I have an alcohol stove and was wondering where I can get the best price on 1 Gal and 5 Gal. cans. The Home Depo's I have been to only sell it by the quart. Any suggestions as where else to look?
Alcohol Stove ......Alcohol
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Try the paint stores. it is used as shellac
thinner. However I buy alcohol in gallons at HD. Since I cook with propane on Bietzpadlin I don't concern myself with the odor of the burn. My friend who lived aboard for three or four years said that some alcohol stinks when it burns so I would test it first before I bought 5 gallons..
thinner. However I buy alcohol in gallons at HD. Since I cook with propane on Bietzpadlin I don't concern myself with the odor of the burn. My friend who lived aboard for three or four years said that some alcohol stinks when it burns so I would test it first before I bought 5 gallons..
Lowes and Ace Hardware, or
any hardware store. Be sure to ask for Denatured alcohol as most of them don't know we can use it in a stove.
any hardware store. Be sure to ask for Denatured alcohol as most of them don't know we can use it in a stove.
Home Depot
The HD"s around here` only sell it by the quart. When I bought this boat, it had a 5 gal plastic jug filled to the top with alcohol. Dont know what brand it was, but it had a really nice sweet odor. I have a pressurized system that works great, but the admiral doesnt like it. I was thinking of selling the system and replacing it with propane. I have the small tank, electric pump, 3 burner stove and oven. Any Idea what it might be worth..its in really good condition as far as looks and performance, both.
The HD"s around here` only sell it by the quart. When I bought this boat, it had a 5 gal plastic jug filled to the top with alcohol. Dont know what brand it was, but it had a really nice sweet odor. I have a pressurized system that works great, but the admiral doesnt like it. I was thinking of selling the system and replacing it with propane. I have the small tank, electric pump, 3 burner stove and oven. Any Idea what it might be worth..its in really good condition as far as looks and performance, both.
SqailorTonyBob, (That's a joke Tony)...
...What kind of stove do you have? I have a Homestrand in my Oday 22. Thinking about using it. I have not found a manual on it or any instructions for that matter. It's funny, in one of the Oday 22/23/25 brochures I saw it was a $42.00 option, now in good condition it is worth over $400.00 in the antiques markets! As to Home Depot, I e-mailed them and asked...after paying their CEO $210,000.00 to go away...why I would ever want to spend money there again...that was two weeks ago, I have yet to get an answer! Jack
...What kind of stove do you have? I have a Homestrand in my Oday 22. Thinking about using it. I have not found a manual on it or any instructions for that matter. It's funny, in one of the Oday 22/23/25 brochures I saw it was a $42.00 option, now in good condition it is worth over $400.00 in the antiques markets! As to Home Depot, I e-mailed them and asked...after paying their CEO $210,000.00 to go away...why I would ever want to spend money there again...that was two weeks ago, I have yet to get an answer! Jack
Jackhartjr
I have a Galley Maid "SUPER HEAT". Its a pressurized 3 burner and oven. Its takes a while to get used to the idea that you are literally setting your boat on fire lighting this thing. Once you get used to it, it really is great for cooking and baking. The pressurized stoves can boil water pretty much in the same time as propane. The one really nice thing i like is that you can really lower the flame ......great for cooking rice and grits, although generally not in the same meal. Jack is yours pressurized? If it is, I will tell you how to do it.
I have a Galley Maid "SUPER HEAT". Its a pressurized 3 burner and oven. Its takes a while to get used to the idea that you are literally setting your boat on fire lighting this thing. Once you get used to it, it really is great for cooking and baking. The pressurized stoves can boil water pretty much in the same time as propane. The one really nice thing i like is that you can really lower the flame ......great for cooking rice and grits, although generally not in the same meal. Jack is yours pressurized? If it is, I will tell you how to do it.
