Bio Ethanol

[Vince]

Can you safely run a trangia on bioethanol (95% ethanol)?

[sojournermike]

What's the other 5%

[MercuryKev]

some folk on the bushcraft forum have been using it with good results - http://www.bushcraftuk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=103864&highlight=bioethanol

[Vince]

I decided to get proper meths as it is for young people doing their international/D of E awards and I didn't want to take a risk.

Interesting that for most of the people in that link price was the driving factor. Not the same in Holland. The meths was 1.59 euro for a litre, while the bio-ethanol was 2 euros for a half litre.

[mrcharly-YHT]

'proper meths' is nearly entirely ethanol, dosed with a small amount of methanol (which is toxic).

[Kim]

Can you safely run a trangia on bioethanol (95% ethanol)?

Yes.  It's meths without the purple stuff (but annoyingly, still has the bittrex).  Works fine.

AIUI the other 5% is usually methanol.

Trangias will happily burn pure methanol (very clean, slightly less heat), or isopropanol (very hot and sooty), as well as ethanol.


I wouldn't worry about the toxicity of methanol in stove fuel (especially if it's mostly ethanol anyway).  You're not drinking it or inhaling the vapour.  The odd drip on unbroken skin isn't going to be a problem if you wash it off (and if you use a proper Trangia fuel bottle lid, you won't spill it).