Fuel for Swedish issue cooker/mess set.

[CLEM]

Ok,not wanting to sound TOO stupid ): but what do you more learned folks use as fuel.Ive used surgical spirit as well as meths and found that it lights up quicker and seems to work just as well.Have i been doing the wrong thing or is this ok.

[Gary]

Clem , its called a spirit stove and although meths would be the main fuel and 'spirit' in theory would work - although you'll never get me using scotch or vodka in it - better uses for them!!

[CLEM]

Clem , its called a spirit stove and although meths would be the main fuel and 'spirit' in theory would work - although you'll never get me using scotch or vodka in it - better uses for them!!

:-) Thanks Gary.

[hootchi]

just a hint. if you add 10% water to the meths it stops it sooting up the bottom of the pan.

[simonsays]

Clem , its called a spirit stove and although meths would be the main fuel and 'spirit' in theory would work - although you'll never get me using scotch or vodka in it - better uses for them!!

I ran my (Non-Military) Trangia on some cheap but powerful Metaxa brandy once, just to prove to myself that it would actually work. I struggled to light it (It helps to warm the brandy first) and the fuel jets never really developed into a 'proper' burn. BUT it did manage to boil some water for a cup of tea :-)

The Metaxa was cheaper than meths

simon

[Paganwolf]

brandy as fuel :cry: makes me shudder to think of puttin my XO in my burner

[Tantalus]

brandy as fuel :cry: makes me shudder to think of puttin my XO in my burner

you never tasted metaxxa mate :rolmao:

actually i got very fond of the 3 star version while i lived in greece, cheap and cheerful

but heck my taste buds were prolly all clogged up with resin out the retsina :shock:

Tant

[Paganwolf]

MMmmmm Retsina :shock: Vespa fuel eh :rolmao: :rolmao: :rolmao:

[CLEM]

Ive found that meths does not ignite as easily as the sprirt,why would that be.I know its going to be an obvious answer :roll:

[dchinell]

As I mentioned in another post, I burn methyl alcohol (methanol), and it works great. No soot. No problem igniting. I've wanted to try Everclear (a high proof alcohol) for some time now, as it seems more multipurpose than methanol. Methanol can be used for first aid if diluted, but cannot be drunk. --Bear

[Tantalus]

CLEM sorry for going off on a backpacking connoisseurs' tangent

As far as i know methylated spirit and surgical spirit are both basically ethanol (alcohol)

methylated spirit is dyed purple, surgical spirit has no dye

both of them have methanol added to make them unfit for drinking ( methanol causes blindness and is generally pretty bad for you if consumed )

as for pure methanol , i do not know if it is available for sale in the uk

Tant

[CLEM]

Thanks for the info Tantalus its most appreciated,what i do not understand is why would the surgical spirit ignite so much more quickly than the meths.

[Tantalus]

not quite sure on that one CLEM though it could have something to do with the air fuel mixture when you were lighting it

ok now i gotta make sense out of that......... :roll:

for example throw a lighted match on a lump of coal and it will just go out

but fine coal dust mixed in the right proportions with air can explode violently :shock:

not the kind of thing liable to happen at home, more likely to happen if someone wanders into a coal yard shed with a lighted cigarette just after someone else tipped a truckload of coal in

an over filled stove may be harder to light than a a half full one, because in the over filled stove there is all alcohol vapour and no air, and it needs both the fuel and the oxygen in air to burn

i'm just guessing of course cos i wasnt there when you lit the stove

Tant

[CLEM]

I would say that you have cracked it Tantalus,your theory seems sound when i think about it.I reckon you may well be right.

[Martyn]

Yeah, sounds good Tant. combustion requires oxygen as well as fuel. Remove the oxygen and no matter how volatile the fuel, it wont burn. Interestingly, soot is also a product of incomplete combustion.

[Lithril]

Only point I can see there is that there isn't meant to be much air in the bottle, the mixing is done at the jets normally.