Chafer Fuel for Heat

Status
Not open for further replies.
Dave Behrens

Dave Behrens

Joined
Feb 25, 2011
Messages
924
I got this idea after my wife dragged me kicking and screaming to a work party. The party was catered and to heat the food trays they were using this little fuel canisters which I had never seen before. After some research I found it is called Chafer Fuel, a lot of which are ethanol based gels. Now the party lasted 4 hours, and those little canister burned and burned hot for the entire time w/ out replacement. My research also revealed, they are reasonably low priced for packs up to 24. You can get 2 hour to 6 hour canisters.

So has anyone ever used these on a camping, bushcraft, hunting etc trip before? If so how did they work? I think the idea would be great for "inside shelter" heat that is relatively safe; no smoke/ fume(I assume:rolleyes:), no embers to worry about, and long burn times etc.
View attachment 247239 Here's a pic of one choice. There are several different choices available. If I'm an idiot for never hearing of these, please feel free to say so.:D
 
Was thinking about these as I saw some in a store recently.Neer have tried didnt know they would last as long as you say.
They will be worth the money if they work-and I do not see why they wouldnt
May snag a couple next time in that place and give them a try
Thanks
 
MIKE MACINTOSH said:
looks like a generic version of sterno
Click to expand...

It is.

I've used Sterno before, and I have a little fold down sheet metal stove that takes a steron can. I used it on a cross country motorcycle trip, and it heated up cans of Campbell soups and chille just fine out in the boonies camping out. Made hot water for tea in the morning in about 5 minutes. One of those cheepie but goodie things.
 
A buddy of mine used those to heat his arse while ice fishin some years back. made a chamber as to contain the heat and drilled holes
to let the heat out. started his coat on fire!:D Funny watchin him stomp on his coat.
I used it once in a VW van to de-ice the wind shield. Worked fine while driving, cracked the windshield when I stopped.:o
With proper venting i see no reson to not use it, and the can gets hot too so test at home first.
 
Dave from the Pathfinder school posted about these on Youtube a couple of days ago, he had a pretty smart little stove for it too.
 
burner.jpgSterno is fine and it works but i found it cheaper to spend the $12 and buy a Trangia alcohol burner. fuel is easy to find
 
MIKE MACINTOSH said:
View attachment 247582Sterno is fine and it works but i found it cheaper to spend the $12 and buy a Trangia alcohol burner. fuel is easy to find
Click to expand...

You're probably right. But have you done the math? I haven't. Too lazy. . 90% rubbing alcohol is cheap at most drug stores. But so are those sterno cans if bought in a case. I wonder, would a brand new sterno burn longer than a Trangia burner with the same amount of fuel? Assuming both setups weigh the same, which would last the longest? If you had the Trangia stove with alchol and some sterno cans lying around, which would you take camping?
 
Sterno will burn hotter than isopropyl. in order of heat capacity, you get ethanol at the top, then methanol, then isporopyl. Metho is easiest to get, and I'd use anything other than isopopyl for fuel, YMMV.
 
DrivebyTrucker said:
You're probably right. But have you done the math? I haven't. Too lazy. . 90% rubbing alcohol is cheap at most drug stores. But so are those sterno cans if bought in a case. I wonder, would a brand new sterno burn longer than a Trangia burner with the same amount of fuel? Assuming both setups weigh the same, which would last the longest? If you had the Trangia stove with alchol and some sterno cans lying around, which would you ta ke camping?
Click to expand...

Well first thing isopropyl alcohol (Rubbing alcohol) makes poor burner fuel. I use eather Denatured alcohol (ethanol) or Heet in the yellow bottle (methanol) cost wise .an online search shows $8.30 per 7.oz can for sterno or $22.30 for a 6 pack .
$6.50 per. qt. for IXL DeNatured alcohol
$2.00 for a four pack of yellow Heet 12.oz per bottle at wally world on sale
I get aprox. 20 min. plus. or minus burn time with 1 .oz of alcohol, with Ixl (ethanol) being a little hotter.
I haven't used Sterno in a long time, i dont remember the exact burn time on a can ,but its a few hours of burn.
what I do remember about Sterno is that I could never get it hot enough to boil water, I cant say for sure if this was a problem with the ethanol gel, or somthing i was doing wrong.so to answer the question from above i would say if i allready had it on hand & all I needed to do is heat up some food or allready pure water, for instant coffee. Go Sterno.
If I need to boil water ie. snow or from stream, cook raw food. Trangia all the way. IMHOP YMMV
 
