PART II: I'm not a physician but I am a former EMT and I have a Master's in Epidemiology. DO NOT use alcohol on any open wound. The word "tincture" means alcohol-based so DO NOT use tincture of iodine, tincture of merthiolate, or mercurochrome on an open wound. They're okay for skin prep but not for wound treatment. When iodine is used in a modern clinical or surgical environment it's in a water solution. Alcohol will kill MOST bacteria. But it also KILLS and DEVITALIZES living tissue. Do you know what's one of the best growth media for bacteria? Dead or damaged human tissue. You dump on the alcohol, kill most of the bacteria, and simultaneously kill and damage tissue. Congratulations! You just established the perfect environment for the bugs you didn't kill to thrive and be happy! Avoid hydrogen peroxide for similar reasons. To treat open wounds irrigate with plenty of clean water, normal saline, or a weak water solution of iodine (Betadine). This hasn't much to do with stoves, but far too many comments mentioned the utility of alcohol in wound treatment. Bad practice.

If you have the time, you can make your own 99% alcohol from a cheaper solution. All you have to do is put it in a container, add salt, and shake well then let it sit for a few minutes. Salt bonds to water, but not alcohol, so it will make the water drop out of solution and sink to the bottom, leaving you with almost completely pure alcohol. And, you can save the saline solution for surface wound care.

Here's an important tip about using alcohol fuels, especially the HEET and methanol based fuels. Get yourself one of those good little metal liquid fuel bottles for backpackers and camping. Because once you break the foil seal on the HEET bottle, it starts pulling moisture from the air, and those bottles aren't made to reseal, they are made to use the whole contents, and throw the bottle away. If you live in a cold, wet place like I do, that fuel will be watery and weak in no time at all if you don't store it in a good tightly sealing fuel bottle. Same with the pharmacy and drugstore bottles of 91% and 99% isopropyl. They are made for rubdowns, light cleanings, etc. and their bottles aren't designed for keeping the moisture out of your stove fuel! It is very frustrating when it's -10F and the alcohol you bought a week ago, and only used a smidge of is already too weak to light your stove again!!! it has happened to me with that yellow HEET, it took forever to light, the fuel was noticeably weaker and there was an orange color to the flames as well...that means water got in it....grrr -should be pure blue flames with good, fresh alcohol.

Fantastic demonstration comparing 6 different fuels for the Trangia stove. You broke it down to both cost and time elements and showed that overall, the yellow Heet was the winner, with 99% Isopropyl alcohol coming in a close 2nd. Well done, guys!

Great test guys! It seems the denatured burned the cleanest. Personally, I trade a minute or two of boil time to save a minute or five of cleaning soot, but that's just me. Thanks again. I definitely learned something.

WOW! This is by far one of the best comparison vids I've ever seen. I made it thru the entire 17+ minutes which means I found it interesting. Thanks for your time and effort. Great video! :-)

By far the best test I've seen. Comprehensive and thorough as possible without going to a laboratory setting. TY for the time and effort that you folks put into this comparison.

Everclear is the obvious winner. A little for the stove, a little for the person watching the stove boil water. Win-Win! Should have tried 70% iso, has been said it works better than the 91 or 99

Nice video! Here in Brazil we can buy 97% Ethanol at any gas station for less than a dolar per liter, as it is widely used since the 70's as car fuels. The cars that works with gasoline or alcohol or both are very common. I did some tests and found that it works very nice with alcohol stoves. Just hope this information helps someone else.

The extent at which you guys went out of your way to be as controlled and scientific as possible makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside.

No question. 91% wins. Based on price vs. rationalizing all other factors. SIX CENTS. Also considering you can buy 91% most everywhere including the dollar store, it makes a better emergency choice.

This test is EXACTLY what I was looking for. Very glad you did this test, not just of the boiling times but also the price per ounce comparison along with the price to boil comparison too! A great informative test that saves me from buying all of this and doing it myself. You guys doing this test and posting it here on KZfaq has me looking into your product to buy. Job well done!!

