Making fire in the rain: best practices?

Making fire in the rain can be a big challenge, but of course that is when you might need it most. So what are your best practices for making fire when the rain has made everything wet?

in my canoe tripping area,where i would expect to have to do this,i have heaps of birch bark and pine.both are easy to light.
however the first step is to get the moss and wet rotten bits carved off and under some sort of shelter until i would be ready to light it.now the "best practice", i would remove my shirt or jacket to make a rain proof roof and getting close to the tinder pile by laying on my stomach with the "roof" over my head and the pile just in from of my nose strike and light whatever fire maker i have and hope for the best.with birch bark it's a very-very good chance you will get a fire.ok,so now you are wet to the skin but with a blaze going you can dry out.leaving your clothes on in an attempt to stay a bit dryer and not using them to make a "tent" will reduce your chance of success.getting a roof you have ready over the fire is the next step.any sort of tepee made from branches and covered with whatever you have or picking out a shelter place before you start is of course part of the project..just work quick.
some years ago i was up on a canoe trip when a severe,long term storm dumped some 11 inches of rain.i just went to the tent and lived in it until it was over.a few days later i came on a campsite that had been abandon leaving piles of gear all over.i could see that whoever was there tried to make a fire in several places,all failed because they stayed in the open near the existing fire place rather than find a more sheltered spot.among the things they did was make a small "house" from slabs of slate to keep the rain off the tinder pile.it failed because they had such a small pile.there must have been 20 burned out wood matches laying next to it.they could have used the bottle of cooking oil they had to help start the fire like i did when i cleaned up and burned the mess with it
another 1AM run-on post...sorry......

> another 1AM run-on post...sorry......

Far from it canoedog! Cracking post!
I've never understood why a sleeping bag isn't on everyones survival kit list. If you can get a fire going in all weathers; it makes sense.
Wish we had more like this.
A post on guns or knives has dozens of replies the same day.
This most basic of needs gets one from you.
qjs

Very good post! My part of the country is relatively dry but spring here is pretty much daily rain for over a month. And for some reason my camping gear has the magical power to summon rain! I'm serious, no matter the month, be it spring, summer or fall, about 85%-90% of the times that I head out for even an overnite, I get rained on. Sometimes it's a sprinkling, sometimes a deluge.

When I can see it coming I generally cover my wood & tinder pile with a garbage bag. If my fire is already going it's usually pretty easy to stoke & roof it to keep it going thru nearly any downpour. But if I need to light in the rain and wet I'll have to try that "tenting trick" with a poncho (something I always have with me).

To cut to the chase - technology is your friend.

It really helps to plan ahead. A tarp can be pitched to produce a sheltered spot, or such a spot can be found -absolutely nothing eats a rock shelter in the rain. When I started, we totally depended upon fires and we became very good at lighting them in adverse conditions. Persistence was a very good quality, as when looking for dry tinder materials. it is amazing how that stuff can survive in dense thickets of brush, under downed trees, or similar spots. It is important to have a good match safe, Bic lighter, and/or firesteel. Redundancy pays off here.

Eventually, we invoked technology and started bringing backpacking stoves, which these days can be astonishingly light - mere ounces, including fuel. Many alcohol stoves are homemade from discarded food cans, so cost is trivial, as well.

Nowadays, I almost always pack some kind of "stove" and fuel on ever trip. It guarantees a fire under any conditions, it is safer than a traditional wood fire (a most important consideration in the arid southwest), and it helps minimize my footprint and my impact on the natural scene. I can always whip up that nice cup of tea, no matter what. My vehicle routinely carries a mini-Trangia cookset and stove, one of my favorites - light,cheap, and dependable. Once in a while I will light a traditional campfire. Nothing else has the psychological impact of a good campfire, which can be vital in some situations. Nothing else is quite so versatile a signal to advertise your location, if that is your need.....But here is a controversial thought - the campfire is obsolete and is generally an ill advised practice, except in emergencies.

My lightest and most compact "stove" is sitting on my desk as we speak. It is all contained within a Sierra cup; the contents weigh less than that cup does when brimming with a nice cup of tea. The stove itself cost about twelve bucks, and the price of everything else in the kit was trivial.

Peter Kummerfeldt just addressed this in his blog:

Outdoor Safe Blog

Another option I have used in very wet environments is a railroad flare.

I have also carried tinder and kindling inside my clothes to dry it.

Cutting into the center of larger pieces of wood will remove the wet outside.

