Methylated Spirits storage

[westy899]

I was just wondering how safe it is to store Methlyated Spirits for our Trangia in our camper van. Obviously in Western Australia it gets pretty hot.
Would it be ok storing it in its original bottle and leaving it in a car all day. I have searched online and all it says is store in a cool place. Not really
an option while driving up the coast from SA to NT. Any help would be much appreciated

[icefest]

Store it like you would store 90% alcohol.

The main issue with heat is increasing pressure in the bottle and the related increased speed of vaporisation. You'll want to keep it nice and low, where there is not chance of it leaking.

OTOH, it's less flammable than petrol and look at how people strap that to their trailers.
So, get a proper rated fuel bottle and it should be fine.

[tasadam]

My first thought would be that if you are worried about it, transfer the fuel to a fuel stove bottle.
Something like
http://primuscamping.com/products/fuel-bottle-1-5-liter
or
http://www.cascadedesigns.com/msr/stove ... es/product
Or a heap of others available - https://www.google.com.au/search?q=fuel+bottle&tbm=isch
They are designed to cope with pressure - so be sure to leave an acceptable air gap in the bottle as well - the air compresses, the liquid not so much... So if they do heat up a bit, they should cope with it. Be sure to stand them up, make sure they will remain in shade, and be very careful when opening so as to not spray your eyes with fuel if the pressure is still there - and not near a flame as the fumes will escape first.
Good luck.

[Bubbalouie]

Trangia make a bottle for just this purpose (well sort of).

https://www.google.com.au/search?q=tran ... 60&bih=511

EDIT: Thinking about it, I've got a 500 ml bottle in the laundry. If you're located in Adelaide feel free to collect it, I'm located pretty close to the CBD.

[Mark F]

Just keep it in its original packaging, I assume a PET bottle, upright and keep it out of the sun. PET bottles are remarkably strong. Check out the use of pet bottles for compressed air rockets if you are unsure.

[earthgrace]

I kept mine in the boot in low to mid- 30s C weather in the original bottle. Probably hotter than that up north now!

[Orion]

Ethanol is roughly twice as volatile as water. At 35°C it would have the same pressure as a bottle of water at about 50°C. Leakage could be an issue if there's enough of it but unless you've got a giant barrel full it isn't a big safety risk. Hence: A plastic bottle with a good cap.

[Gadgetgeek]

you could also do a little evaporative cooling by wrapping the bottles in cloth and wetting them with water. If it got really hot that would at least help a bit.

[Moondog55]

If Shellite in the same bottle is safe [ and it is apparently up to 80C] the metho is a non-issue

[Orion]

The concern isn't that hot ethanol in a bottle is dangerous by itself or that the pressure would be enough to burst a plastic bottle. The potential problem is if leakage resulted in ethanol vapor concentrated in an enclosed area and then exposed to an ignition source. That might be a scenario for a small camper van if it were sealed up tightly and the bottle wasn't. But would someone in WA seal up their van airtight during a hot day?

[Mark F]

The concern isn't that hot ethanol in a bottle is dangerous by itself or that the pressure would be enough to burst a plastic bottle. The potential problem is if leakage resulted in ethanol vapor concentrated in an enclosed area and then exposed to an ignition source. That might be a scenario for a small camper van if it were sealed up tightly and the bottle wasn't. But would someone in WA seal up their van airtight during a hot day?

That's called operator error - no way to eliminate it.

[icefest]

Operator error can be limited though.

That's why you should not store your fuel where it will be damaged in a crash, roll or rockthrow.

[ElvenCraft Gear]

If Shellite in the same bottle is safe [ and it is apparently up to 80C] the metho is a non-issue

However if you are heading to/from Tassie on the "Spirit of Tasmania" ferry, you'll need to surrender your shellite because if left in your car it could cause the boat to explode in a massive fire ball, killing all on board. (so we were told by security last passage across)