Fuel for Origo and other spirit stoves.

[LittleSister]

There have been a number of posts in the recent past (which I can't find now, of course) querying whether there's anything better than meths for powering Origo and other spirit stoves. Below are some of the products available in Europe which might be of interest to some of you.

The problem for us is that in UK industrial spirits are heavily restricted to try to stop us drinking industrial spirits instead of the more flavoursome ones which attract high levels of customs duty. Our continental neighbours don't have quite the same problem. (Perhaps there's an opportunity here to argue to Brussels that UK stance is a restraint on trade?)

The following is derived from notes I took from a magazine article I read some years ago (PBO?). My notes are now hard to read, so apologies for the absence of accents and the like, and any mis-spellings. Hopefully Vic or others will be along shortly to verify or correct the chemistry bits of it.

Apparently what alcohol stoves are designed to run on is denatured alcohol or pure ethanol. (I'm not sure if these are the same thing or alternatives). These are not available to the general public in UK.

Meths (short for mineralised methylated spirit) is ethyl alcohol made unpalatable (to all but the really desperate!) by the addition of poisonous methanol and a purple dye, usually pyridine. (I'm not clear whether ethyl alcohol is the same thing as ethanol.) Meths will work fine in an Origo stove, but the fumes can be rather nauseating.

Products suitable for use in these stoves include -
GERMANY - tenol, origonol, spiritus
FRANCE - alcool denture, alcool a bruler, alcool methylique
NETHERLANDS/BELGIUM - talamex
SPAIN - alcohol metilico, alcohol queuar

I can vouch for the alcool a bruler from France. This is readily and cheaply available in supermarkets there, and sold, I think, for lighting barbecues and powering fondue sets and the like. Works fine, seems less fumey and has a slightly perfumed smell.

 

[VicS]

Ethanol and ethyl alcohol are the same thing and often just called alcohol.

There are three types of denatured spirit available in the UK.
Completely denatured alcohol or CDA is what we now call the old violet mineralised meths.
Industrial denatured alcohol or IDA, formerly industrial methylated spirit or IMS

and Trade specific denatured alcohol, TSDA. spirit produced for specific commercial use where IDA would not be suitable.

CDA is available over the counter and there are no restrictions on its use

IDA and TSDA are only supplied against a permit obtained from HMRC, and in quantities allowed in that permit, for approved uses. The approved uses for IDA do include model steam engines but not unfortunately Origo cookers.

The materials used both in the UK and other countries for denaturing spirit are detailed in the link below. Methanol (aka methyl alcohol. and wood alcohol), the violet dye and the very foul smelling chemical pyridine are among those.


Quite what it is in CDA that many, but not all, people find so unpleasant when burnt in cooking stove I dont know. the pyridine probably or its combustion products.

All the details about the supply and use denatured alcohol can be found HERE

BTW dont use meths (CDA or any other ) for lighting barbeques. it is far too highly flammable and is the cause of numerous accidents . Some BBQ lighting fluids are very similar to ordinary paraffin as far as I have been able to establish. That is not classed as a highly flammable liquid.

 

[Dandalf]

Meths is toxic

The eye irritation reported by users of UK Meths... could well be the early onset of methanol poisoning, symptoms include,
Eye irritation, nausea, dizziness , headaches and in extreme cases death.

Having experienced it myself after failing to properly shut off one of my Origo burners, I am resolved to get my hands on an IDA license. Apparently a personal license from HMRC can be acquired for a limited quantity per year.