I think hikermor is almost right. I do think however there are a few places in the world where an open fire is still not environmentally unsound. Parts of Wilderness Alaska are one of them. I also think the use of small wood stoves in many other areas is still acceptable.

I don't think that is however the question. If I am - for some reason - without a stove, then building a fire is a critical survival skill. In the rain a shelter is key, whether a jacket as CANOEDOGS suggested, your body, a garbage bag, a poncho, or a tarp, shelter is important. The larger items help keep you dry but the fire is most important. Be careful not to drip onto the fire from your arms or head (hats are real bad about this) if you use something that does not cover you too. Dry material is the other key. Hopefully you have some available as squaw wood or under a down tree, etc. If not you will have to open some wet pieces to expose dry. A saw is a great help here. Batonning a knife works, an axe or even a splitting maul is best but usually not available (I still carry an axe in the wildest country). Cut off some standing dry wood or dead branches from a tree into short (6" or so)lengths. 2 to 4 inch diameters are usually best unless you have an axe. Cut or split them lengthwise removing the wet outside. If you don't have tinder with you, you will have to cut them very fine. Then use CANOEDOGS instructions. After you have a good fire going you can use it to dry out other wood to keep the fire going. A good match safe or a Bic gets it all started.

Respectfully,

Jerry

I have never had a lot of trouble building a fire in the rain, but I have always built it having some kind of overhead protection, and never in a driving rain.

Some time when it rains I may try and build one out on the porch in my fire pit and see if I can get a sustainable fire.

I don't know that it is realistic to expect a fire to stay lit in a monsoon though.

I find that as long as I have good, long burning tinder and can get it ignited, starting a fire in the rain is not a problem. Birchbark is a favorite.

i was thinking of a situation where you found yourself with little or no gear,just the clothes on your back and matches,lighter or whatever.the willingness to take off your shirt or jacket and let the cold rain get you wet in order to make a "tent" to light the fire under could be a life saving decision.

Good topic!

Coming from a relatively dry part of the country, here's a couple of questions someone might be able to answer --


-- How does one keep the clothing/pancho/tarp covering from melting?

-- Is aspen as good as birch?


My first instinct would be to start a fire up under a boulder ledge or overhanging rock (we have a few of those) but I've also heard that this could be dangerous, because heated rock, especially in the colder months, can fracture, slip, and perhaps crush whatever's huddling beneath it.

Medowlark,

Distance! If you are starting a fire the shelter needs only be a foot or two above the fire. As the fire gets going, it can do without the shelter (sort of). If you set up a tarp 6 feet or so above the fire, you can build a reasonable size fire without melting. Be careful not to get the fire too big, or the tarp will be a single use item. :-( I often use a plastic sheet as do many others.

Unfortunately, aspen is nowhere as good as birch. There must be a lot more pitch and/or a lot less water in the birch bark.

Under a balanced boulder might be a problem, but most overhangs in the rockies would be ok. You should watch out for wet rock, however. Rocks out of the river (or those overhangs that were waterfalls before freezeup) can explode as the entraned water goes to steam.

Respectfully,

Jerry

I do not agree with this advice. I specificly disagree with this advice because it is incomplete.

Cotton wool balls make a good, easy to use firestarter. However [b] they are not sustained flame.
Substained flame means a firestarter that burns hot for several minuites. In practice that means Esbit, Wetfire, barbeque firelighters or the like.

I very strongly suggest that anyone reading this thread reference "David Canterbury" and/or "Wilderness Outfitters" on YouTube.

You will find that an eye opener.

But if you read it, the cotton is saturated with petroleum jelly, giving it a longer burn time and higher temperature. I have used this technique often in many conditions, and it works, even on wet kindling. They also have the advantage of being easier to find around the world.

You did note that oversaturated PJ's are difficult to ignite?
That's a major issue when you are loosing fine motor skills.

One alternative that can be home made is cotton balls soaked in melted candle wax. Only problem is that they can be difficult to ignite. They again need a PJ booster.

I have had more difficulty lighting Wetfire cubes by spark than cotton balls and PJ. Sometimes, even when crumbled, they do not seem to take a spark. I have never tried to light an Esbit cube with a spark, will it work or do you need a flame? I have tried other items such as the grill starters, and they all needed a flame, I could not light them with a spark. I generally carry a combination of cotton and PJ, dry cotton balls, a tube of petroleum based lip balm and Wetfire tinder. Only a small amount of each, but together, I think it should work in most conditions. These along with a Blast Match or the new Sparkie, some REI or UCO storm proof matches and a cigarette lighter and I should be ready for everything except the Antarctic and Mount Everest (because neither have any wood to burn).

