Is Ethanol Worth It?
In the US, if you're an alcohol stove user, yous in all probability know most HEET inwards the yellowish bottle. "Yellow HEET" is basically methanol. It's cheap, widely available, together with burns cleanly inwards alcohol stoves, The downside to methanol is that it has relatively depression oestrus content per gram compared to ethanol. In other words, yous get got to send to a greater extent than HEET to hit the same amount of cooking that yous could hit amongst ethanol.
If yous desire an alcohol fuel amongst to a greater extent than oestrus per gram, yous mightiness operate something similar Klean Strip Green Denatured alcohol. Green denatured alcohol has a fairly high percent of ethanol which, when burned, volition hit to a greater extent than oestrus per gram than methanol. If yous tin hit to a greater extent than oestrus per gram, therefore yous don't get got to send every bit many grams to hit the same amount of cooking. In other words, yous tin shed some pack weight. The downwards side is that high ethanol content blends similar Green denatured hit a trivial to a greater extent than soot, are a trivial harder to discovery (Home Depot carries it), together with are a flake to a greater extent than expensive.
The query therefore is: Is ethanol worth it? Is it worth going to the problem together with expense to larn an alcohol fuel amongst higher oestrus content?
Let's hit the numbers. Yesterday, I went together with ran some tests amongst Green denatured together with methanol. See the appendix for details of testing weather condition together with parameters.
I could consistently boil ii cups of H2O amongst most 18ml of greenish denatured alcohol. I could sometimes hit it amongst 17ml, exactly 17ml wasn't consistent. With 18ml, I never failed to larn a boil.
With HEET (methanol), it took me 24ml of fuel to boil ii cups of water. I could sometimes larn a boil amongst solely 23ml of alcohol, exactly inwards gild to guarantee a boil, I had to operate 24 ml. In other words, it took me most 6ml to a greater extent than fuel per ii loving cup boil when I used methanol.
Six milliliters of alcohol weighs most 5grams. In other words, nosotros tin relieve most v grams of weight each fourth dimension nosotros boil 2 cups of H2O if nosotros operate greenish denatured instead of HEET (methanol). If on a trip I hit a 2 loving cup boil inwards the morn together with some other inwards the evening, I'd relieve 10 grams (about 1/3 oz.) inwards weight per day. If I accept a calendar week long trip, I'd relieve most lxx grams (2.5 ounces). Of course of pedagogy if yous boil to a greater extent than than four cups (approximately 1 liter) per day, you'd relieve more. If yous boil less, you'd relieve less.
There's the bottom line: You'd save most 70g/2.5oz on a 1 calendar week trip if yous operate greenish denatured alcohol instead of HEET (assuming yous boil most four cups/1 liter per day).
So, is it worth it? You say me. Each someone needs to create upwards one's heed for him or herself what weight is worth cutting together with what a lighter pack is worth. Some people are "gram weenies" looking to cutting every gram possible. Some people are "ounce counters" looking to cutting weight exactly mayhap non quite every bit zealously every bit the gram weenie crowd. What's your style? What amount of weight matters to you? I can't say yous that, exactly at to the lowest degree instantly yous tin brand an informed decision.
Hope that's helpful,
HJ
Appendix: Test Conditions together with Parameters
All tests discussed inwards this weblog post service were conducted at Henninger Flats close Los Angeles, CA, USA, at an elevation of most 2600 feet/790 meters. Air pressure level every bit measured yesteryear my Sunnto Altimeter sentry was 928mBar/27.40 InHg. Air temperature was around 50F/10C. Air temperature did fluctuate during testing. Winds were low-cal together with intermittent, exactly no to a greater extent than than most 5mph/8kph at whatever given time. Water temperature was most 45F/7C. Trail Designs 12-10 burners inwards a Caldera Cone windscreen/pot back upwards (see photos above) were used for all tests. All tests were conducted atop a wooden picnic tabular array inwards an unsheltered location. All tests were run multiple times to forestall testing errors. Stoves, pots, together with windscreens were allowed to cool subsequent to each examination together with had returned to ambient temperature prior to farther testing.
If yous await closely at the photos above, you'll run into that I used slightly dissimilar versions of the Caldera Cone laid for my tests. Simultaneous tests were run one fuel at a time. In other words, both burners were run on the same fuel every bit I ran my tests. Interestingly, fifty-fifty though the pot sizes are dissimilar betwixt the ii versions of the Caldera Cone I used, the amount of fuel required was remarkably consistent, both amongst HEET together with amongst greenish denatured alcohol.