My manual says that you can use isopropyl alcohol
I have been buying mine by the gallon at Lowe's and have seen it at home depot. It's in the paint department. I saw 100% Isoropyl at CVS one time but not since. I think that it may be used in making methamphetamines or something. But lately all I could find was 70% which is too dilute to burn well. I have seen denatured at wal-mart but only in quarts. I think that the problem is the days of prohibition when alcoholics would drink anything. I can't imagine anyone drinking industrial ethanol now when most places have package stores. Even the cheapest booze at a package store has got to be better than industrial alcohol.
I have been buying mine by the gallon at Lowe's and have seen it at home depot. It's in the paint department. I saw 100% Isoropyl at CVS one time but not since. I think that it may be used in making methamphetamines or something. But lately all I could find was 70% which is too dilute to burn well. I have seen denatured at wal-mart but only in quarts. I think that the problem is the days of prohibition when alcoholics would drink anything. I can't imagine anyone drinking industrial ethanol now when most places have package stores. Even the cheapest booze at a package store has got to be better than industrial alcohol.
Tom
My stove says 'DENATURED" which is also sold in paint departments. It is a form of ethanol, I believe. When you read a can of Denatured alcohol, it will show that it is used as solvent and also "....used as a stove fuel"
My stove says 'DENATURED" which is also sold in paint departments. It is a form of ethanol, I believe. When you read a can of Denatured alcohol, it will show that it is used as solvent and also "....used as a stove fuel"
Tont the Stoves were designed for ethanol
The stoves were designed for ethanol which is a 2 carbon alcohol. But denatured from Kleanstrip is about 50% methanol which is a 1 carbon alcohol. Isopropyl is a three carbon alcohol. Briefly the more carbons the more heat. Also the more carbon the higher the vapor pressure and with a high vapor pressure it evaporates more readily which is good in an alcohol stove. Sometimes I think that a lot of the problems we have with alcohol stoves is due to the poor quality of fuel. Sorry if this is to basic tony you probably know more chemistry than I. I guess they denature with methanol because it is cheaper. As a kid I knew an old wino that was blinded by drinking alcohol. He lived in an old shack and fixed bicycles for a living. All of us kids would pay him to fix our bikes. He was kinda scarey looking. When I was growing up in a dry county in Tennessee it was amazing what the drunks would drink!!! Fortunately when I was a little older the county became civilized and decided that drunks shouldn't go blind drinking moonshine spiked with methanol....or was it the tax money..you decide. The saddest part was that most of these drunks were world war two veterans many who lived at the veterans adminstration.
The stoves were designed for ethanol which is a 2 carbon alcohol. But denatured from Kleanstrip is about 50% methanol which is a 1 carbon alcohol. Isopropyl is a three carbon alcohol. Briefly the more carbons the more heat. Also the more carbon the higher the vapor pressure and with a high vapor pressure it evaporates more readily which is good in an alcohol stove. Sometimes I think that a lot of the problems we have with alcohol stoves is due to the poor quality of fuel. Sorry if this is to basic tony you probably know more chemistry than I. I guess they denature with methanol because it is cheaper. As a kid I knew an old wino that was blinded by drinking alcohol. He lived in an old shack and fixed bicycles for a living. All of us kids would pay him to fix our bikes. He was kinda scarey looking. When I was growing up in a dry county in Tennessee it was amazing what the drunks would drink!!! Fortunately when I was a little older the county became civilized and decided that drunks shouldn't go blind drinking moonshine spiked with methanol....or was it the tax money..you decide. The saddest part was that most of these drunks were world war two veterans many who lived at the veterans adminstration.
