[pct-l] Denatured alcohol, ethanol vs. methanol

[hikerguy599 at aol.com]

I was shopping for denatured alcohol this weekend, and I noticed that Kleen-Strip's SLK Denatured
Alcohol has changed its label from the last time I purchased it.? It used to say: "Ethanol denatured
with methanol."? Now it says "contains methanol."

So, wanting to know the real composition, I looked up the MSDS for both SLK and Crown brands.
(MSDS = "Material Safety Data Sheet".)
SLK is commonly found in hardware and paint stores.
Crown seems to be the preferred brand of sporting goods stores.

SLK contains:
45-50% Ethanol
45-50% Methanol
1-4% Methyl Isobutyl Ketone

Crown contains:
65-70% Methanol
20-30% Ethanol
< 10% Isopropanol
<10% Methyl Isobutyl Ketone.

Yikes on the Ketone!? Here I thought I was buying relatively safe ethanol denatured with a small amount of methanol.

Both SLK and Crown seem to work well in all the alcohol stoves I've used.? But I'm concerned about
two things:? The health risks of Ketone, and the relative efficiencies of ethanol, methanol and
isopropanol.

So I have some questions:

1.? Should I bother to be concerned about the small?percentage of Keytone?? Why or why not?

2.? Is a formulation of Ethanol denatured with a small percentage of methanol available?
If so, where can I find it and what brands is it sold under?

3.? What are the relative heat efficiencies of ethanol, methanol, and isopropanol?

4.? Would ethanol be the best, or should I just stop fretting and use SLK or Crown?
Does combining the different kinds of alcohol improve or diminish the heat output of a stove?

Thanks in advance for any input.

Mark
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