Great video with solid methods. For me, cost and time to boil are not that important (they were all adequate). What matters most to me is weight. I want to carry less fuel weight, so I want the fuel that can do the job with least weight. While the yellow Heet bottle was the fastest, it needed 1.1 oz of fuel to boil the water in the first test. The 99% isopropyl alcohol used only 0.6oz to boil the water in the first test (tied for first place with the Ever Clear, and second fastest to boot). Therefore, the winner for me is the 99% isopropyl alcohol. If you need to boil 2 cups of water 3 times a day for a week long trip (21 boils), you need 23.1oz of yellow Heet, and only 12.6oz of 99% isopropyl alcohol. That means using the 99% isopropyl alcohol over the yellow Heet saves a pack weight of 10.5 oz, more than 1/2 pound!

All of the fuel reviews were great. Thankyou for taking the time. The location of your fuel supply stock behind the open flames was a suspense thriller! :) Great little stoves.

I bought some denatured alcohol today at Home Depot. The quart was $7.50 and the gallon was $15. If you buy it by the gallon it would cut the price per ounce down to $0.11.

Did anyone else notice how close the bottles of alcohol were to the flames?

I really like the accuracy you were able to achieve with the control of variability. One bottle per pot, exact weight of the fuel, this really allowed for an accurate test and that's something I think is really important, thanks for uploading this comparison! Very helpful guys.

I just started to look for this information, figuring it would take me weeks to get a good answer... you're AWESOME! Thanks:)

As a science teacher and a backpacker, I love this video. I found it very informative. Thank you for sharing!!!

Haven't read all the comments but your video didn't mention that although EverClear was most expensive to purchase it is the only one suited for human consumption. Handy for a late nite toddy. Great video! Very useful!

With my early trials making penny stoves etc I used 99% iso alcohol which was way too sooty for my liking. Now I use a Trangia 27 kit with denatured alcohol and it is perfect. Denatured from wally world does a fast and clean job. Really great video, best on youtube for this topic, thanks.

Thanks for the comparison, guys! Even though Everclear costs more, it is my choice because it doesn't contain cancer-causing ingredients, like Heet does. I wouldn't worry too much if some spilled in my pack because it would just evaporate. It can also be used for cleaning wounds, just like isopropyl alcohol. And unlike any other fuel, you can use it for mixing an after-dinner cocktail, if you'd like :)

Despite being 6 years late to the party, I wanted to say this is a great video which clearly demonstrates the differences between these fuels! 5 stars.

Personally, I prefer to use the grain alcohol, Ever Clear in your test. It is more expensive, but not near as poisonous as any of the other options. My border collies are most often with me, so I go for the grain alcohol. I figure they wouldn't have the opportunity imbibe enough to kill them. Plus, it isn't toxic via your, or their, skin contact. Another option for the grain alcohol is that since I haven't have a drink of alcohol since 1981, but if the catching away happened and I was left behind it might come in handy to have a snort or two available.

One thing to consider is fuel to air mixtures. If something is burning very dirty and yellow like the red heat to me that demonstrates that the fuel is more energetic and needs a stove setup that provides more oxygen. With the proper set up those more energetic and dirty burning fuels could boil water quicker and burn cleanly giving enough air. For example if you burn kerosene in a stove that was design for a less energetic fuel it would burn dirty and poorly but has the potential for a much quicker boil Thank you

I've talked to a lot of hikers here in CO and they usually use HEET because Walmart has it.

What i got from this video is there are options if the others aren't available.Thanks.

I found this video really useful. Also, It was short and to the point without a bunch of useless banter just to stretch it out. Thank you very much for taking the time to do this experiment. I make penny can stoves for my friends and from now on I will be directing them to your website for actual camping/prepping stoves. Well done & thanks again.

Worth it to note that the Yellow Heet and Denatured alcohol burn a lot cleaner than the others. Certainly worth more to me when I'm packing my cook pot away. Surprised that the Yellow Heet was consistently faster than the rest...it ran away with it.

The reason your last test (for fuel burned) was better for the yellow heet is that it continued to burn after you put it out through the hole in the lid. It probably wasn't visible in person, but it definitely was visible in the video. If you watch the hole at 6:23 you can see it still burning. It continues to burn with a tiny flame until you blow out the isopropol 91% around 6:47.