Related posts together with articles:
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| The yellowish bottle on the left is HEET (methanol). |
If yous desire an alcohol fuel amongst to a greater extent than oestrus per gram, yous mightiness operate something similar Klean Strip Green Denatured alcohol. Green denatured alcohol has a fairly high percent of ethanol which, when burned, volition hit to a greater extent than oestrus per gram than methanol. If yous tin hit to a greater extent than oestrus per gram, therefore yous don't get got to send every bit many grams to hit the same amount of cooking. In other words, yous tin shed some pack weight. The downwards side is that high ethanol content blends similar Green denatured hit a trivial to a greater extent than soot, are a trivial harder to discovery (Home Depot carries it), together with are a flake to a greater extent than expensive.
 |
| Klean Strip Green Denatured Alcohol, a high ethanol content alcohol blend |
Let's hit the numbers. Yesterday, I went together with ran some tests amongst Green denatured together with methanol. See the appendix for details of testing weather condition together with parameters.
 |
| Running simultaneous tests to command testing errors. |
With HEET (methanol), it took me 24ml of fuel to boil ii cups of water. I could sometimes larn a boil amongst solely 23ml of alcohol, exactly inwards gild to guarantee a boil, I had to operate 24 ml. In other words, it took me most 6ml to a greater extent than fuel per ii loving cup boil when I used methanol.
 |
| Conducting fuel quantity boil tests. |
There's the bottom line: You'd save most 70g/2.5oz on a 1 calendar week trip if yous operate greenish denatured alcohol instead of HEET (assuming yous boil most four cups/1 liter per day).
So, is it worth it? You say me. Each someone needs to create upwards one's heed for him or herself what weight is worth cutting together with what a lighter pack is worth. Some people are "gram weenies" looking to cutting every gram possible. Some people are "ounce counters" looking to cutting weight exactly mayhap non quite every bit zealously every bit the gram weenie crowd. What's your style? What amount of weight matters to you? I can't say yous that, exactly at to the lowest degree instantly yous tin brand an informed decision.
Hope that's helpful,
HJ
Appendix: Test Conditions together with Parameters
All tests discussed inwards this weblog post service were conducted at Henninger Flats close Los Angeles, CA, USA, at an elevation of most 2600 feet/790 meters. Air pressure level every bit measured yesteryear my Sunnto Altimeter sentry was 928mBar/27.40 InHg. Air temperature was around 50F/10C. Air temperature did fluctuate during testing. Winds were low-cal together with intermittent, exactly no to a greater extent than than most 5mph/8kph at whatever given time. Water temperature was most 45F/7C. Trail Designs 12-10 burners inwards a Caldera Cone windscreen/pot back upwards (see photos above) were used for all tests. All tests were conducted atop a wooden picnic tabular array inwards an unsheltered location. All tests were run multiple times to forestall testing errors. Stoves, pots, together with windscreens were allowed to cool subsequent to each examination together with had returned to ambient temperature prior to farther testing.
If yous await closely at the photos above, you'll run into that I used slightly dissimilar versions of the Caldera Cone laid for my tests. Simultaneous tests were run one fuel at a time. In other words, both burners were run on the same fuel every bit I ran my tests. Interestingly, fifty-fifty though the pot sizes are dissimilar betwixt the ii versions of the Caldera Cone I used, the amount of fuel required was remarkably consistent, both amongst HEET together with amongst greenish denatured alcohol.
 |
| The persuasion from Henninger Flats on Satuday, 17 DEC 2011. Can yous run into downtown Los Angeles? The Pacific Ocean? Click to enlarge |
Related posts together with articles:
- Getting Started amongst Alcohol
- DIY Alcohol Stoves -- Basic Design Considerations
- Cold Weather Tips for Alcohol Stoves
- Is Ethanol Worth It?
- Caldera Cone Review Supplement -- Additional Photos together with Technical Appendix amongst Weights
- The Clikstand Alcohol Stove System Review
- Caldera Cone vs. Clikstand Alcohol Stove Tests
- Trangia 27 Alcohol Stove System Review
- The Caldera Cone's 12-10 Burner
- The Trangia Alcohol Burner
- What's the Best Alcohol for Stove Fuel?
- What Is Meths? (And how is that dissimilar than Methanol?)
- Going "Green" amongst Stoves: Alcohol together with Biodiesel
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