The New MSR MicroRocket -- First Look

I'm in the process of writing another review for Seattle Backpackers Magazine, this time of the new MSR MicroRocket.  I've got a ways to go yet on the review, but I thought I'd at least let people have a preliminary look at the stove.  Look for the full review in about a month's time.

This is an installment in my series on the new MicroRocket stove from MSR.  Other installments in the series include:

• The MSR MicroRocket -- Trail Report #1
• The MSR MicroRocket -- Trail Report #2
• The MSR MicroRocket -- Cooking Report 
• The MSR MicroRocket -- Packability Report #1
• The MSR MicroRocket -- Packability Report #2
• The New MSR MicroRocket -- Completed Review

UPDATE 29 Dec 2011
Just got a note from MSR:  The official release date is January 3, 2012. We already have them in stock and are shipping to retailers.

OK, first impressions.  Guys, this sucker is compact.  Woo who!  Oh, yes.  Tiny, baby.  What a nice little stove.  Talk about saving some room in the ol' pack.  Sweet!

A new MSR MicroRocket (left) and a PocketRocket (right).

The new MicroRocket comes with a separate piezoelectric ignition.

MSR MicroRocket stove (top) and its separate piezoelectric ignition.

Now, I haven't fired it up yet (I just took it out of the box this evening), but my first impression of the separate  piezoelectric lighter is:  Why?  Sorry, MSR, but wouldn't I be better off just carrying a regular lighter?  What's the advantage of carrying a separate piezoelectric lighter?  A piezoelectric lighter is only going to be able to ignite gas whereas a regular lighter will ignite pretty much anything.  Wouldn't I be better served by a more versatile conventional lighter?  What's the point?

Now, to be fair, I haven't tried it yet.  Maybe I'll really love it.  These are just my first impressions upon taking the stove out of the box.  I will test it out.

Now, back to the stove.

The new (for 2012) MSR MicroRocket

Did I mention it's compact?  Man!  They really mapped this one out.  Everything folds together just so.  It literally fits in the palm of my hand, and I don't have particularly big hands (ring size 9.5).

I'm liking the way the valve control handle folds around the base of the stove.  Compact, baby, yeah!

The valve control handle folds compactly around the base of the stove.

Not too much looks new in terms of the burner head although the wind deflector is a bit more compact.  Like I say, though, I haven't fired it up yet.  Soon!

MSR PocketRocket (left),  MSR MicroRocket (right)

Now, take a look at the below photo.  One of my pet peeves about the older PocketRocket is that the point where the pot supports join the body of the stove is prone to bending.  Don't ask me how I know this.  I've read it elsewhere, so I know it's not just me.  The attach points on the new MicroRocket are way beefier.  When I unfolded everything into "working mode," the supports felt very solid.

MSR PocketRocket (left),  MSR MicroRocket (right)

Now, since this stove is super compact, you probably have to give up on the "surface area" that the pot supports cover, right?  Nope.  There's no sacrifice here.  The span is about the same.

MSR MicroRocket (right), MSR PocketRocket (left).  Note the smaller wind deflector on the MicroRocket

MSR MicroRocket (left), MSR PocketRocket (right).

Overall first impression:  It's like the top stove designers at MSR did nothing but play with a Pocket Rocket for six months straight, looking for anything they could improve.  And they seem to have succeeded in just that.  They've really improved and beefed up the stove.

Um, Jim, beefed up?  Don't you mean they've turned a perfectly good stove into a fragile little ultralight toy -- a little toy that's useless to the average hiker?

NO!  Counter-intuitive as it may seem, they've managed to beef up the stove while dropping the weight and size.  Sweet!

OK, so that's all for now in this very brief first look.  Watch for more to follow soon.

HJ

Technical Appendix:  Weights
PocketRocket        MicroRocket
Case   25g/0.88oz    36g/1.27oz
Stove  86g/3.03oz    73g/2.57oz
Total 111g/3.92oz   109g/3.84oz
 
I didn't include the weight of the piezoelectric lighter because I wanted a 1:1 comparison.  The MicroRocket's piezo electric ignition weighs a mere 13g/0.46oz.

The above weights were all determined using my Kitchen Chef gram scale.  These weights may differ slightly from the weights listed by the manufacturer.   All weights have been double checked. All weight were measured in grams and then later converted to ounces.  Weights in ounces will not necessarily add up properly due to rounding error.

