I was shopping for denatured alcohol this weekend, and I noticed that Kleen-Strip's SLK Denatured<br>
Alcohol has changed its label from the last time I purchased it. It used to say: "Ethanol denatured<br>
with methanol." Now it says "contains methanol."<br>
<br>
So, wanting to know the real composition, I looked up the MSDS for both SLK and Crown brands.<br>
(MSDS = "Material Safety Data Sheet".)<br>
SLK is commonly found in hardware and paint stores.<br>
Crown seems to be the preferred brand of sporting goods stores.<br>
<br>
SLK contains:<br>
45-50% Ethanol<br>
45-50% Methanol<br>
1-4% Methyl Isobutyl Ketone<br>
<br>
Crown contains:<br>
65-70% Methanol<br>
20-30% Ethanol<br>
< 10% Isopropanol<br>
<10% Methyl Isobutyl Ketone.<br>
<br>
Yikes on the Ketone! Here I thought I was buying relatively safe ethanol denatured with a small amount of methanol.<br>
<br>
Both SLK and Crown seem to work well in all the alcohol stoves I've used. But I'm concerned about<br>
two things: The health risks of Ketone, and the relative efficiencies of ethanol, methanol and<br>
isopropanol.<br>
<br>
So I have some questions:<br>
<br>
1. Should I bother to be concerned about the small percentage of Keytone? Why or why not?<br>
<br>
2. Is a formulation of Ethanol denatured with a small percentage of methanol available?<br>
If so, where can I find it and what brands is it sold under?<br>
<br>
3. What are the relative heat efficiencies of ethanol, methanol, and isopropanol?<br>
<br>
4. Would ethanol be the best, or should I just stop fretting and use SLK or Crown?<br>
Does combining the different kinds of alcohol improve or diminish the heat output of a stove?<br>
<br>
Thanks in advance for any input.<br>
<br>
Mark<div class="AOLPromoFooter">
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