Cycling UK Forum

Jdsk wrote:

Brucey wrote:

KTHSullivan wrote:Meths will eat alloy bottles long term.

this is an excellent point and one I hadn't borne in mind previously. I guess if you are using such a bottle with meths for a few days and subsequently store it dry it is likely to be OK, but it would be easy to accidentally leave it for longer than this, especially if you were not aware of the hazard.

When carrying fuel bottles it is a risk vs consequence game; it is not that they are likely to leak inside a bag, it is more that if they do (and it only takes a tiny piece grit in a seal to provoke a leak and plastic bottles can split of course ) then the result is a lot of quite needless misery. Of the likely liquid stove fuels none of them (with the possible exception of some burning alcohols) are likely to simply evaporate and leave no stains or smells behind. Clothing is bad enough when contaminated with fuel but the prospect of fuel contaminating foodstuffs hardly bears thinking about.

As above I carry the meths in a SIGG fuel bottle in a cage below the down tube.

I know about the effect of ethanol on rubber and some other polymers but I'm surprised about it (or some other component of meths) attacking "alloy". What's the evidence for this, please?

Thanks

Jonathan

http://www.diva-portal.org/smash/get/di ... TEXT01.pdf

Enjoy K

Nalgene medical bottles can be purchased with a flip-up spout cap. The deal with them is the cap seal is faultless, the seal doesn’t deteriorate over time. I’ve never damaged or had any difficulty with a Nalgene med bottle. I recommend memorising the following compatibility list.....

Nalgene Chemical Compatibility - Bottles & Containers
https://www.calpaclab.com/chemical-comp ... ontainers/

Trangia fuel bottle
Made in Polythene (HD PE)
For safe filling of the spirit burner . The unique design of the safety cap allows you to pour the liquid without removing the cap. The cork has a venting pipe and a pouring pipe that causes the liquid to flow without slipping or spilling.

Some thoughts. Go out and ask random strangers where you can find methylated spirits. Report back. Accosting random strangers while travelling and asking where to find alcohol for a fire in your native tongue is not recommended. Better to ask for a hardware store or find it yourself while in a store.

Meths in different countries
https://trangia.se/en/fuel-list/

Cheap and useful bottles: https://speedsterstoves.co.uk/accessories.html

bretonbikes wrote:From our experience meths (at least the French stuff) will corrode the inside of unlined sigg bottles. We used to use them exclusively for our hire fleet of Trangias (which incidentally last forever) but of late simply use the plastic bottle the stuff comes in from the shop. Tough, and usually have a nozzle/hole so no chance of flame back.

KTHSullivan wrote:http://www.diva-portal.org/smash/get/diva2:720728/FULLTEXT01.pdf

Thanks

Jonathan

st599_uk wrote:Hi,

Just wondering if anyone has any information on what to ask for in various countries for Alcohol stove fuel?

I'm assuming it can't be carried on Eurostar/Flights, so am hopeful I can buy some once on the continent.

Can anyone recommend a bottle to carry it in too? Presumably metal is a good idea, would prefer it to be obviously a fuel bottle.

Simon

The Trangia website has a page with fuel names in various countries: https://trangia.se/en/fuel-list/ In most European countries it is quite easy to get, and for me that is one of its advantages as a fuel. Unlike for petrol or parafin stoves metal fuel bottles are not a good idea for meths. Trangia have an excellent plastic bottle with safety valve.

willem jongman wrote:The Trangia website has a page with fuel names in various countries: https://trangia.se/en/fuel-list/

The site that I've found most useful is:
https://bushwalkingnsw.org.au/clubsites/FAQ/FAQ_FuelNames.htm

Jonathan

Both sites provide good information. I like the simplicity of the introduction on the Trangia site

“The spirit burner is intended for alcohol based fuels only (such as methylated spirit). Alternative safe fuels are other alcohols based on Methanol or Ethanol e.g., Surgical Spirits or Wood Alcohol. At least 70 % alcohol will work. Ethanol will give the best effect and you get most energy from it. You can find as pure as 96%. The disadvantage is it´s gives more soot then methanol. Methanol gives you less soot but is very toxic in fumes. Oil based fuels are not suitable. Never use gasoline or other petroleum based fuels as this may result in serious injury.”

Based on this I suspect Italian meths is high in Methanol as it doesn’t soot as much and produced a lengthy headache when fumes were inadvertently inhaled. Neither site lists Morocco but can be found in a basic hardware store. Whenever I’ve struggled to find meths I’ve always found in a hardware store. The exception being Russia where i was told people were dying drinking it on such a scale that it was withdrawn from sale.