🙏THANK YOU Sir!! I’m going to get that Firebox stove. Young people today are lost without people like you to help us. My daddy died but he always take care of this stuff. At least now I won’t blow myself up. Daddy always had the answers to my questions and I could always count on him. RIP Daddy.🙏😭😢 Thank you for helping us daddy-less daughters out here!! 🤗💞🤗

# 3 the Everclear is 180 proof pure grain alcohol It also can be consumed which adds a bonus on the trail. ;)

I like everclear the best, it is dual purpose and the fumes it puts out would not be toxic.

the flame height determines how high the pot needs to be off the flame to get the greatest heat benefit.

I tested heet and dn alcohol last night. Same temp of water same exact canteen cup. Used heavy foil for a lid. 8oz of water straight from the tap. Boil time was right at 7 mins. For the both of them. (Used crown brand dn alc.) Still have my sterno folding stove but this takes first place. Only been having it for a week and its one of the best things I ever bought. Great video guys.

The yellow Heet looked like it also was the cleanest. Interesting video!

For the "dual purpose" I will go with everclear for my fuel!

Part III: Yes, pure (actually 95%) ethanol does have an essential, critical role in outdoor (and prepping) activities. Plus you can use it for stove fuel. But if you take that alcohol and add approximately 10% methanol to poison it, you have "denatured alcohol," also used as stove fuel. Therefore there should be no noticeable performance difference between Everclear and denatured alcohol since they're 90% the same. As an aside, there's a potable grain alcohol brand around called "Diesel," not to be confused with the hydrocarbon of the same name. I like mine with powdered Hawaiian Punch (the alcohol, not the hydrocarbon). Anyway, HEET isn't readily available this far south. For decades I simply used Boat Stove (denatured) Alcohol with a small lacquered aluminum bottle of Everclear for entertainment and backup fuel...alcohol doesn't get along well with raw aluminum. Finally, I'm amused by those who complain about the cost of Everclear as fuel. I'd understand if someone used it three times per day, every day. But a total of a few weeks each year? I find it humorous that someone who would plunk down $60 for a teacup-sized titanium pot would scream like a cheated prostitute over $10 worth of dual use stove juice. In any case I've switched to hexamine fuel tablets. Mindless operation and nothing to spill. Anyone want to buy a Trangia?

For cooking, I can agree with your choice of winner, but it might be wise to take the isopropyl as part of a first aid kit instead of peroxide. Dual use equals weight savings, as long as you can wait an extra minute or two for your coffee. Great video!

Ever clear would have been my #1 pick because of its versatility. Sadly my nanny state of Maryland bans it from sale. 91% works for me. Not sutty and can be used as an antiseptic, easier to find than 99% too.

Sweet: primarily because I have a bunch of yellow bottles of Heet in the basement, & I got them for about 35 cents each on clearance :-)

A great consideration is altitude when selecting fuel. The higher you go the less oxygen to feed the fuel mix. So a purer denser fuel is needed.

Thanks for the righteous comparison! It answered a question I have asked myself for some time now. HEET Yellow is what I've been using for years. Must have been intuition and experience .... now confirmed. Home distilled grain alcohol is next in line for emergencies. Homemade is cheaper than store bought btw.

what is a little bit unusual is the boil time difference between the Everclear and the denatured alcohol, because chemically, they are essentially the same with the only difference being the rather small amount of chemical to denature it. This should not amount to a 2min boil time difference. Yellow heet is methanol, a toxic substance that is not easily available in many countries. You should use gloves handling it ;) I go with the Everclear - multi use. Cheers, chris

thanks very much for doing this test, very informative ...ever-clear is a multi use fluid as well... ..bill

Five stars for effort. Despite my minor complaints, I agree that the yellow Heet is the best fuel. I deleted the 412 word perspective that I wrote to help, because I am a retired MR&D lab rat. I made my living doing well, sort of what you did here. If you are interested, let me know and I will re-insert it as a comment so you can see what I recommended. Peace out.

This is one of if not the best comparison video I have seen. I appreciate the thoroughness, the chart in the comments, and attention to detail.

