Bioethanol as a camping fuel/heater

[alves]

I was wondering if anyone used Bioethanol (instead of the smelly and unpleasant meths) to power their trangia or provide an indoor/outdoor heat source and what their experience was.
I appreciate that it seems expensive compared to meths but its advertised as odour free and while I wouldn't ever use it in a tent I would like to consider using it in a bothy or as a campfire type of ambience.
Any thoughts?
Amazon seems to have loads of rather expensive mini heaters which might be useful for car-based camping and I suspect you could bodge something lighter as a heater for bothies in a Scottish winter sort of set up that wouldn't be too dangerous in terms of setting the place on fire or poisoning everyone.

[bumper]

I've used the bioethanol fuel4 gel.

It's slower to a boil, you'll need more than meths per meal/brew. I've not bought any more, sticking to meths.

[Kim]

I bought a litre of this last year as an experiment.

It smells, tastes and burns (in a Trangia) exactly the same as meths, which isn't surprising, as it's also an ethanol/methanol mix with (disappointingly) bittrex added.  The main difference seems to be the absence of purple die.

FWIW laboratory-grade methanol (which is fairly cheap in quantity, being a component of biodiesel) is bittrex-free, and burns well in a Trangia, but you don't get as much heat as with ethanol.  For completeness, IPA (2-propanol) is hard to light and burns hot and flamy.  I don't recommend it.


They all smell like alcohols, of course, but the combustion products should be odourless.  That's presumably what the marketing spin is referring to.


TBH, if I wanted a heater for car camping, I'd be going for LPG.

[mrcharly-YHT]

Methanol should be handled with care, since it is toxic and can be absorbed through the skin. A little bit won't kill you but it doesn't do to get complacent.

I believe the french sell 'pure' ethanol for bottling purposes. Does this burn with less stink than 'meths'?

I find most of the smell is when I put the burner out - hot burner evaporating fuel.

[Vince]

Meths (brandspiritus) in Netherlands and Belgium doesn't smell when burnt.

[Kim]

Methanol should be handled with care, since it is toxic and can be absorbed through the skin. A little bit won't kill you but it doesn't do to get complacent.

Indeed.  This includes denatured ethanol.

IPA is much safer.  Until you set fire to it.

[bumper]

If anybody is thinking of trying IPA in a trangia style burner, DON'T!!

I've tested it, as it heats up it can flare. I had 3ft flames shooting from my burner at one point. I can just picture somebody stirring their beans, then being robbed of their eyebrows, nasal hair and hair!

[Kim]

If anybody is thinking of trying IPA in a trangia style burner, DON'T!!

Which is what I said 3 posts back.

[bumper]

If anybody is thinking of trying IPA in a trangia style burner, DON'T!!

Which is what I said 3 posts back.

Just confirming it from personal experience. I starts off okay and seems safe to use at first.  I tested it in the garden, someone may be stupid enough to test it in a tent porch.

I use lots of chemical cleaning/degreasing agents at work. I wouldn't use any of them over meths. I find the smell of meths rather nice anyway, spilt or burning

[Kim]

There was some other thread where I reported my experiments with methanol and IPA.  If you mix them in the right ratio it works pretty well.  But it's expensive compared to meths, and a lot of effort to go to to avoid the Bittrex (which isn't a problem if you have a fuel bottle with a proper dispensing lid).

The "bioethanol" is just meths without the dye.  A reasonable option if the price is right.

[Vince]

and a lot of effort to go to to avoid the Bittrex (which isn't a problem if you have a fuel bottle with a proper dispensing lid).

Are you syphoning it out of the bottle?

[Kim]

and a lot of effort to go to to avoid the Bittrex (which isn't a problem if you have a fuel bottle with a proper dispensing lid).

Are you syphoning it out of the bottle?

The Trangia fuel bottle lid allows you to dribble meths into the burner in a controlled manner, venting the bottle as needed.  Which means you can fill the burner when it's inside the windshield without splashing meths around or having to move a full burner, and there's no dribble down the outside of the bottle to contaminate your fingers.

Siphoning would be overkill, and even given a sensible hands-off way to start the syphon, you'd have to dry the tube.   

[Vince]

I was just wondering why you are so concerned about not having Bitrex. I guess its contaminating your fingers and transferring that to your food.

[Kim]

I was just wondering why you are so concerned about not having Bitrex. I guess its contaminating your fingers and transferring that to your food.

Yeah.  Outside of the burner to the inside of the pots is a common route too (easily mitigated with a Mk 1 ziplock bag).  The problem with Bittrex is that by design it takes an awful lot of effort to wash off, and can be tasted at minute concentrations.

[alves]

Slightly off topic but... has anyone used a simple tin can filled with meths (without the complex trangia burner) as a heat source for indoor use.
the bioethanol burners just seem to be that simple and so long as they weren't knocked over this would be quite a cheap and eerily atmospheric heat source to take the chill off a bothy.
I have sometimes just filled up the trangia burner and done just that but it doesn't last very long although it never seems to flare much and is therefore quite safe. Would a simple tin can be just as good with a much bigger capacity.
Sounds like a garden experiment might be in order when the weather improves!

[mrcharly-YHT]

 fumy and not so warm - not enough air fed to the flames
works but sub-optimal

[bumper]

The tatonka burner will burn for 45 minutes. It holds more than the trangia burner. You can get them for under a tenner posted.

If using for boiling etc when using a tin you'll need a stand so you may as well use a proper burner/stove. The ti stove I bought the other week is able to have a pot placed directly onto it, same as the whitebox but they burn for around 20 minutes. I've done all of the pissing about with tins and coke cans, I always go back to proper burner.

The fuel4 gel will be ideal for a bothy light, it won't spill being gel but I'd rather carry a few candles tbh.

[bumper]

Just a thought. If you only want light and a little heat from a flame, why not use barbecue gel in a tin?

The BBQ gel is very cheap, £3 a litre from garden centres. Pour into a tin, light   the gel is much safer than meths.

I'd still use candles

[Viking]

I understand from my fire fighting days that methanol burns with no visible flame.  This means you have to be extra careful when using it as you can't see that it is on fire.

[Kim]

I understand from my fire fighting days that methanol burns with no visible flame.  This means you have to be extra careful when using it as you can't see that it is on fire.

This is a risk with alcohol burners generally.  When burning efficiently there's a dull blue flame that's visible at night, but pretty hard to see in daylight.  It's why I prefer lighting Trangias with a fire steel rather than matches or cigarette lighter.