Alcohol fuel bottles – show me yours!

1. Take care to get a completely leakproof top. See BPL's screw closure tops.

2. Consider a small Platypus which will conform to the shape of the pot. If you can find a "Little Nipper", it will work best, I think. Also check those small – 8 oz – drinking water bottles. They weigh about 0.4. Either of these will be more durable and have tighter seals than travel bottles commonly found at local retailers.

This is a 4 oz Nalgene bottle from REI with a PackaFeather top. It is 4" tall, 2" wide, plus whatever the fill-tube adds. It required an O-ring in the cap to assure a leak-proof seal, which I found at the local hardware store.

It allows me to easily fill a stove, and more importantly, aspirate out any remaining fuel when I'm done. No measuring. No loss.

Thanks guys.

Vick – The two I've yet to find and try are the 8oz 'airplane' spring water bottle (but I'm flying tonight so fingers crossed) or the 'Little Nipper' from Platypus. If I recall this one got canned?! Pity, it sounds perfect.

Greg – good idea with the 4oz Nalgene, I have one of those somewhere, I just need to find a spout top that fits it.

Try a 4 oz. Campsuds bottle. REI has them with a scrub pad. $7.95

Try using a 4 or 8 ounce cleansing bottle used by mechanics. I used one of these when experimenting with alchohal stoves. It shoots out whatever liquid is inside in a stream when you squeze so you can refuel from a safe distance (3-6 in.) while the stove is still burning (except with soda can stoves which only have a tiny hole in the top for fueling). They weigh 1-2 oz. each and are dirt cheap.

c'mon

Yes Sean, thats the way I learned to refuel a cat can stove. No joking.

And by the word 'distance' I'm not saying 50ft., dude.

I haven't tested these in the field, but these jelly juice bags are promising, I think. Capacity 5.3oz, weight 0.35oz, with a narrow screw top, sturdy and compressible. One negative is that they're opaque.

Caldera systems come with a nice bottle. Truth is, on longer trips, I just pour a bit of Everclear into a small Gatorade bottle. They are light, cheap (just throw out that nauseating Gatorade), and you'll have enough to take an occasional nip of "stove fuel" as a soporific at bedtime.

Let the hiking begin!

Stargazer

I use similar bottles as Greg up above — purchased at REI as well — in 1, 2, 4 and 8 oz. sizes. Over the years, I haven't had any issues of fuel leakage whatsoever — never even thought about adding O-rings at all. Makes me wonder if the cap(s) on Greg's bottles are defective somehow??

I like these plastic travel flasks:

http://www.amazon.com/Ounce-Carded-Plastic-04-0222-Category/dp/B00125R54Q/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=home-garden&qid=1269624888&sr=1-3

Sorry, can't embed the link for some reason. Anyway, they're available in a few different sizes. I find the 10 oz works great for a four or five day trip.

Gordon

Ben,
The Packa-Feather fuel bottle tops are threaded for soda bottles. To use them on some bottles a o-ring is needed to assure a seal.

My bad, missed that… I just saw the Nalgene bottle. Why did you swap bottle caps? Is it to fit in the straw? Curious, what kind of stove do you use?

Ben,
Yes, for the "Straw". I tried to find a tube for the standard flip-tops but never got anything solid.

I use a Caldera Cone. This eliminates the need to measure, as recovery is straightforward. Just over-fill, and suck it back out when I'm done.

I see. I like the part about recovery. Nice.

i use a travel sized listerine bottle that i got at walmart for .99 cents. 4 oz i think

The best fuel bottle I have found are contact solution bottles. They are light, cheap, leak proof, dont have a seperate cap to set down, and have a pour spout, and come in appropriate sizes.

I have found most bottles with flip open spouts can leak. I have even had my caldera cone bottle leak fuel (fixed by making duct tape gasket).

Jamie

Nice suggestion Jamie.

Greg,

How do you carry/transport your bottle? Does the straw stay in place full time? After fill and recovery how do you keep the alcohol from leaking from the straw into or on your gear? Thanks.

Jeff,

I carry the bottle in an outside pocket. The "straw" is pretty well bonded to the spout, but somehow I lost one, so now it goes under a rubberband on the bottle. That was the one time out of probably a hundred nights out. But with a rubberband holding it down can't happen again.

The flip spout, if completely closed, and it does close even with the straw in place, is leakproof. But, if it is open a little bit it will leak. And that is why it goes in an outside pocket. Belt, suspenders, rubberband, And outside.

Maybe you could get by with a smaller and lighter rubber band. That one looks heavy. :-)

–B.G.–

A trip to the local religious supply house helped me find my fuel bottle of choice. I use Everclear for my fuel so I use a smiley face sticker instead of a Mr. Yuck sticker.

I carry two of them side by side in an upper side pocket of my MYOG pack. To date I have experienced no leaks when the spout is shut and the cap is secured tightly. See the picture below.

If you look closely you will see my fuel bottles sitting snugly in the upper side pocket of my pack.

Party On ! 2010

Newton