Really great test but I noticed on the second run the yellow heet was contaminated with one of the other fuels. I only use yellow heet in my Trangia and it always burns only blue. At any rate great video. Thanks for comparing the fuels

Pretty interesting test. Four concerns though - Can you eat food directly cooked over each one of these? It seems that the "looks like its boiling to me" results are not quite so reliable as actual temperature of the water. The wind and direction skewed results. Lastly....as a Firefighter and common sense kind of guy - GOOD LORD, don't ever have that stuff so close to open flame!!!!! Some yahoo is going to try to recreate this and burn their house down. Great idea for a test but I say redoo - zero breeze, temp based boil instead of looks, water on at the same time, caution with the open flame. Thanks

That's the great thing about grain alcohol if you're taking swigs of it *you don't really care how the tests turn out*

I have used ‘‘this system for years. I carry almost 6 or 8 bottles of yellow heat. Let me tell you guys. If this is your major source of cooking you are on your last resort. I use it the night I’m setting up my base camp. Maybe the cecond night. After that I’ve got a proper cook fire going on it I can cook anything from a stuffed rabbit to a full set of deer trips.

One of the points that I love about your videos is how methodically you go about testing these things. Thank you!

Another thought to consider with HEET vs. EVERCLEAR is contamination. If the bottle was to rupture in your pack which one would you prefer? I would think the EVERCLEAR would be better especially if it was spilled on my food bag. Just another “pro” to add to the EVERCLEAR column IMO.

Fuels which produced soot: Isopropyl alcohol 91% and 99%, Iso-HEET (Red, worst sooting). Fuels which did NOT produce soot: HEET (Yellow), grain alcohol, denatured alcohol.

Everclear wins every time because it has multiple very, very important uses. I wish I could find it in plastic bottles, I hate having to decant it into different bottles for the trip. Don't want to be schlepping heavy breakable glass. I appreciate how you put time into helping us with these videos and it's not all about selling stuff. Very cool.

I love home science. Nicely done. Probably all of these alcohols could be burned indoors. I always use the yellow bottle HEET based on my research and personal experience so I was gratified to see your results. I mostly motorcycle camp now that I'm old, and the yellow HEET is readily available at gas stations, etc.

Much appreciated these comparative tests. Well organized and informative. Thanks!

The one that makes the least amount of soot is the one I would use.

The everclear can be used as a antiseptic a way to calm nerves and a painkiller. Considering its multi-use its a good investment.

I have ran dozens of tests over the years and yellow HEET is the most consistent. Pure ethyl alcohol being the second on consistency and safest.

2oz volume and 2oz weight are very different unless they carry the same density.

I don't think a few seconds difference in time to boil is critical, but if one creates a lot of soot and another creates none, then that is a significant benefit. In the UK I use Methylated Spirit which is denatured alcohol, (Ethanol with 10% Methanol added to ensure it cannot be consumed, and usually dyed with methyl violet), I can confirm that I have no issue using this indoors, although I have to add 5-8% water to stop sooting. If it matters to anyone... the brand I use is Barrettine, and it comes in around $20 for 5 litres.

Besides the results (thanks for doing all this setup), what I appreciated about this test was also showing which had most visibility, which appeals to me.

Thank you so much for this information I really like the comparisons of price and effectiveness of each of the fuels I really like the 91 percent for cost and as a wound cleaner and all purpose sterilization out in the woods my esbit stove recommended denatured alcohol but doesn't have as many applications once again thank you

Thanks for the comparison. I just heard about using Everclear this summer and thought it was a great idea since I have a three year old at home and hate the thought of having poison in my pack. Not to mention that the ocd-me always feels like washing my hands when ever I use heat. Although it is the most expensive, it seemed to work just as well as the others. Well worth it IMO to not be taking poison to the woods. I do like the fact that it could be used for medicinal purposes and really appreciate the comment about not using alcohol on open wounds - I will just take it internally from now on.

I've been using yellow Heet as my go-to. I've been told that pure ethanol (grain alcohol) has more energy by mass than methanol, but it's the most expensive thanks to liquor taxes. Denatured alcohol with the most ethanol and least methanol is preferred, but Heet is generally the most cost-efficient. Isopropanol is just too sooty for me.

Very good informative video . No obnoxious music or long winded narration . To the point . I recently started experimenting with alcohol stoves and was wondering about the efficiency of different fuels . This video explained it all . Thanks .

This is one of the reasons I love KZfaq. Great info on an obscure topic right at my finger tips. Great job guys, thanks!

thanks for the FYI. But I would have moved the bottles in the back much further away from the flame. And I was told never use the Red bottle of HEET. just wondering what about oil lamp for these stoves??