Explosion with Propane
We have had some pretty good flareups and they are exciting. But propane can cause explosions. In cold weather I have used a handheld propane torch to warm up the alcohol stove before lighting. This works well. Don't get it too hot just hot enough to vaporise the alcohol. Some people use "canned heat" to prewarm this is a jellied alcohol a small candle might work too. I have only used the propane torch method. The methanol has too low of heat of combustion. If I can ever find more 100% isopropanol I'm going to try it as a fuel. The boiling points aren't that much different. But ethanol has almost twice as many calories/kg and isopropanol has almost three times as much energy as methanol. Maybe analogous to using green wood as opposed to dry wood to start a fire. If we replace our stove it will probably be with propane but for ease of use not for safety reasons. Data from Handbook of Chemistry and Physics BP calories/kg isopropanol 82.4 474.8 methanol 65 173.64 ethanol 78.5 326.68
We have had some pretty good flareups and they are exciting. But propane can cause explosions. In cold weather I have used a handheld propane torch to warm up the alcohol stove before lighting. This works well. Don't get it too hot just hot enough to vaporise the alcohol. Some people use "canned heat" to prewarm this is a jellied alcohol a small candle might work too. I have only used the propane torch method. The methanol has too low of heat of combustion. If I can ever find more 100% isopropanol I'm going to try it as a fuel. The boiling points aren't that much different. But ethanol has almost twice as many calories/kg and isopropanol has almost three times as much energy as methanol. Maybe analogous to using green wood as opposed to dry wood to start a fire. If we replace our stove it will probably be with propane but for ease of use not for safety reasons. Data from Handbook of Chemistry and Physics BP calories/kg isopropanol 82.4 474.8 methanol 65 173.64 ethanol 78.5 326.68
Try a non-pressurized one.
Don't get me wrong I use and prefer propane but having used both pressurized and non pressurized alcohol stoves I much rather have the latter. I had an ORIGO 3000 which is a two burner stove. It utilizes fuel canisters which are filled with a cotton like material which absorbs the fuel releasing vapors into the fluke which are ignited for cooking. There is no fuel spilage and it is very reliable. The safety of a stove depends on the operator knowing its fuel and the equipment rather than in the type of stove. Alcohol is lighter than air so vapors will dissipate in an open cabin on the other hand propane is heavier than air and flows much like water to the cabin sole and bilge. The largest danger with alcohol is fire while the largest danger with propane is an explosion. Alcohol flames cannot be seen but a fire can be put out by water. Propane camping stoves are designed to be used outdoors. They lack some basic safety features like thermocouples, pressure switch, and push to turn controls to stop and help prevent accidental leaks and flareups. A good 2 burner marine grade stove with the safety features an quality burners will cost a few hundred dollars. The addition of a propane tank storage safety locker, electric solenoid, pressure valve and lines will easily push the installation over $1,000. I had a boat in which I installed a good quality PRIMUS stove connected by a five foot low pressure hose to a regulator, a pressure switch and an adapter to be able to use the 1 pound propane canisters. I had it set up inside the cabin and would hook up a bottle to cook and then take the bottle off as soon as I was done. The pressure switch and the thermocuple switch on the stove would shut off flow in case of a leak or if the burner went out. It was not a perfect installation but I felt it was safe enough and only costed like $250. We also have a trailerable and still use a Kenyon, single burner butane stove with it. We had one flare up as apparently the gas canister had not seated well but other than that we have had a good experience with it. But overall my choice other than a full fledge Propane installation would be the non-pressurized Origo, it offers a good degree of safety, reliability and ease of operation.