I have used wax based lip balms on cotton as well, and they work, with the same cautions as the PJ, do not over saturate.

If an overly saturated cotton ball is difficult to ignite, you can bring along an unsaturated cotton ball, lint or anything else that will catch a spark easily. Ignite that clean cotton ball/lint right next to the (possibly) overly saturated cotton ball. This may sound more complicated than it really is. I recommend experimenting once.

I like cotton balls mixed with PJ because it's nearly idiot-proof. It doesn't tax my fine motor skills. What I like perhaps even better is cotton balls mixed with Burt's Beeswax lip balm.

Even better than these is a candle-in-a-can which can be ignited multiple times to start a fire (e.g., to get kindling going). To get the wick on the candle going, you will need some shelter (to keep the rain off), dry cotton and a flint. Or, instead of the dry cotton and flint, just use a lighter to get the wick going.

You need a flame. Which you carry. Personally the lighter is always my first option.
Lighter, matches, ferro rod, everything else (bow drill, fire piston etc).

I also carry the Spark Lite in my PSK, along with the cotton tinder and an added tube of PJ. All I need now is to carry some of those fire logs from the grocery store and I will be set for fire starting!

Leigh,
Not trying to be rude but I side with Montanero.You should check his profile.He has real world experience.I have had Wetfire fail on me also.All it takes is a tiny pinhole in its packaging and the volitility gases out.Tinderquick or PJ cotton balls work period.Again practice makes perfect.


BOATMAN
John

If you have a lighter,scrape some gooey curls of Fatwood onto a pj cottonball or tinderquik,& short of a roadflare,this works Very Well,even while you yourself is,Dripping wet! Fatwood also lights fairly easy with a ferro-rod,again using the curl or feather method.A friend of mine carries 2 tubes of rubber cement,& that stuff will light water on fire,you do have to check the tubes frequently as it dries up/ evaporates,rather rapidly once it's been opened.I've seen what a leaking tube can do to a "once beautiful Kifaru pack",So Fatwood is my tried & true answer!

PJ and cotton balls didn't work for me a few years back, as the cotton had become smooshed in my pack and completely saturated with the jelly. It was cold and quite wet out -- it had been raining earlier in the day. After a lot of frustration, (and failing with found natural tinder, which was too damp), I ended up shredding some toilet paper and putting a lighter to it. Lesson learned.

I am surprised that the solution of a big candle and a small Bic hasn't even been raised. This has yet to fail me. But of course it's not terribly chic.

(Though in fairness, the coastal rainforests of the PNW give me deep pause. Everything is a bloody sponge, saturated with rain and fog. I might actually need two candles. Possibly preceded by a whiff of napalm in the morning.)

LOL!

My go to in rain, (Ontario rain, granted, not PNW) is to get a tarp up over the fire pit and then clean out out the fire pit area do it's as dry as possible. Then, if it's really coming down, it's either a birthday candle or tea light, lit with a bic, and then used to ignite a PJ cotton ball and birch bark. Ferro rod and cotton ball are usually my first choice but if everything's soaked, a candle and bic is instantaneous gratification and helps maintain the flame. Esbit tabs are another good solution when kindling is harder to find.

If the fire pit won't stay dry, I put a piece of aluminum foil under the fire so the water puddles underneath it.

An upside down fire also helps.

What do you mean by an upside down fire?

An upsidedown fire is when you put the big stuff on the bottom and build up, gradually moving through fuel, kindling and then put your tinder bundle on top. (With more kindling - your standard loghouse or teepee fire - above that.) The fire will burn down, so that it's essentially self-feeding. Less work when you're cold and wet is a plus in my books.

Here's a youtube video:

http://m.youtube.com/#/watch?v=ubPYIl9IFdQ
(Equipped to Endure)

Try this one:
http://m.youtube.com/#/watch?v=pjBfzyz-xM8

That's interesting, so have I. TinderQuick is good for catching a flame - and I have a lot in my kits - but it is absolute pants for situations were tinder is damp.
As for Wetfire - its a consumable. Treat it as such.

My experience has been that starting small and drying larger pieces as you go is the best bet. Of course executing this in adverse conditions is the challenging part, as the devil is in the details.

