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Post by ziggysdad on Jun 18, 2016 14:43:20 GMT 10
Growing up, Sterno was a readily available canned fuel gel for camping and hiking. Sterno is INSANELY expensive here in Australia, but I have recently found an alternative in Ezygel methanol fuel cans.
Great for a BOB, car survival kit, as a source of fuel or fire starter. I paid like $1.85 a can and they will burn 2-3 hours (you can recap to extinguish the flame and reuse), but bigger cans are available.
I've found 72 can cases for $93 and you can also buy in bulk - 4kg buckets for refilling your cans for only $23.50.
The same company makes cans of Easy Heaters Liquid Fuel - pure diethelyne glycol with a braided wick. These have the added benefit that the can stays cool to the touch.
I picked up 15 Ezygel cans today and noted that the cans themselves aren't as robust as Sterno cans. They banged around in a bag for an hour with no problems, but I am planning on tossing one in a ziplock bag and testing the durability of the can by dropping a few times (especially upside down and on an angle). Will report back.
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Post by rebelroo on Sept 22, 2016 14:45:55 GMT 10
Where did you get these from Ziggysdad?
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shinester
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Post by shinester on Sept 22, 2016 22:28:19 GMT 10
Could you not use methylated spirits?
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Post by ziggysdad on Sept 23, 2016 14:22:48 GMT 10
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Post by ziggysdad on Sept 23, 2016 14:44:45 GMT 10
Just ordered two cases of the 6 hour through Nisbets - with delivery it was $51.70
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Sept 25, 2016 11:56:41 GMT 10
How do the cans with the wick compare to the open top can? Is there any advantage of the methanol versus the glycol products. Im thinking of using just for heating canned food. Also I assume you need some sort of stand that goes over the can to support whatever you are heating. Any info on how you dp this?
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Post by ziggysdad on Sept 25, 2016 23:50:46 GMT 10
How do the cans with the wick compare to the open top can? Is there any advantage of the methanol versus the glycol products. Im thinking of using just for heating canned food. Also I assume you need some sort of stand that goes over the can to support whatever you are heating. Any info on how you dp this? I have used the cans for heating canned food, boiling water, cooking rice, sautéing by pan held over the flame, etc. I have a small folding camp stove (Colghan) that is designed for the methanol cans - cheap and effective. As a kid we used to always camp with a section of BBQ grill rack. We would use rocks or bricks to support this over a fire or cans of methanol. my primary plan is to set up cans under my BBQ's griddle and grill to cook on top of. I find the open top can burns hotter and heats a greater surface area. The wicks are more concentrated - fine if you are boiling water or simmering.
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Post by rebelroo on Sept 26, 2016 8:46:43 GMT 10
Appreciated
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Post by ziggysdad on Sept 26, 2016 10:49:07 GMT 10
If you've ever experienced a Pu Pu Platter, you've probably cooked/warmed your food over methanol gel fuel (very big in the US for Chinese restaurants):
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Post by jo on Sept 26, 2016 21:49:25 GMT 10
Ziggy is it similar to a chinese steam boat? Have had several dinners using these and are soooo good
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Post by ziggysdad on Sept 26, 2016 22:20:11 GMT 10
Ziggy is it similar to a chinese steam boat? Have had several dinners using these and are soooo good No - a Chinese steam boat is more like a hot pot, where a Pu Pu platter cooks/heats over an open flame.
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Post by ziggysdad on Sept 26, 2016 22:22:50 GMT 10
Just ordered two cases of the 6 hour through Nisbets - with delivery it was $51.70 Ordered on Friday, delivered on Monday. Quite the contrast to the two weeks it has been taking lately to get mail from Australia Post in Brisbane from Melbourne.
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Post by Joey on Sept 26, 2016 22:27:28 GMT 10
Are you sure it's not a case of poo poo splatter afterwards eating? lol
I take it that there is a limited smell as compared to burning hexamine tabs? for the sake of keeping a low profile smell/smoke wise in a SHTF scenario?