Last edited:
Cool. Thank you for the informed answer Mike and Gadget Geek. I've never boiled water with sterno before either but I may check on that later and post up my findings. I'm not sure where it is you buy this stuff or even how to identify it accept the isopropyl alcohol which I find at the pharmacy section. Is this the HEET stuff http://www.walmart.com/ip/HEET-Gas-Line-Antifreeze-and-Water-Remover/16879746 the methanol alcohol your referring to? And where at Walmart/Home Depot/Lowes can I find DeNatured alcohol and be able to identify it? Which do you prefer to use for cooking with? Price wise if my link is correct and that is what you use to cook with, that's pretty cheap and comes in what appears to be a decent container. Though I wonder about toxicity. And burning hotter comes in handy when trying to boil water in the winter.
 
It appears the HEET has some additives to it so it may not be alright if your cooking over the flame. On the other hand denatured alcohol seems to be popular as a cooking fuel for back packing but I still don't know where to buy it or identify it.
 
DrivebyTrucker said:
It appears the HEET has some additives to it so it may not be alright if your cooking over the flame. On the other hand denatured alcohol seems to be popular as a cooking fuel for back packing but I still don't know where to buy it or identify it.
Click to expand...
Denatured alcohol can be found in the paint section at wally world and most hardware stores.as for heet it can found also in walmarts &most auto-supply stores an gas stations. heet is a popular fuel for these stoves. and it safe as long as you take some care while you are useing it. dont use it in a confined space DONT drink it LoL. Dont store it with your food.
 
Another option for the Trangia is Fondue fuel from the dollar store.

Many years ago, I used Sterno when backpacking - it works as long as you're not in a hurry.

Doc
 
Sterno or chafer fuel can be purchased by the bulk at any Restaurant Supply. Cheaper. Geez, brings back memories of being 14 again when I would use Sterno (about the only choice back then) as an alternative fuel source...until I was blessed to learn from an 'ol timer who taught me how to survive and use natural materials to cook, light, heat and stay warm.
 
I have used Sterno and the various liquid alcohol fuels. For cooking I prefer the liquids. Although not the best I normally use 90% isopropyl because it is the easiest for me to pick up. For convenience, I prefer the Sterno or gel type. It is best for heating up meals, not actual cooking or boiling water.
P.S. When you use up the Sterno, the cans make good burners for open flame non-pressurized alcohol stoves.
P.P.S I too have one of the old sheet metal folding Sterno stoves. With very minor mods it works equally well with Sterno, alcohol, military heat tabs, or other solid fuels.
 
Eyegor said:
I have used Sterno and the various liquid alcohol fuels. For cooking I prefer the liquids. Although not the best I normally use 90% isopropyl because it is the easiest for me to pick up. For convenience, I prefer the Sterno or gel type. It is best for heating up meals, not actual cooking or boiling water.
P.S. When you use up the Sterno, the cans make good burners for open flame non-pressurized alcohol stoves.
P.P.S I too have one of the old sheet metal folding Sterno stoves. With very minor mods it works equally well with Sterno, alcohol, military heat tabs, or other solid fuels.
Click to expand...

One of the reasons isopropyl alcohol is not recomended is because of the water mixed in with it 90% isopropyl is 10% water and while it might burn in the stove, heat out put is low and you get a very oily soot that get's on your pots that is a real PITA to get off, in cold weather it might not even light at all .70% ISO is even worse. ymmv
 
Not everyone has a restaurant supply store near them they can visit. It's great if you do though. I've seen the chaffer/sterno fuel in bulk there and thought about buying a box. If you do go, be open minded to the food they have there. Mine is where I go to pick up Ghiridellie chocolate sauce. Way off topic, but I make no apologies when it comes to chocolate. The fondue fuel gel looks interesting. It's probably the same stuff as in the Sterno can, only it comes in a bottle and you're supposed to place it in a burner underneath the fondue pot. I'll look into the denatured alcohol.
 
Jack knife and I have similiar stories...I have a sterno stove I use on bike trips and it is perfect...In the morning I heat water for tea,coffee and oatmeal....Lunch and dinners are Chunky soup,Chili or Dinty Moore Stew ...Small, cheap nice and light and works well....

CD
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top