would like to seee the MSDS before buying and they are closed now.

Greg

Travis,
Let me know how that works out.
greg

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Edited by annapurna on 05/02/2010 06:11:49 MDT.

I added another gallon to my order to see what I would save and the total was $34.24 for 2 gallons. So $16 for the E95 and $18.24 for the shipping. Essentially I would save $6 in shipping by ordering two.

I wonder if it's because I am on the Eastside in Kirkland?

I have been searching for a local supplier.

Greg

Why don't you get some of the good ol' boys from the area around the southern end of the AT? They know how to make moonshine cheaply. That would burn really good.
--B.G.--

'cause shipping to Seattle would be too expensive!
gl

Greg,
The only thing that experimenting with water/fuel blends proved was that George's design is efficient as can be. Mixing any water in with the Everclear only degraded the stove's performance.

Edit: I've tested the Gram Weenie through an entire Liter (Litre for you English/Aussie types) of Everclear, and have not found a way to improve its performance. This should NOT suggest that George's design desires improvement, but rather should highlight its ideal use for small capacity mugs/pots. If I decide to test and try to improve upon a piece of gear, its because I personally find it is already a quality and worthwhile investment. That may seem counterintuitive, but that's how I work--at that point I've already weeded through the crap. Kudos to George.

Edited by T.L. on 02/14/2010 01:29:48 MST.

Thanks for the nfo Travis.

I need to try the E95 in the original gw and see how the super works out.

Greg

Neat link. It's pretty much impossible to get pure or close to pure ethanol here in Canada. Unfortunately the cheapest shipping option to Canada is $56 for one gallon. I guess I'll keep using methanol until I can find it cheaper.

Hey Dan,
If you ever get down to Seattle you could have it shipped to my house. I would be glad to arrange a time for you ro pick it up. In fact, that goes for you too Anna. The shipping drops a few dollars with each gallon. At 3 gallons I think it dropped the price to a total of $18/gal shipped.
Greg

Edited by gpl916 on 02/14/2010 15:11:46 MST.

Hi George,

Thanks for the great service shipping me the Super GW. I recieved it yesterday and tested it today. The results were excellent in my book.

From ignition to boiling 2 cups of water was about 9 minutes, including bloom time, with about two more minutes of boiling.

Conditions;
water temp around 58F, outside test temp was 45F, humidity 81%. It used about 3/4oz fuel.

My scale only registers 1/4 oz and the SGW wieghed the same as the GW at 1/2 oz.

Thanks, and nice work!

I ordereed some E95 to try. I think the only thing that will do is maybe let me get by with about 1/2 oz fuel. We shall see.

Greg

Does anyone know where to get the sheet aluminium the is used for the windscreen and primer pan?

I've got a bunch of different sized aluminium bottles headed my way from McKernan - going to try out some different designs and sizes. Much fun...

Its not as nice and soft as the stuff sold with the Gram Weenie, but if you go to your grocery store and get oven liners (basically really thick aluminum foil pans) you can make windscreens out of those. Just be careful of sharp edges after cutting them. I made a windscreen for my MSR pocket rocket out of these and it worked great.

(I know about the dangers of windscreens and canister stoves, and I assure my design did not let the canister heat up at all)

I recieved my E95 fuel today, so I having been playing with it a little. So far it seems like good stuff.

On my stove top with no windscreen I was able to get the 2 cups of water to boil in about 10 minutes. Not much change there. What was different is that I got 16:55 total burn time with the 20 ml of guel that the sgw holds. This is about 2 to 3 minutes longer than with the denatured alcohol.

This was not entirely unexpected as the article on fuels suggested that you may have to carry less of the pure ethanol.

So I ran it again with 15ml, which equals .508oz. Same burn time but it still went 13 mins.

Originally I couldn't get the original gram weenie to boil 1.5 cups. So, I pounded down the concave bottom, and was able to get 11 or 12 ml in there. It boiled 1.5 cups in about 8 mins and burned out at 9:45.

I think the E95 is promising to be the fuel of choice. Field testing to come soon.

Greg