The last time I had to light a fire in a steady rain and I was very impressed by the road flare I used as a fire starter. Having a large flat piece of wood to use as shelter for the initial fire lay helped a lot as well.

Thanks bacpacjac, that clears it up for me. Come to think of it I think I've come across it before but by another name.

I mentioned that above, just not the same words.

Has anyone tried using those re-lighting trick party candles in the rain? Just curious...

Nor has my method of a small can of gas and a trip flare been mentioned. Only did it once, but it worked really really well.

And my platoon was very happy too.

hey bacpacjac:

help please - your link doesn't get us to the vid you mean

thnx!

Aha! Yes you did. Missed that.

I haven't used a big candle-in-a-can, though I have used a tealight with some extra wicking like TP jammed down into the wax. Anything with a long-burning, insistent flame makes the job easier. I generally just carry a candle stub from those long-burning Ikea candles. And in various pockets, there will be a few Coghlans fire sticks (they don't get messy on you).

Around here, a few extra sticks and bark bits have generally been enough to shield the fledgling fire. I haven't had to make fires in the midst of the relentless monsoons seen in coastal areas.

I haven't tested these in the rain, but I am impressed and slighted scared with how these trick candles stay lit. Note they do extinguish with a wet paper towel. So, rain may kill them too, but I think in the wind is where trick candles would shine. They seem to burn quite a bit faster than normal candles. I guess that's because the wick is thicker. They're small and light. I went ahead and packed a few of these in a car kit as backup.

If you have wind playing around your fire, along with rain, task #1 is to devise an effective shelter. Until you do that, you are basicallyjust wasting your time and matches...

This is not in response to your post, hikermor, but this candle is claimed to resist wind, snow, and rain:

http://windproofcandles.wordpress.com/

However, I have not tried them. Usually, they have always been out-of-stock when I tried to purchase. (no affiliation) I wonder what's in them. The description says they're tealight candles, but the size is 8 cm or 15 cm. That should provide more perspective to the pics.

DS and I are going to try this Swedish Fire Torch technique this weekend. It seems like it would offer additional protection from the wind and rain:

http://m.youtube.com/?client=mv-google&rdm=4psit66ko#/watch?v=WfRovJ1KcCg

I purchased a Brunton Storm lighter for this. One of the best things I have ever purchased for the outdoors. The little torch like flame is super hot and can be held at any angle. Perfect for lighting soggy stuff in a hurry or lighting tinder at odd angles without messing up the pile. I hear this type of lighter may have problems at very high altitudes but it has not been a concern of mine.

Don't laugh at the road flare idea either. I always have one in my winter pack. A 10 minute job cut in half and then sealed with hot glue on the cut end. I then seal the whole flare with my vacuum sealer to keep it waterproof and toss in the pack. Lightweight, easy to use and burns like hell for 3-5 minutes. With this I don't need to screw around with cotton balls, Esbit tabs or wetfire cubes. No cutting to the middle of dry wood or making fuzz sticks either, Just snap a bunch of wood by hand and toss the lit flare in the pile. It will flame finger to wrist sized pieces of wet wood with ease. I usually don't even need to remove my gloves.

Trust me, You can probably get a fire going with wet rocks using a flare.

On the other hand, Maybe I am just lazy ....

Taurus, what brand of road flare are you using? Sounds like just the thing after an accidental swim in a cold river.

What has been your experience lighting the end of the cut flare?

I don't.

I cut it in half and keep the end with the igniter. This is just to save space and weight. The hot glue keeps the insides from falling out.(Yellow sawdust like stuff) I get rid of the other half as its near impossible to ignite otherwise.

The vacuum seal is to keep the igniter dry. If that gets wet you are stuck with plan B.

Sorry Doug, Didn't see this till just then.

I use the Canadian tire brand you gets in packs of two. (made by CIL I believe ?) The ones with the strike igniter like a big match anyway. There are some that require a lighter to get going. I never used those before.

Fell thru the ice once. Only up to my junk but still it was not a very happy day for me. I was really glad to have one of these along for the ride.

Thanks. That makes sense. I am now wondering how a rolled up piece of magnesium strip layed on the cut end of the flare and sealed in hot glue would work. At two minutes per inch burn rate, a two inch chunk should start most fires. If those light reliably, even one inch long chunks with 1" of magnesium sticking out be adequate.

