Alcohol Stoves

Cough syrup bottle Plastic water bottle Anything other than aluminum as the denatured alcohol does not play nice with

Mike, We just switched to alky on our last trip and took the advise from some here to shop the market and pick an appropriate sized plastic bottle for the trip size. For $1 I got a small sized seltzer type bottle that fits nicely in my side pocket along with other stuff. At 24g its not the lightest option but it doesn't leak and I like the size/shape. I need to get something similar but smaller for overnighters and weekend trips. here is a thread where I asked the same question. Lots of options. http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/forums/thread_display.html?forum_thread_id=106720&skip_to_post=901747#901747 Enjoy your new stove. I was thrilled with my starlyte and will be my go to for now. jimmyb

Cheap vodka bottles – by which I mean bottles used to sell cheap vodka – have very nice-pour lids due to an insert in the neck, like some cooking oil and soy sauce bottles, that give very controlled flow of liquid. They are a little slower to refill but you do that at home, in the light, on a workbench. Lots of great containers and various plastics as raw materials of DIY projects can be found for free by dumpster-diving at the recycling center. Or, if your community has curbside pickup, just by going for a walk in the burbs early one morning. Whatever container you repurpose, label the hell out of it. Hospitals and poison-control centers offer those "Mr Yuk" frowny face stickers for free. Or print this out on your laser printer (not ink-jet) and use sealing tape to affix to the container:

You know those stubby little water bottles? I use those. They're small and light. The only knock against them is that the caps don't exactly snug tight. I might try the plastic vodka bottle next time, but that would mean buying vodka, which I am not one to do.

Several lightweight gear shops sell 5-8 ounce alcohol bottles. I use an o-ring inside the cap to prevent spills in my pack. And just to be on the safe side I still seal the bottle in a small, durable plastic bag in case the bottle leaks. The bottle I use also has a reducer to slow the flow of alcohol when I'm pouring it in the stove.

I use a 4 oz. collapsible baby food container for a short trip. For longer trips, I have a similar collapsible Capri-Sun drink container. Ultra cheap and ultra light. So far, so good on durability.

>"but that would mean buying vodka, which I am not one to do" Again, check the recycling containers. Other people drink vodka so you don't have to. For smaller containers, like for an overnight trip, a really bomber container I see a lot of along the roads, trails, and playgrounds as litter are those "5-hour energy" bottles. 2 fluid ounces. Substantial thickness, I'd say crush-proof in a pack. I use them to pack liquids in my toiletries kit and I take 70+ flights a year each of which depressurizes to 7500 feet and then goes back to sea level. My don't leak.

I use a flip-top squirt-nozzle lid, and bottle. I prefer it over a repurposed drink container, to help reduce the possibility that it might look like water to someone. Someone here also posted, add a little food coloring so it doesn't look like water. Helps. with visibility of the fluid in the stove, too. Kelly

I use a yellow repurposed HEET bottle with Flip-Top low volume dispense cap. http://www.amazon.com/28201-Gas-Line-Antifreeze-Water-Remover/dp/B0016GXNC4

I also like the flip-top caps because they let you control the amount of fuel released and where it goes, with no drips/spills.

"Again, check the recycling containers. Other people drink vodka so you don't have to." Especially if they are Russian or Polish (and don't get them started on the controversial topic of who first invented vodka, seriously, not a road you want to go down..).

I’ve used both small pour-type bottles and the squirt kind, and I have to say the squirt kind is WAY better in terms of controlling spills.  I buy the 4 and 8 oz ones from REI, but you have to make sure they have a tight seal before you buy them (i close them up in the store and give them a squeeze, make sure there are no leaks in that particular bottle).  Seems to work really well for me (so far anyway….).

As has been noted elsewhere, alcohol pours differently than water and tends to spill/dribble. Squirt tops are the way to go. Coghlans has a bottle set that includes 2 oz and 4 oz.

I use a soda bottle fitted with a Packafeather cap. If you can figure out a way to shut off your alcohol stove, you can pour as much alcohol in there, use the stove, snuff it out, and then suck out the remainder back into the bottle.

Target and I think Walmart has a section of travel approved sizes.  I just up a sample sized mouthwash (3.2 oz) for about a dollar.  It’s already carrying some alcohol so I figure it’ll be ok.

+1 on the Coghlan squirty top bottles that Michael Samford described.  Squirty top bottles are good for precisely measuring how much you use. I’ve used both their 2oz and 4oz bottles on trips and they worked well (no leaks).  With my Fancy Feast alcohol stove, I can get 12oz of water to a boil in about 6 minutes, 6-7 times with 4oz of alcohol.

This works for me:

http://www.backcountrygear.com/vargo-outdoors-alcohol-fuel-bottle-clear-8-oz.html?gclid=CNDvsbbUyMkCFUolgQodhWMCEQ

YMMV

TF

I use a soda bottle fitted with a Packafeather cap. If you can figure out a way to shut off your alcohol stove, you can pour as much alcohol in there, use the stove, snuff it out, and then suck out the remainder back into the bottle.

+1, I use the Packafeather Cap and a measuring cup from a cough syrup bottle. It allows me to precisely dispense alcohol down to the ml and as Adam said the ability to recover unused alcohol too! I’ve worked it out where I know exactly how much fuel I need for my preferred temperature of coffee in the morning and how much fuel I need to boil 16oz of water. It’s really a slick setup, I’ve looked high and low and tested a bunch of alcohol fuel containers but nothing compares to the ease and preciseness of this setup.