|
|
|
|
Contact:
![zenseeker [at] hotmail [dot] com](EmailImage.gif)
Alcohol can simply be stored in an empty light weight
disposable water/juice bottle. And unlike the image shown below,
you should remove the water or drink label and mark your bottle so
that it says "DANGER FUEL
DO NOT DRINK!!!" on
it. I like to also add several skull and crossbones on it for
the non English readers that may be rummaging through my pack.
Then when you use your fuel bottle, try not to spill any fuel on your
writing if it isn't protected.
Of note, I have been told that it is illegal to use a food container
for storage of fuel or other poisons in Australia.
Don't forget to remove any labels that would suggest that the contents are drinkable and mark all bottles with "FUEL" so your hiking buddy doesn't use the bottle to wash out his/her eyes with it.
Many fuel stabilizer and lead substitute bottles may be ideal, as they are light weight (thin plastic), can be easy to find (hardware and auto parts stores), have a nice measuring chamber on top that allows you to measure generally in 1/4oz increments (or whatever you guesstimate and/or mark on the chamber other wise) and is something you should put in the fuel tank of your auto before a big thru-hike. They also come in many sizes, (4oz, 8oz, 16oz, 32oz, etc.).
Coffee? Coolbrew
Brasslite Aaron Rosenbloom has a bottle similar to, or the same as, some of the fuel stabilizer bottles in 4oz, 8oz and 16oz sizes http://www.brasslite.com/OrderForms/bottleOrder.htm. The 8oz and 16oz one have a nice pour nozzle.
Other bottles with a fill chamber make nice alternatives if you can't find a fuel stabilizer bottle (or are unwilling to pay that much for something you can't use). Go to the local supermarkets, drugstores and hardware stores and look at all the wonderful bottles (like ACT anticavity fluoride rinse).
Syringes and disposable pipettes found at a drug store (a short length of flexible tubing is also nice to have) may aid in precision fuel measurement and help in avoiding over priming a stove.
Metal fuel canisters used for other fuels are heavy and entirely unnecessary.
For petrol fuels, most stove manufactures will recommend that you use metal containers for storage. Although metal is ideal for safety reasons, many plastics can be used to store petroleum based liquids. In fact, some companies even sell camp fuels packaged in plastic containers. If you decide to pack petroleum fuels in a plastic bottle, you should test store it in a bottle prior to packing it in your pack. This should be of course done is a safe place where leakage or fire will not be a concern. You may also need to use a good gasket on your cap to prevent leakage.
A funnel is a nice to have item at home to aid in getting most the of the fuel you pour out of your original fuel can into your trail fuel bottle.
