Trangia stove on isopropyl alcohol

L

Les Snyder

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Jul 6, 2010
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I'm backing up my hurricane cooking equipment with some other multi fuel options other than propane. A surplus Swiss volcano stove is on order, and just received a Trangia alcohol stove. Is there a trick to running one on rubbing (isopropyl) alcohol rather than ethanol? I takes a fairly long time to vaporize the alcohol compared to a home made pop can alcohol stove... I assume the difference is the specific heat of the aluminum compared to the brass, but was wondering if anyone had a suggestion..... I realize there is a difference in heat content due to the water in the rubbing alcohol, but figure that's what will be in the house...I think a circular piece of oil lamp wick would make it work on liquid paraffin lamp oil, but will try that tomorrow
 
Les Snyder said:
I'm backing up my hurricane cooking equipment with some other multi fuel options other than propane. A surplus Swiss volcano stove is on order, and just received a Trangia alcohol stove. Is there a trick to running one on rubbing (isopropyl) alcohol rather than ethanol? I takes a fairly long time to vaporize the alcohol compared to a home made pop can alcohol stove... I assume the difference is the specific heat of the aluminum compared to the brass, but was wondering if anyone had a suggestion..... I realize there is a difference in heat content due to the water in the rubbing alcohol, but figure that's what will be in the house...I think a circular piece of oil lamp wick would make it work on liquid paraffin lamp oil, but will try that tomorrow
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What percentage are you running on the Isopropyl? Over 40 and you get a flame, but its weak, due to impurities, I try to stay in the 80-100 range, you get better results, but I use HEET and EVERCLEAR, and you're good to go. Good luck.

Moose
 
moosez45 said:
What percentage are you running on the Isopropyl? Over 40 and you get a flame, but its weak, due to impurities, I try to stay in the 80-100 range, you get better results, but I use HEET and EVERCLEAR, and you're good to go. Good luck.

Moose
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Same here. Everclear you can drink. More expensive though.
 
I agree, a better option is to put something else in the house[ like a gallon of denatured alcohol

Everclear is even better- i trust its fumes more than methyl
 
Your local hardware should carry the right alcohol for the trangia. Check the paint thinner section, look for the can that says "for marine stoves".
I collect and restore old pressure appliances. My fuel choices are alcohol, kerosene and gasoline.
If you want to burn gasoline, the Coleman 502 is very hard to beat. You can use regular unleaded in a pinch - the lower the octane the better.
 
I buy mine in the cooking department next to fondu pots (avoid the gel). Works good and its blue to keep you from slurping it.
 
SLX denatured is roughly half methanol and half ethanol with a few other denaturants. It burns quite well, but HEET is more conveniently sized unless you're just car camping.

I don't really understand this horrible fear of methanol fumes some people seem to have. You're not gonna drop dead. It takes quite a bit to do any damage- the kind of amount you'd have to drink. Is it traces of formaldehyde? You may also be interested to know that trioxane fuel bars *are* formaldehyde and esbit tabs (hexamine) are made from and break down into formaldehyde.

Interesting note about gasoline is that the smell attracts bears. I recently spent some time on the AT in Great Smoky Mountains NP doing trail work. A bear had previously dug three gas cans out of our tool cache and chewed through them. While I was out there, a bear walked off with our chainsaw (sometime during the night). We found it maybe 200 feet back in the woods with the cover to the gas tank torn off with tooth marks.
 
You can boost the performance of alcohol stoves by preheating them. I've done this with the penny stoves I have made. Just set the stove on a slightly larger metal lid and pour a shot of alcohol on the lid, then light it. It heats up the stove can and starts the evaporation of the alcohol faster. And yes, denatured alcohol over rubbing alcohol every time if it is available. For indoor use in restricted ventilation, votive/fondue candles work well for emergency cooking.
 
Ferrousknight said:
I recently spent some time on the AT in Great Smoky Mountains NP doing trail work
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Where at? I didn't see any postings about trail upgrades? I'm not calling you out, I am genuinely curious. I got some time off from work coming up, and I want to head back to the Smokies. I'm doing a Mt. Cammerer weekend soon too. Let me know, please, I could use this as a great opportunity. Thanks.

Moose
 
moosez45 said:
Where at? I didn't see any postings about trail upgrades? I'm not calling you out, I am genuinely curious. I got some time off from work coming up, and I want to head back to the Smokies. I'm doing a Mt. Cammerer weekend soon too. Let me know, please, I could use this as a great opportunity. Thanks.

Moose
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Oh, I was out on Mt. Cammerer :D I did an 8 day stint with the ATC Rocky Top Trail Crew, which basically does erosion control all along the Great Smokies portion of the trail. They work every year between the beginning of september and the end of october. Rock steps, fresh crush fill, water bars, and big bare patches of dirt along the trail (resloping, keeps water from being channeled down the trail) will all be giveaways that we were there. Most of this was done fairly far from Cammerer. We had our tents set up just down the trail from Cosby Knob shelter and our worksite was 3ish miles further along.

I have hundreds of pics from the trip and I've been putting off sorting them to make a post. Alas, I am now back in New Jersey. I'm going to try to be down there next year too- we should try to get some W&SSers together either before or after I'm out of the woods. That East Tenessee gathering this year fell right on the first few days of the trail crew so I couldn't make it.

P1010873.jpg
 
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kgd said:
I buy mine in the cooking department next to fondu pots (avoid the gel). Works good and its blue to keep you from slurping it.
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Hey Ken,

I also use fondue fuel. You can get it at the dollar stores - probably cheaper than where you get it.

Doc
 
Iboschi said:
As long as you get 91% isoprophyl, you're fine. It burns like heet.
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I Beg to differ Isoprophyl will without a doubt soot up your pots and then every thhing they touch afterwards. if used in the trangia dosent matter the % its just a fact of life. go to the trangia site and check the recomended fuels
yellow heet, denatured alcohol
(Methanol or ethanol)
 
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Iboschi said:
As long as you get 91% isoprophyl, you're fine. It burns like heet.
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I have some 100% Isopropyl and it still doesn't burn like Methanol or Ethanol or denatured alcohol - because it isn't the same. I have tried burning Isopropyl and it is nowhere near as good as denatured alcohol - I wouldn't use it in an alcohol stove.
 
Ferrousknight said:
a bear walked off with our chainsaw (sometime during the night)
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Somewhere in there is a joke about bearing arms and arming bears.

Again, I'm glad I live in a country where the nastiest four-legged thing in the woods is a possum.

All the people I know with non-pressurized liquid fuel stoves comment on the slowness of cooking and explain it as "time to sit and enjoy the outdoors".

I think that if you want maximum flexibility with liquid fuels then you need a pressurised stove.

Cheers
Craig
 
thanks all.... the denatured alcohol works fine, was just checking for options for fuels and was hoping 70% isopropyl would work
 
Ferrousknight said:
I don't really understand this horrible fear of methanol fumes some people seem to have. You're not gonna drop dead. It takes quite a bit to do any damage- the kind of amount you'd have to drink. Is it traces of formaldehyde? You may also be interested to know that trioxane fuel bars *are* formaldehyde and esbit tabs (hexamine) are made from and break down into formaldehyde.
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You're on the right track. What makes methanol toxic is the fact that your body metabolizes it into formaldehyde. This formaldehyde is the active poison.
 
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