Alcohol Stoves

[bobby49]

I guess we need to purchase denatured ethanol for use as a marine fuel only.

[rayfound]

Yeah, I think the restriction comes from general VOC restrictions on solvents/paints/cleaners and is not intended to target fuel use (since when burned there is no VOC, just CO2 and Water... and hypothetically atmospherically-neutral CO2 at that)

[grampy]

I guess we need to purchase denatured ethanol for use as a marine fuel only.

... not necessarily a bad thing; in the U.S. there are LOTS of different formulations that can be legally sold as “denatured alcohol”, including ones that have far more methanol (which has a lower energy content than ethanol) than you might want for your stove.
Also consider that some industrial formulations of D.A. have a small fraction (5% or so) of MEK (methyl ethyl ketone) as one of the “denaturing” agents; awesome as a paint thinner/stripper but not so much for breathing or getting on your skin.
The “stove use” formulation that DOES still seem to be allowed excludes the MEK and other bad stuff, and probably gets you a higher ethanol percentage; it just costs more.

[c9h13no3]

for breathing or getting on your skin.

MEK is bad stuff, but methanol is just fine? I don’t think of either of them as particularly hazardous, but I know which one I’d rather drink (MEK).

[TurboHike]

I stopped by REI in Santa Barbara a few days ago. I walked down the stove and fuel aisle and they had everything in stock... canister fuel, white gas, fuel for alcohol stoves, all of it.

[dabeadlews]

For my trips- which tend to be a week or less, and in areas reachable by car or boat- I like small butane cartridge stoves. Neat, no spills, instant ignition. I used to use a Bluet, and now use a little MSR. Of course if youre travelling in more remote areas, or somewhere you have to fly to and cant buy the cartridges locally, liquid fuel may be the only choice.

My other favorite for warmer weather is the Trangia alcohol stove and cookit. Quiet, clean, no moving parts.