Isopropyl

where did you get the 91 at? I looked in my wal-mart and all they have is 70 :ermm:

It is in the pharmacy section at Walmart, with the first aid items. $1.98 for 32 oz. around here...

That would be really expensive in comparison and only 75.5% alcohol. Better break out the everclear 190.

You guys were probably joking about the rum but I have seen some people trying to use other fluid fuels. This is dangerous and should be avoided. While other fluid fuels may work under certain conditions, most of them generate toxic fumes or byproducts, introduce chemical residue or odors, and some may flash over creating an explosion. A lot of the liquid fuels will burn too fast and thus the lump does not have enough time to catch, and others will burn too slow or too cold and it takes too long to get the egg up to speed. I did extensive research before settling on 91% Isopropyl Alcohol and I believe that anything else is just not safe. Someone on this forum tried pure ethanol and it didn't work. I highly recommend avoiding all other liquid fuels including lighter fluid, gas, kerosene, oil, grain alcohol, or other spirits.

SpanishJoe wrote:

I'm using liquid (not gel) fondue fuel(pure methanol + denaturant and blue dye), and it works great... It's half the price of pure isopropanol here in Ottawa ($2.00/500mL vs $6/500mL), but since it's twice as volatile, it lights better in colder temperatures (ie: winter). There's no wait - it's pour-it-on, find-a-match, drop it in and WHUMP! Make sure to only use 50 mL, though... this method is much better than the propane weedburner that I used to use! No sparks!

-SJ

Methanol is not an ideal choice because it is toxic and poisonous even when ingested through inhalation or skin absorption, and more toxic than isopropyl alcohol when ingested directly. It also has a slight odor which may contaminate food and taint the flavor. The additives and dyes also make it less pure. The combustion reaction for methanol is similar to that of isopropyl alcohol but less efficient, with methanol yielding 50% more water as a byproduct. Thus more of the heat will be consumed by the process of converting the water to steam and less heat will be available to light the lump. Standard 91% rubbing alcohol is only $2 for 32 ounces (roughly 1 liter) in most areas of the US, and is widely available in first aid departments or pharmacy stores. I recommend using isopropyl alcohol whenever possible, and if you must use methanol then try to get it without the additives or dyes, be careful handling it, don't use too much, and give it plenty of time to burn off before inserting food.