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tiki torch alternative fuel ideas |
captnkirk
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Nov 06, 2002
Posts: 319
From: Hockessin, Delaware
|  Posted: 2012-11-08 06:45 am Permalink
I have a friend who makes large amounts of bio-diesel from waste oil at home. He started out making small batches in 2 liter soda bottles for his garden tractor, using a formula that is everywhere on the internet (search: 2 liter bio-diesel). You could use this to make torch fuel from vegetable oil too. You add oil, methanol and Lye (sodium hydroxide) to a soda bottle and shake it up, then allow it to separate a few days and then pour off the fuel from a thick sludge in the bottle bottom composed mostly of glycerine that is a byproduct of turning waste oil into fuel.
P.S. It does smell like fries only because fries smell like burning vegetable oil. Which is much better than that stuck behind a bus smell perfuming your tiki bar.
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carlsharp
Member
Joined: Nov 12, 2012
Posts: 3 | Posted: 2012-11-12 4:42 pm Permalink
Hello! My name is Carl and I joined this forum just to post this pic. Frankly you may be the only people on the planet that care 
On the left, store bought tiki fuel, about $10/gal
In the middle, paint thinner, about $8/gal
On the right, diesel fuel, about $4/gal or free from work 
All the wicks were trimmed and set to a measured length. Notice the smoke is virtually identical. Yes, the diesel had a smaller flame. No noticeably different odor. One could add citronella oil, about $2/oz.
Anybody want to compare the MPG (minutes per gal) for each? 
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CS
Chino Hills, CA
[ This Message was edited by: carlsharp 2012-11-12 18:15 ]
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MadDogMike
Grand Member (3 years) 
Joined: Mar 30, 2008
Posts: 6403
From: The Anvil of the Sun
| Posted: 2012-11-12 5:35 pm Permalink
Welcome Carl, I noticed you didn't try gasoline 
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Clay, the oldest and most divine art media;
"And now, from the clay of the ground, the Lord God formed man" Genesis 2:7
Pirate Ship Tree House
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carlsharp
Member
Joined: Nov 12, 2012
Posts: 3 | Posted: 2012-11-12 6:14 pm Permalink
Gasoline is way to volatile for the application. How fun would that be when the torch is almost empty. The wick becomes a fuse.
Before engines gasoline was a waste product that had to be discarded, and this was in a world lit by wick lamps. I considered Coleman Camp Fuel but at $13/gal it was out of the running.
[ This Message was edited by: carlsharp 2012-11-12 18:18 ]
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AceExplorer
Grand Member (2 years) 
Joined: Apr 03, 2008
Posts: 303
From: Deep in the Jacksonville Florida jungle.
| Posted: 2012-11-13 06:42 am Permalink
First, BRAVO and THANKS to you, Carl, for conducting tests and sharing here!
Second, I can share that I also looked around at fuel alternatives last summer and then tried using kerosene because Tiki Torch brand fuel is relatively expensive and kerosene is inexpensive and readily available all over the place here in Florida. It worked very well, I don't think the flame was any different than with other fuels. I need to do a side-by-side test with kerosene, Tiki fuel, and now diesel too.
I do A LOT of fire pit nights here with cocktails, and I like to use flames from torches for subtle area lighting. After I successfully tested the kerosene in tiki torches I ended up finding "railroad-style" kerosene lanterns at Wally World in the camping section of the store for less than $5 each (choice of blue or red, heh...) and bought three. They have a nice wind-shielding glass which is removable and washable, and they generate quite a bit of light. Not tropical or tiki at all, but definitely practical, and you COULD remove the glass and metal upper structure for a minimalist-sort-of open flame. And replacement wicks are *cheap* and readily available at Wally World.
I found that kerosene is very inexpensive and safe, and I found that it is also an excellent fire starter for my fire pit with low volatility. I use plastic pint bottles (with the pointy "squirt spouts" from local beauty supply stores) to re-fuel my torches and lanterns, and also to gently light my fire pit. Kerosene does not light quickly -- no "whoosh" and burned hair if you know what I mean -- it's my gentle fire-starting friend.
There's nothing like the light from flickering flames, wide-open night skies, good friends, and cocktails.
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carlsharp
Member
Joined: Nov 12, 2012
Posts: 3 | Posted: 2012-11-13 10:55 am Permalink
I thought of Kerosene but did not have any on hand. Also, here on the left coast it's about $11/gal at the hardware store, with no easily found bulk source.
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CS
Chino Hills, CA
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AceExplorer
Grand Member (2 years)
Joined: Apr 03, 2008
Posts: 303
From: Deep in the Jacksonville Florida jungle.
| Posted: 2012-11-13 11:26 am Permalink
Yikes, $11/gallon for kerosene? Out here it's about the same price as a gallon of gas. People use it for utility heating in workshops, garages, barns, etc. when it gets super cold. About 1 in 10 gas stations has a gas pump set off to the side that's used for nothing but bulk kerosene purchases.
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