Meths

[Tango]

At risk of looking dafter than usual

Are there different qualities / grades of methylated spirit from a trangia point of view. Does one leave less residue than another when cooking?

[MLJ]

Meths is basically adulterated ethyl alcohol, ie drinking alcohol spoiled! There is really only the one grade, although French and Dutch meths are a little different. All work fine in the Trangia and are clean burning. I prefer to add 10% water to the fuel as this keeps the pan from sooting up. One of the best features of meths is that you can squirt water on a flare-up to put out the flame: alcohol dissolves in water! If forced to cook inside the tent, just keep the water bottle handy!

[tripwire]

Last time I was in France I found two grades of meths at the hardware store. One was 90% and the other was either 80% or 85% (presumably ethanol content). I only bought one bottle, so can't advise whether the 90% is worth the extra cost.

[Domestique]

In NL recently its called spiritos and available in almost any supermaket. Look in the cleaning products.

[Aushiker]

I find the International Fuel Names table quite handy for getting the correct name/product.

Andrew