Alcohol burning gives me a sinus headache

David,
Sunnyside Denatured Alcohol contains 4%-5% “other stuff” and is 95%+ ethanol.

This thread covers some of this same ground and has links to some other MSDS sites. Read carefully and completely. Some of the info posted is conjecture and guesses.

MSDS say 85% for sunny. That why I was curious about the
"green" which is 90%

David,
Note that there are 3 or 4 similar Sunnyside products.

Go Here for the Sunnyside site.

Use the pull-down to find ‘Denatured Alcohol 95% 934’, not Solvent

Towards the bottom look for Section 11 – Additional Information.

TOXIC CHEMICAL CAS # % BY WEIGHT
Methanol 67-56-1 3.6%
Methyl Isobutyl Ketone 108-10-1 1.9%
Common Names: Denatured ethyl alcohol, “Tecsol” 3 Solvent,
95%

(Edited to remove unreadable screen shots.)

I 2nd the recommendation on trying HEET (yellow bottle with blue letters). My PCT friends had a preference while hiking even though I didn't care. I would say that I remember there not being as much (or none at all) of the denatured odor which might be causing your sinus problems.

Hi Dave

Is your avatar real? I have heard of large cats, but that one is a monster!
If real, what do you feed it?

Cheers

"Is your avatar real? I have heard of large cats, but that one is a monster!
If real, what do you feed it?"

Small dogs? Young backpackers?

The avatar is just a funny picture I found.

This is an oddly underdiscussed topic on the internet.

I too have noticeable problems with alcohol stoves. But my eyes react first, getting very watery and painful. So I usually am forced to back away from the stove before I get a headache. I've used alcohol stoves maybe 300 nights backpacking and it's a regular problem. I think that it's worse when I burn HEET. Which makes it more of a problem because HEET is more commonly available and comes in a more usable quantity if bought in a resupply on the trail.

I've also met almost a few dozen other long distance hikers that know about and complain about this problem. Yet, it's not talked about by people who sit on the internet!

I'd love to hike with my alcohol stove next year on the CDT, but I'm seriously considering using something heavier just for the health risks.

Jack,
I don’t know which HEET product you use, but the first one that I found a Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS) on lists Isopropanol as the primary ingredient.

As mentioned in Roger and Tony’s article, that is Not something you want to use.

Ethanol is the fuel of choice, and is available in various form in most hardware stores. But before you buy be sure to Google the MSDS that your particular product. Not all ‘alcohol’ products are what they seem. Many products incorporate a fair amount of Methanol, something else you want to avoid, if you can.

Hi Jack

> I've also met almost a few dozen other long distance hikers that know about and
> complain about this problem. Yet, it's not talked about by people who sit on the internet!

Well, if you subscribed you could read our articles on testing alcohols. You would find quite a bit of commentary on the hazards. Go on – subscribe!

And you would find that it is not the ethanol which is the problem; it's the incredible range of toxic chemicals which the US authorities allow to be included with the ethanol which is the problem. We don't have this problem in Australia and the UK – we have health regulations which prevent it.

Cheers

"We don't have this problem in Australia and the UK – we have health regulations which prevent it."

How true. Unfortunately, here in the USA, health concerns come a distant second to making money. Even where we have safety regulations on the books, they are easily and often circumvented. Money rules, sad but true. One regulation is enforced in many states, however: No ethanol allowed! Go figure. Why don't they just permit it and tax it? It's not like people won't find other ways to get stinking drunk, if that is their intent.

I know what you mean, Jack. A few weeks ago, I had my caldera cone set up several feet in front of my silshelter because I didn't want to go out into the rain. The wind shifted and I ended up breathing several minutes worth of HEET in the yellow bottle which I now understand is methanol, pretty nasty stuff. It took me a couple of weeks to get over some sinus problems. Now I'm using Ace denatured alcohol, which is, I think, 85-90% ethanol. But it's the other 10-15% I'm concerned about. Everclear is available locally but it's pricey at $34 for a 1.75 liter bottle. I really like my caldera cone for it's stability and wind resistance but I'm considering going back to a canister stove. In the meantime, I'm standing well clear of my alcohol stove while it's burning.

Yes yes, I know. I should join. And I will. But I've gone a few years with postponing it and I'll continue for now. Just waiting for a period where I have time to sit on the computer and read a bunch of content.

I used the yellow bottle HEET that is wildly available at gas stations in the west. What most hikers use. I've used a couple of cans of ACE as well. It seemed better, but hearing that it's got 15% of other stuff isn't good. The major stumbling block for me is that on a long distance hike it's too hard to get and comes in too large a quantity and is too expensive to waste. Sooooo… I'm shying away from alcohol stoves even though I like many things about them. Soooo… I'll join BPL when I want to learn about stove choices and I'm back in the states.

> Everclear is available locally but it's pricey at $34 for a 1.75 liter bottle.

That's a fair bit of alcohol. Is that really that expensive when your health starts to be factored in?

Cheers

>>That's a fair bit of alcohol. Is that really that expensive when your health starts to be factored in?

Now that you mention it….

I'm consistently getting getting a two cup boil with about 15 ml of alcohol in my caldera cone. So that means about 116 boils per 1.75 liter bottle. Divided into $34 comes out to about 29 cents per boil. Factoring in my health, that's a real bargain. I'm off to the liquor store. Thanks for giving me perspective on this, Roger.

Hi Dondo

Service to our subscribers … :-)

Cheers

Just a quick follow-up. I found a 1.75 bottle of 190 proof Everclear for $32. The price per two-cup burn is about 27 cents. It burns at least as well as Heet or denatured alcohol. No smell, no sinus problems. If you live in a state that allows it's sale, it's a viable alternative to the nasty stuff.

I have only burnt Everclear in my two alcohol stoves a vargo Triad stove bought at REI and my caldera cone stove. Above freezing temps everclear seems to burn well in both stoves. I have not experienced any fumes or headaches.

IIRC, we in California cannot buy Everclear with high proof numbers. So, for us in California, what are our options? Every time we're in Nevada, pick up a few bottles? How about the internet? Perhaps they're not supposed to, but are there companies on the net that will ship to California?

All those denaturing agents make me very uncomfortable. Too bad we don't have "meths" here like the do in the UK and down under.