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Post by ziggysdad on Sept 27, 2016 17:44:32 GMT 10
Are you sure it's not a case of poo poo splatter afterwards eating? lol I take it that there is a limited smell as compared to burning hexamine tabs? for the sake of keeping a low profile smell/smoke wise in a SHTF scenario? Smell is akin to burning a large unscented candle
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shinester
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Post by shinester on Sept 28, 2016 11:24:00 GMT 10
Are you sure it's not a case of poo poo splatter afterwards eating? lol I take it that there is a limited smell as compared to burning hexamine tabs? for the sake of keeping a low profile smell/smoke wise in a SHTF scenario? I've gone the way of LPG, butane and microwave [solar]. The smells of cooking food also of concern particularly with hungry people.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 29, 2016 18:29:48 GMT 10
I have ordered some methanol gel cans. Going to try them out & if successful will be my Plan B for cooking after my bbq runs out of gas Bought an old Coleman liquid fuel cooker off Gumtree for $10 to convert to use gel cans. Am planning on removing the existing burners and just using the gel cans under the grill. It's portable and has plenty of storage space for spare cans when not being used. Thought of keeping the liquid fuel setup but just can't get comfortable with the idea of cooking on top of a potential bomb
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Post by ziggysdad on Sept 29, 2016 20:03:32 GMT 10
I used to have one of those Coleman stoves as a kid and have definitely used sterno (methanol gel) cans under the grill when the fuel ran out. The wings on the side help to shield the wind and improve cooking times.
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tyburn
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Post by tyburn on Oct 1, 2016 12:20:15 GMT 10
I've got one of these gel burners as a backup too. Very simple to operate, plus the gel is available both online and from commercial kitchen suppliers (as they're used in practically every restuarant in China). We get the gel as vacuum packed tablets though, which I guess is better in that you just cut one off the sheet as needed. Also easier to fit in the storage cabinet than a can etc.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 27, 2016 22:33:19 GMT 10
I have ordered some methanol gel cans. Going to try them out & if successful will be my Plan B for cooking after my bbq runs out of gas Bought an old Coleman liquid fuel cooker off Gumtree for $10 to convert to use gel cans. Am planning on removing the existing burners and just using the gel cans under the grill. It's portable and has plenty of storage space for spare cans when not being used. Thought of keeping the liquid fuel setup but just can't get comfortable with the idea of cooking on top of a potential bomb Ok so I finally got to trying out the cooker idea using the fuel cans. I could not find the methanol cans here in Perth and none of the online stores I contacted would freight them from the east coast either. However I was able to buy the diethelyne glycol cans locally. Now that I have fuel it was time to see what sort of heat they put out. I placed a can under the grill of the cooker at what seemed to be optimum height & placed a stainless kettle on top with 2 cups (500ml) tap water. 2 hours later the water was hot enough to generate steam but not what I would call a proper boil. This left me a bit disheartened & I abandoned the idea until my 5 inch folding stove arrived this week. Time for take 2. So with a smaller container I was able to bring 1 cup of tap water to full boil in under 8 minutes. It would seem that the kettle was too large an area and too much heat lost with cooker setup. With the 5" stove most of the heat is contained and also concentrated ona smaller surface area. I now have renewed faith in the possibility of these fuel cans and will be doing further tests to check their suitability as a heat source for cooking (mmm bacon & eggs seems a good challenge although I suspect the same problem of surface area & heat loss will be an issue) and also for heating food such as canned beans & soups/stews. I will post my results & pics once done.
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Post by Peter on Oct 27, 2016 23:07:59 GMT 10
@jaffa try BSG Housewares, 2/180 Bannister Rd, Canning Vale - they sell commercial and domestic grade kitchen and dining wares much cheaper than the regular kitchen stores. I saw some bottles of gel there the other day; whether it's the same stuff or different I can't say - mostly because the only word that wasn't in Chinese characters was "Gel".
I'll post a photo or two next time I'm there.
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