"HEET contains a 'special' additive", which is not otherwise specified on the packaging label and is therefor NOT an alcohol stove fuel but is, however, a flammable methanol solution designed for combustion when mixed with gasoline. The 'special' additive in HEET may be tailor made for a cleaner burn to comply with emission standards when properly used. (ie. when mixed into gasoline). Denatured alcohol is definitely the appropriate choice for the alcohol stove.

My local Walmart has been selling the Yellow HEET for $1 per 12oz bottle lately. Its 99% menthol alcohol too. I bought a bunch up at that price. That's around .08¢ an oz roughly. Great deal. No sooting bonus. Usable indoors bonus. Can be used to rehydrate Sterno gel since its a menthol based alcohol gel. Bonus.

I have been stocking up on HEET. Great test you guys performed!

Awesome test. You just saved me some hassle on figuring out which one to buy. Thumbs up. I'm going to have to put that big firebox of yours in my wish list. Thanks again.

This was great!! I would put a great deal of emphasis on the carbonization/efficiency of the fuels. Also the containment of the flame more than speed (not crazy about those wild flames on some of the burners. )

Excellent video, very thorough, thanks! You guys did a great job eliminating variables, but it was also interesting to see how slight changes in conditions could affect performance.

I not being one to use alcohol for fuel in my outings was surprised at how dirty the alcohol burned. Back in my High School days I had a time to remember thanks to Everclear.

I was surprised by the performance of the denatured alcohol. I use it in a tuna can with small 1/4 inch metal mesh over the top as a catalyst, and it performs great for me with little soot. The flames are almost invisible (which is actually a little scarey). I have used the 91% Iso in it, and it was VERY sooty. I had heard about the yellow Heet, now I may need to try it.

dN doesnt leave soot! Well, Never has for me, and dN also is designed for marine stoves, duh, indoors on a sealed up boat.....Just buy the gallon sized cans of it, save money and dont huff it. Anything with water in it will leave soot, MESSY!!! JUST BUY DENATURED ALCOHOL MARINE STOVE FUEL. I pay like 14 dollars after tax in Seattle (one of the highest priced cities in the lower 48) for a gallon of it, just shop aroumd all the paint stores as they will vary wildly in costs....

I'm a newbe to alcohol stoves and just received my first one in the mail from Amazon. It's a Tangia just like you tested with. I was surfing KZfaq for info on best fuel options and found your video... Awesome testing methods! Thanks for your great efforts.... And, I'm adding your stoves to my future purchases list!!

One thing too that I like about the yellow heat, is it's spout. Pouring it into my little stove made it much less of a mess. Less waist and conserves on time spent useing a funnel for the dentured alcohal that I began with originally! Thank you for sharing this video. It just confirmed my choice !

Great video guys. I'm looking at picking up my first alcohol stove and I declare everclear for the win! It might be the most expensive, but it is also the most multi-functional. It's the only one you can imbibe should the need arise. I can buy it in Texas where the HEET products aren't available as readily as in northern states. The rubbing alcohols are cheaper but evaporate more quickly.

The good thing about the everclear is you can drink it too!

Finally, someone methodically testing the different fuels instead of spouting rhetoric. Thank you, FireboxStove!!

What really matters for hikers is BTU per unit weight and the ability to light the stuff in cold temps. Depending on conditions, one may matter more than the others. Personally, I'm carrying the stuff based on volume, not weight. And the difference in weight of, say, 8 oz of fuel will be nigh on negligible. So it comes down to BTU content per unit volume and lightability. If one assumes all else is equal then BTU density and vapor pressure are the two most important properties - for heat content and lightability, respectively. When comparing alcohols, isopropyl has about 13,000 BTU/lb vs 11,500 and 8400 BTU/lb, respectively, for ethyl and methyl. So assuming complete combustion across all three and ignoring "lightability" and assuming all else is equal, it makes perfect thermodynamic sense (is that a thing?) that 99% isopropyl would boil first. It's releasing more BTUs per ounce than the others. For ease of lighting, the higher the vapor pressure the more volatile the alcohol is and in that category methanol wins. Denatured alcohol is usually some unknowable mix of methyl and ethyl alcohols and other stuff. But get one gallon that works well and it will last you a very long time. Everclear is supposed to be close to 100% ethanol but is taxed, and thus quite expensive in the USA, and yellow heet is close to 100% methanol. Of all these, I think 100% isopropyl is probably the hardest to find in the USA. But if you can find it you don't require your alcohol to boil (as with a fancy feast wick stove) then isopro will pack the most heat per ounce.