Ponder,

I have tried my Storm lighter to light the other end with little luck. They are Very hard to light. It takes half the fuel in the lighter to get it going and it dosen't burn with the same intensity for some reason. I have yet to find a reliable way to create my own igniters so I gather the useless ends and toss them into the fire pit in the back yard when I am out having beers.

They only cost a few bucks each anyway.

I've gotta pick up some road flares. My go-to emergency ignition source is potassium permanganate & glycerine. Burns pretty fiercely, wind and water seem to have no effect. Also, you only need enough fine motor coordination to unscrew the lid of the Baby Soda Bottles!

Thanks for the flare tip, Taurus. I think I'm going to have to try that!

I took a dunk in a frozen creek once when I was younger and I never want to be that cold again. I was lucky to still be within sight of my grandparent's farmhouse, and with my cousin, so I was out and dry within (what seemed like days) a short time. My teeth still chatter when I remember it though.

Hey Phaedrus,

If this stuff were to freeze and thaw a whole bunch of times does it still burn the same or does it degrade? Is it good over a long time period or does it expire quickly?

I never really played around with this combo only because everything in my pack tends to freeze solid in winter. (that and I never really found this stuff for sale anywhere)

But it burns and I like fires.
My interest is now oficially perked on this stuff and I may have to pick up some to fool around with.

On the other hand, my last emergency fire starter experiment was with home made gasoline-gel stuff and that didn't really go well. Maybe I should just stick to my road flares. Easier on the eyebrows.

Taurus- I haven't used PP enough/long enough to say definitely. As such it's never my only tool (of course, only a fool would rely on just one). I've seen videos of it being burned in the snow so I guess it's not affected overly by cold, but I find the glycerin gets too stiff to pour when it's really cold. Supposedly anti-freeze works, too, but I've yet to test it.

I don't have my list in front of me, but I think potassium permanginate is on Homeland Security's watch list of precursor chemicals...might be a little harder to find now days...I used it for a reaction rate demonstration for chem classes...go with the smallest crystals if you can find it

Check Peter Kummerfeldt's blog. He has a short post on this topic.

www.outdoorsafe.blogspot.com

His post was written after a soggy day training an Oregon SAR team in the Coast Range.

Blake

This thread reminds me that the big ol pine tree in my backyard is patiently waiting for me to come out and collect some more pine pitch. It takes a flame really well, helps the tinder and kindling get going, and a small film canister full weighs next to nothing and takes up very little space.

Pine knots work very well as fuel if it's wet out. (The end of the branch that grows out of the tree.) They're full of resin so catch well and burn brightly.

Bacpacjac is on the right track. Tree pitch makes for a very hot burning fire starter. In my area of the world, there is certainly no shortage of it anywhere, anytime of year.

In cold wet weather, which is currently typical, I have more faith in pitch then many other more modern materials. A film canister of pitch will last for many fires even under the most demanding weather conditions and is easy to replenish without a trip to a store or having to re-purchase from an internet site...

The pics were taken in last, mid summer.

lets go back to square one on this because this subject has come up several times and always go's back to what is used to light a fire when what we really need to know is how to get a fire going and keep it going in the rain.in canoe country a tarp over a smoky fire with a few guys standing around is as common as bugs,you see it all the time.a few times i have lit a heap of birch bark and pine sticks on a aluminum pie plate inside a tent,my big Timberline,and then carried it to the fireplace that has been filled with as dry as i could make wood and covered with a trash bag.the tinder blazing because it was out of the wind and lit in several places was then slid under the firewood and the bag removed at the last second.this trick only works if its just a light drizzle and you have some sort of overhead cover.this is where you have to do lots of saw and ax work to make billets of dry pine,or whatever,and stack them log cabin style until you get a fire that will outpace the rain.more often than not the rain wins out,even forest fires damp down in the rain.this is one reason i went to the Baker Shelter and Coleman stove with extra fuel.with that i had a total shelter and just not a overhead cover and a heat source that was non fail.
OK..back to the subject survival wise..i would say that you need to have cover to make and keep a fire in the rain.a huge bonfire to beat back the rain or a smaller one,or even two you can get between,that you can feed and keep going.
the best place to find the details on how to do this is best found in the older outdoor book,the ones from the pre camp stove days when making a fire was your only course.i have seen some with drawings by Dan Beard on several ways to make and keep a fire in the rain from digging into a dirt bank to cutting and sticking branches in the ground around a fire to make some sort of cover...

ethanol-based fire gel in a tube (various brands)
http://survival.atactv.com/?mediaId=900

I guess that's the same thing as hand sanitizer (?). Apparently, you can get wet wood going with a ferro rod and this stuff. If that's true (I haven't tried), then that's one thing petroleum jelly can't do easily.

