Yeah, I'm always a bit hesitant to use anything for fuel storage that looks like a drink bottle. "Bottled water" bottles are excellent, but I'm afraid that someone will take a deep gulp without smelling the contents or something like that. Having a young child at home only increases my fears.

I'd say it's a good idea to use a fuel bottle that looks substantially different than a drink bottle.

HJ

But isn't denaturated alcohol AWFULL to drink and smell? It is where I live, but regulations and products may be very different where you live. Where I live it requires the determination of a very alcoholic person to drink any denaturated alcohol.

That being said, I'm all for keeping fuel in containers not mistanken for drinking bottles.


Ingest a small amount of denaturated alcohol and you spit it out - nothing bad happens. Ingest a very tiny amount of kerosene (parafin) and you spend hours and hours in squatting in what we call the Jockey's position, wishing very dearly for the comfort of walls and a toilet seat. Don't know about white gas, but I don't think it has the same effect as kerosene - at least not in the tiny quantities you're bound to absorb in the tiny microsecond before you spit it out (or vomit).

You would think that, wouldn't you? But I've read that ingestion of fuels is a big problem in places like South Africa where fuel is often placed in drink containers. Apparently one has to bring one's own container to purchase fuel. SA has a lot of poverty, and drink containers are often plentiful and already on hand.

HJ

Methanol eats the fatty tissue surrounding the optic nerve.

Very dangerous!.

Lee

Keeping anything non drinkable in a container that can be mistaken for a drinking container is just asking for trouble....

I can hear the comments now - "Stupid! Idiots!", etc... and you would have a point.

Can't help but think all this talk about using plastic water bottles the last few days was stirred up by me, as I mentioned I've done it in the past.

I said its not my usual carry but I've done it. Disagree if you want. Think its inappropriate if you want. All you who think as such are right, but I don't live in a world of rainbows and unicorns. I live in realityville. It's expedient, it's UL. It works. No one I hike with brings 16.9oz water bottles so its a unique item in the group. Plus it's well marked. And 9 times outta 10 the leftover gets poured back into the original can or my MSR bottle.

My kids, if they ever got into my gear cabinet, which they don't, would never confuse it for an old half full water bottle and drink from it. And they've been raised well enough (or spoiled enough, hmmm) to not drink out of a water bottle that they don't know who drank from it or how long it sat out. I have Denatured alcohol in a MSR bottle that is not otherwise labeled as fuel, and I drink from other stainless bottles around the house. My kids have never thought one was the other.

I wouldn't be surprised if systematically alternating between using a bottle for drinking water and the same bottle for fuel would cause some health issues.

Accidental sipping from the wrong bottle ONCE isn't quite the same thing.

Yes, I've also used PET soda bottles for fuel (clearly marked, mind you). Do I recommend it? No. Do I want to make it a regular routine? No.

Auto shop HEET gas anti freeze should fit your bill.

Consider recycling a Purell (or equivalent) container. They are available in various sizes. The original contents (62%) burn just fine in alcohol stoves and thus have a double use.

The Nalgene 250ml bottles w/flip top work really well. Guaranteed to be leakproof I think.