Good test! In Canada we can get "Methyl hydrate" in every hardware and paint store. Its in the paint thinner section and auto section for fuel line antifreeze. Its 99.9% pure methanol. It burns super clean. I believe (but its needs verification), that pure methanol can be burned inside anywhere where propane or natural gas stoves can be used. A quick online search here shows it currently selling at about 12.7 cents per fluid ounce (before sales tax) in the 1L bottles. In bulk would be cheaper. Good option. A run off of pure methanol vs HEET would be interesting.

I would go for the Everclear because it’s the only one you can drink while waiting for your boil. Thanks for the video 👍🏽😁

LoL, I just noticed my video in the suggestion box to the right of your view counter. Good luck with business and keep the videos coming, I'll keep sharing them. Godspeed

+shugemery knows his stuff

I think the heet was the best, it was fast and didn't cause such a big flame up around the pot it seems safer to cook with.

Great vid thank you. I'm partial to the Everclear. It's a little more expensive but it's non-toxic, you can use it as an antiseptic, and of course you can use it for its intended purpose. Just don't drink all your fuel away. Cheers!

I used to sell hardware and lumber and matter of fuels. One thing on thermometers is the backyard types only buy one out of a batch of them on display. You buy the one that will show an average temperature of the lot. I don't know much about non-contact thermometers, but I suspect there may be some variances in the quality of readings from one to another of the same type and brand. Also when the thermometer was run from one sample to another the reading gradually rose which might be from exposure time to heated materials. The boiling is probably more accurate. Very informative, thank you.

I use a tuna can with 91% denatured looks to be the cleanest but slow.

Please, letting you know I am NOT blaming you. There is something fishy about this test. The yellow HEET and denatured should be one and the same. 99% and 91% isopropyl, the 99% should burn hotter, no water to evaporate. There are many factors to account for this. These include brand or height between flame and surface. Also what can be included is air movement. Although a great test, I do not trust the out come due to chemistry. This test should be done several times and vary the brands other than the HEET. Also the door should be closed. None of these fuels should put out enough CO in that space to cause a problem. Denatured is meant to be used indoors and on boats to heat food. This is because it puts out very low levels of CO compared to other fuels. In a pinch, I prefer the grain alcohol. More than one way to warm me up.

Products you sell are expensive. I'll have to stick to the homemade ones. Thanks for the comparisons for the fuel. That is helpful.

Love your stoves, gave mine to my cousin last summer, buying two more this spring, and going to buy one of the minis now too! I've only used 91% C3H80. I just never tried anything else. The cleanest pans are nice for me. Good to know that yellow heet works in a hurry. Never needed to shave minutes in the bush. Anybody ever use yellow heet in the in the Vargo triad TI?

This was a well thought-out test, I just wonder if the stoves were close enough together to give an unfair advantage to the pan in the center?

Idea a small alcohol rocket stove made out of titanium that Will glow red hot that has a cooking surface with the ability to stack rocks around it to absorb the heat generated by the stove that has a air intake vent you can place under ground to draw air from outside a shelter with an exhaust flute to vent spent toxic air out of shelter leaving fresh warmed air within a shelter? How does this idea sound?

Thank you guys, most *ahem* illuminating.! I'm now off to buy some yellow Heet and also one of your stoves.! 😊

Ethyl alcohol that is meant for consumption is always good to have as a backup to ethyl/methyl alcohol that is poisoned and used for fuel or cleaning. Ethanol made for consumption can also be used as a pain reliever, as well as fuel and antiseptic.

Ethyl Rubbing Alcohol are not the same as Isopropyl Alcohol. Ethyl Rubbing Alcohol burn better than Isopropyl Alcohol. Ethyl Rubbing Alcohol burn cleaner than Isopropyl Alcohol. Ethyl Rubbing Alcohol can be use indoor or outdoor. Isopropyl Alcohol can not be use indoor as long period of time and it is unhealthy. you should try and test Ethyl Rubbing Alcohol.