A piece of innertube about 1 inch square. Light one corner, put under tinder. All done.

A piece of inner-tube can get the fire going initially, like any good tinder -- the trick is in having the foresight to bring/collect along the way tinder AND THEN having a supply of (do I need to say dry) fuel to continue the fire after the tinder has done its job. You need enough dry fuel to get the fire hot enough to dry the wet fuel that will surely follow. In the rain some fuel will be wet.

So it's pouring rain and all you have to do is whip out a 1 inch piece of inner tube,light one corner and toss it under your tinder ? I guess I need to go back to the drawing board because it's never been as simple as that for me. I must have been doing something wrong all these years.

Are you lighting the innertube with napalm ?

Just to be precise, an inner tube will not ignite from a spark from a ferro rod. (Thank God.) So, if you go out to the rain with only a ferro rod and an inner tube while everything else is wet, you will have major difficulties getting a flame going. However, an inner tube is good fuel if you already have a flame. (Please don't inhale the smoke.) This issue reminds me that it's important to practice beforehand and not to take any stage of fire starting for granted.

Hand sanitizer works very nicely as a fire starter and also as the fuel in an alcohol stove. readily available almost anywhere, including many offices, if you need fuel in an emergency.

What kind of stove in particular? I know sterno is kinda like jellied alcohol and works with a wick but what about a trangia stoves etc? I have never tried it personally. Just curious.

The one occasion when I used it was with a Trangia stove (with a good windscreen). I had my essential nice cup of tea in about four minutes. It is much better than Sterno, especially since it comes in nice little 2 oz bottles which are perfect for one time use. I have even seen sanitizer put up in 3 oz bottles marketed as "TSA compliant."

Here's a little visual aid:

The scene: 2 families + 4 days of pouring rain in a Provincial Park. That means the fire pit is the fire pit and cannot be moved. Here's what our's looked like this when we arrived:



Our solution? Baracaded fire pit, trap over fire pit, trenches, upside down fire with lots of local pine pitch and tinder brought from home to get it started, firewood protected under a tarp, continous drying of firewood beside the fire once it got going, teaching the kids to make a tripod and firestarters...



NOTE: You're not supposed to trench in a Provincial Park but the Ranger gave us permission because the rain was so bad.

FURTHER NOTE: Bringing firewood from home isn't always advisable or legal.

looks like my June 2011 canoe trip,non stop heavy rain.i gave up on the fires and retreated into my baker shelter.
that sort of rain sort of gives you pause,what in the world could we do caught out on the trail with just pocket kits?

Don't take that for granted without testing!

I have only tested one particular brand of hand sanitizer. That one (70% alcohol) made a very lousy firestarter/fuel. Yes it burned, but not very hot and it took surprisingly much effort to get it going.

Yes, I just tested some hand sanitizer sitting on my kitchen counter. It's 63% ethyl alcohol with Vitamin E of unknown quantity. I bathed a piece of inner tube in the sanitizer and tried to start a flame by using a spark from a ferro rod. Amazingly, a small flame actually started. However, the inner tube did not catch. The small flame must have been a fluke because, for the life of me, I could not repeat it. To make sure it wasn't my lack of skills, I tried igniting some jute. The jute quickly caught a flame from a spark, and the inner tube caught from the flaming jute.

These were ideal conditions in a garage. I now know the limitations of this particular hand sanitizer.

Reminds me of a conversation I had with a co-worker long ago who rode a Honda Goldwing on long trips. I asked "what happens when it rains?".

He said "I get wet".

Oh I won't, That's what this forum is for, I can see if one of you guys tried it before my poor wife comes home to find me laying on the floor dead with an alcohol stove embedded in my face. I figure someone here has tried it before and either had it work or had the stove blow apart sending hot burning globs of hand sanitizer everwhere.

I have had enough accidents in my life to learn from others mistakes/experience when I can.

Interesting results. Let me be more clear about my experience. I was using Purell (62% ethanol or thereabouts) as fuel in a Trangia stove, not in the open, and it was well shielded from the wind by a homemade wind shield I was trying out. I didn't put a stop watch on the trial, but I had nice hot tea in roughly four minutes; certainly soon enough to be practical. A different stove or an open pan might not provide the same experience.