Alcohol Stoves: Clean, environmentally friendly and ultimately simple

There are all types of back- packing and camping stoves, but there is one class of burners that do not get a lot of attention and they are alcohol stoves.

The vast majority of stoves on the market run on either gas cartridges filled with butane/propane blends or on liquid fuel, better known as Coleman Fuel. These are the workhorse stoves on the market. They are hot, boil water fast and can be used in almost any condition. But they can be expensive and both burn non-renewable fuels.

The Trangia burner is the tried and true alcohol stove that generates a lot of

heat in a simple package.  Lawrence DiVizio

On the other hand there is the low tech alcohol stove.

Alcohol burners have been around since the time when someone realized it would burn.

Recently there has been a rebirth of these stoves with a few new ones on the market, but the tried and true unit is the Trangia stove madein Sweden. These are a ported stoves meaning that once the alcohol heats up, small holes in a raised portion of the stove begin to burn like a gas burner. They are offered in complete cook kits with stove and windscreen and all the way to a small ultra lightweight survival stove. They are fantastic products. There is also the Vargo Stove which is made of titanium, super light weight and easy to use. both of these stoves are available at REI .

The benefit of alcohol stoves is the very fact that they are so simple. There are no moving parts, nothing to replace and extremely safe.

For those who are handy and like to make things, there are a wide variety of homemade alcohol stoves out there. You can make (and my son and I have) stoves from beverage cans which is really rather neat when you do it. At the website Zen Stoves you will find descriptions of stoves you can make, discus- sions on the different types of alcohol that can be used and even drawings on how to make the stoves.

Now to the drawbacks and advantages to using alcohol fueled stoves.

The down side to alcohol is that it does not generate the heat a white gas or canister stove does so the boil time is a lot longer. It can take 10 minutes to   boil one-half quart of water, though my Trangia burner will do it in six. So ounce-per-ounce you get a lot less cook time than you do with a fuel like Cole- man fuel. These are not stoves for people who want to cook quickly, it can take some time. Another concern with alcohol is that it is hard to see when it is burning. So care must be taken when using an alcohol stove.

On the plus side, the fuel is made from renewable resources and alcohol will not explode, so it is very safe. Denatured alcohol also burns extremely clean and does not leave soot on you cook pots. That is why I use alcohol as the priming fuel with my MSR Whisperlite.

Alcohol is also easy to find. I bought my last can of it at the Meijer Store in Allen Park, Mich.  Unlike some fuels, if you spill alcohol it just evaporates and that’s it. And since it does not explode under normal conditions, it is much safer to carry and can be shipped via ground delivery in the United States. It cannot be taken on an aircraft.

Finally the stoves are totally silent, which is a real blessing at times.

The fuel I burn is denatured alcohol, so called because a compound has been added so it cannot be used as a beverage. Another source is the gas line antifreeze HEET in the yellow bottle., which is methyl alcohol. I use this when I can find it on sale or clearance in the spring and again, it must be the HEET in the yellow bottle.

You can also burn alcohol from the drug store, which I do not recommend because it can give off odd fumes and can burn dirty. But if you are stuck and need fuel it will work. I have done this but not if I can help it. Even high proof  booze will work, but  why waste it in a stove?

So if you are considering an alternative fuel stove, take a look at the alcohol stoves on the market and if you want, the plans to build your own.