Don't get me wrong I use and prefer propane but having used both pressurized and non pressurized alcohol stoves I much rather have the latter. I had an ORIGO 3000 which is a two burner stove. It utilizes fuel canisters which are filled with a cotton like material which absorbs the fuel releasing vapors into the fluke which are ignited for cooking. There is no fuel spilage and it is very reliable. The safety of a stove depends on the operator knowing its fuel and the equipment rather than in the type of stove. Alcohol is lighter than air so vapors will dissipate in an open cabin on the other hand propane is heavier than air and flows much like water to the cabin sole and bilge. The largest danger with alcohol is fire while the largest danger with propane is an explosion. Alcohol flames cannot be seen but a fire can be put out by water. Propane camping stoves are designed to be used outdoors. They lack some basic safety features like thermocouples, pressure switch, and push to turn controls to stop and help prevent accidental leaks and flareups. A good 2 burner marine grade stove with the safety features an quality burners will cost a few hundred dollars. The addition of a propane tank storage safety locker, electric solenoid, pressure valve and lines will easily push the installation over $1,000. I had a boat in which I installed a good quality PRIMUS stove connected by a five foot low pressure hose to a regulator, a pressure switch and an adapter to be able to use the 1 pound propane canisters. I had it set up inside the cabin and would hook up a bottle to cook and then take the bottle off as soon as I was done. The pressure switch and the thermocuple switch on the stove would shut off flow in case of a leak or if the burner went out. It was not a perfect installation but I felt it was safe enough and only costed like $250. We also have a trailerable and still use a Kenyon, single burner butane stove with it. We had one flare up as apparently the gas canister had not seated well but other than that we have had a good experience with it. But overall my choice other than a full fledge Propane installation would be the non-pressurized Origo, it offers a good degree of safety, reliability and ease of operation.
Greater chance of.....
From what little experience i have had with my alcohol stove/oven, i will say that there is a much much much greater chance of fire from the alcohol stove than from an explosion from a propane appliance. On our Catalina 30, i installed a propane stove and oven with a gas snifer and a remote shut-off valve. We got in the habbit of turning the gas on with the remote shut-off switch when we used the stove/oven and turned the switch off after we shut the apliance off.
From what little experience i have had with my alcohol stove/oven, i will say that there is a much much much greater chance of fire from the alcohol stove than from an explosion from a propane appliance. On our Catalina 30, i installed a propane stove and oven with a gas snifer and a remote shut-off valve. We got in the habbit of turning the gas on with the remote shut-off switch when we used the stove/oven and turned the switch off after we shut the apliance off.
Ahhh, Propane is safer that pressurized alcohol
Maybe.... Non pressureized is much safer than propane. Again, just my opinion. r.w.landau
Maybe.... Non pressureized is much safer than propane. Again, just my opinion. r.w.landau
Non-pressurized
Non-pressurized alcohol is much safer, but requires more planning ahead. If you want coffee in the morning, turn the stove on now, by daylight, the water should be hot enough.
Non-pressurized alcohol is much safer, but requires more planning ahead. If you want coffee in the morning, turn the stove on now, by daylight, the water should be hot enough.
I have a friend that lived aboard for four
years and then moved ashore to a house with a propane range. She would never allow an alcohol stove on any boat that she had to cook on today. Propane is all carbon and hydrogen, alcohol is one third oxygen, when combined with the hydrogen reduces the heat output per pound of fuel.
years and then moved ashore to a house with a propane range. She would never allow an alcohol stove on any boat that she had to cook on today. Propane is all carbon and hydrogen, alcohol is one third oxygen, when combined with the hydrogen reduces the heat output per pound of fuel.
Tony, I have never had to wait for the Origo
To boil water for coffee or anything else. I had a Kenyan that was like watching your toenails grow! I cooked on our Origo single burner and so does my wife. The Time is never a problem. The only draw back is an occasional after odor when it is shut down after a prolonged cooked meal. We sometimes get into long slow simmered soups and other dishes. Heat has never been a problem, nor have flame-ups. About 15 years ago my wife almost burnt our house down while she was cooking in our living room on a coleman stove while I was remodeling our kitchen. Propane is not our choice on the boat. r.w.landau
To boil water for coffee or anything else. I had a Kenyan that was like watching your toenails grow! I cooked on our Origo single burner and so does my wife. The Time is never a problem. The only draw back is an occasional after odor when it is shut down after a prolonged cooked meal. We sometimes get into long slow simmered soups and other dishes. Heat has never been a problem, nor have flame-ups. About 15 years ago my wife almost burnt our house down while she was cooking in our living room on a coleman stove while I was remodeling our kitchen. Propane is not our choice on the boat. r.w.landau
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