Alcohol Comparison - Methanol vs Ethanol vs Isopropanol

Which alcohol burns better, faster, brighter? I'm comparing methanol, ethanol (grain alcohol) and isopropanol (rubbing alcohol) to see which has a faster rate of combustion, which burns brighter and which is the best choice for an alcohol stove. A good look at the difference between ethanol and methanol and isopropyl alcohol and a good time with methanol fire, ethanol fire and isopropanol fire! Loads of good information and a great comparison of methanol vs ethanol vs isopropyl alcohol! Thanks for watching!

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[timmytexlonghorns]

When your trying to learn about fuel and accidentally find a pyromaniac

[redienhcs]

This video actually saved my family. Thank you very much! We bought ethyl alcohol from an online supplier and the container was properly labeled and it was cheap so I tested it and the flame was as blue as the ocean. No laughing matter as I know someone who went permanently blind from methanol poisoning after continuous use of 'rubbing alcohol' that he thought was safe.

[highguardian]

I was trying to find out which one of those alcohols evaporated quicker but instead found this channel. I’m not complaining because it seems like I just found an amazing channel. Very underrated. Hope to see you grow in the future onto the spotlight you deserve!

[markkasiraja]

Just skip to 2.35 and watch till bout 6.15. Or from 4.45 - 6.15 for a more abbreviated version that still gets you the answer. Incredible that he was able to add enough fluff to make a 10 min video out of this.

[billysgeo]

Nice video man. Seems like an interesting channel too (but try and shorten the intro a bit!)

[coladict]

Because I now know the brightness means more soot particles glowing while they're being released, that means isopropanol would leave the most soot at bottom of your kettle, and methanol would leave the least. Maybe that's why the "alcohol for burning" (as labeled) that I have here at home is methanol. Though I use it exclusively to clean sticky things.

[z.s.]

Please make a video with doing a flame test with different types of hand sanitizers. They put methanol in some sanitizers labeled as ethanol. Some sanitizers are also just labeled as 'alcohol.'

[RichardsWorld]

Comparing it to acetone would be interesting.

[bobd]

the fire aspect of alcohols is interesting.


another aspect to learn more about is how they compare in being distilled.
especially given there is usually some water in the mix.


for many chemistry experiments alcohol is used to dissolve some material.
like a certain plant. now legal to grow in more states than ever before.


and later, after some reflux, and filtering the alcohol, the filtrate
can be distilled to recover the solvent and re-cycle it.


plan on paying 20-25 dollars a liter for ethanol or methanol. costly .
so its sensible to learn how to recover the stuff for re-use.


have you covered this topic already ? let us know so we all won't
have to search

[peggychristman]

Dear Science Pirate, Do to circumstances out of my immediate control I am van living in Grand Rapids, MI and need to know how to build an inexpensive, safe can heater/ stove. Do you have such a video?

[sledger]

Would denatured be good for a distillation setup

[HedlessHorsman]

So with ethanol not giving off toxic byproducts, is it safe to say you can cook directly over an ethyl flame? I realize how that sounds.. but just wanted to make sure before I take my 95% grain alcohol camping.

[fatemehaghapoursk]

Can i defer methanol from ethanol based on ther flame color?

[germanguy]

Fun fact most of the alcohol actually have the same drunk effect on your brain, the difference is that almost all of the alcohol would kill you before you even get drunk

[kamranki]

Good video but I felt the background music was too loud.

[ultramagnus]

What alcohol is the best for fuel?
Isopropyl or ethanol?

[jamesthomas]

I do my own distilling and I never get that yellow flame in my 70% ethonal...always a blue solid flame

[lordangelspirit]

So ethanol can be used for fireplace inserts?

[Mixwell]

Made a tin can infrared heater courtesy of Robert Murray-Smiths channel and currently all I can get for alcohol fuels is 91% rubbing alcohol. I have a gallon of methanol on order and I'm hoping it burns slower.

At half of a normal tim can full of rubbing alcohol i am getting 40 mins burn time, in his video he claims less than 1/4 filled can of methanol will burn for 1 1/2 hours so here I am trying to see if methanol does burn that much slower and if soo that would help me from redilling my heater every 45 mins or so.

[markoramius]

In your experience, what would be the most balanced alcohol between heating power, cleanliness and efficiency to use in mountain stoves that use liquid fuel? I have read that the colder the color of the flame, the more heat it offers. Thank you so much.