Interestingly, if the case is included, there is essentially no weight difference between the MicroRocket and the PocketRocket.  I did a double take when I weighed the new case.  I've checked it multiple times.  The new case really does weigh 36g.  I realize that a lot of people leave the case at home, storing the stove in their cookpot, but I still found it odd that MSR would go to so much trouble to lighten the stove and then turn right around and wipe out all the weight savings with a heavier case.  Hunh?

The "Magic" of the Caldera Cone

(AKA, why is the Caldera Cone so efficient?)

I got a really good question in connection with my recent What "Color" is your Caldera? post. 

I was wondering about the Caldera being a cone shape. Is it for stability or other purpose ? If I take a can ( say a #10 can ) make holes up and down, and buy a pot that just fits in, will that be almost as effective as the cone ? Or is there something else I am missing?

Let's use the above question as a jumping off point for taking a look at just why the Caldera Cone stove system is so efficient.

If, as in the above question, you have a cylinder within a cylinder, there won't be any space for air to flow up the sides of the pot. Yes, the conical nature of the Caldera Cone does provide for stability, but that's not the main reason for the cone shape. The conical shape creates separation between the walls of the pot and the walls of the cone so that heated air can be directed up the sides of the pot, transferring heat to the pot as it goes. In addition, the conical shape, much like an inverted funnel, affects the air flow in such a way as to cause more efficient heat transfer. Most stove set ups just heat the bottom of the pot via the flame. The Caldera Cone makes use not only of the flame but also the heated air. This is why the Caldera Cone set up is more efficient than other stove set ups.

Take a look at this photo.

Two Caldera Cone stove systems, side by side.  Note the air vents near the top of the burner.

Notice the vents at the top of each cone.  You can't see them in this photo, but there are corresponding vents at the bottom of the cone.  Air enters at the base.  As air is heated by the burner, it flows in a controlled fashion up the sides of the pot, transferring heat as it goes through the system, exiting out of the top vents. 

This is really a brilliant design. The cone serves (at least) four purposes:
1. Entraps heat near the pot.
2. Protects against wind.
3. Controls internal air flow to maximize heat transfer.
4. Supports the pot.

Most stove set ups, if they have a good wind screen configuration, do only numbers one and two. The "magic" of the Caldera Cone is that you get all four in one neat, practical, ultralight package. The conical shape and the placement of the air vents is not random nor is it optional if you want the kind of efficiency that you can get with a Caldera Cone.

Now, if you're car camping, you could just "throw fuel at it." In other words, when car camping where you don't care that much about weight, so you could simply go with an inefficient design and just burn lots of fuel to make up for it. But if you're carrying that fuel on your back, it's a wholly different equation.  As for me, I'll take an efficient stove system like the Caldera Cone, thank you very much.

HJ

In case you missed any of the series:

• Caldera Cone Alcohol Stove Review (on Seattle Backpackers Magazine)
  
• Caldera Cone Review Supplement -- Additional Photos and Technical Appendix with Weights
  
• Caldera Cone vs. Clikstand Alcohol Stove Tests
  
• The Caldera Cone's 12-10 Burner
  
• What "Color" is your Caldera?
  
• The "Magic" of the Caldera Cone (Why is the Caldera Cone so efficient?)

What "Color" is your Caldera?

(with apologies to What Color is your Parachute?)  :)

There are a lot of options out there if you're interested in a Caldera Cone alcohol stove system.  Today, I thought I'd compare two of them.  Hopefully the comparison of these two will stimulate your thinking as to what your needs and preferences are and give you an idea of what system might be right for you.  For weights, please see Appendix "B," below.  As for why the Caldera Cone is such an efficient alcohol stove system, please see The "Magic" of the Caldera Cone.

So, let's introduce our contenders:  Caldera Cones with two different pots.  On the left we have an MSR Titan kettle, and on the right we have a BPL Firelite 550 pot.  Both cones are standard, one piece aluminum Caldera Cones.

Two Caldera Cone set ups.  Left:  An 850ml MSR Titan titanium kettle.  Right:  A 550ml BPL Firelite 550 titanium pot.

OK, so the Caldera Cone has been around for a while.  It's pretty well known.  It's a proven design; that's not at issue.  But with our two contenders, what are the differences, and why might we choose one over the other?  Let's have a look.

Here's how I normally pack them up.  The cone gets rolled and put inside a plastic container.  I'll talk more about the container options in a minute.  Also inside the container I typically put the burner, a spoon, a lighter, a bottle of alcohol, and a small measuring cup for meting out the alcohol.  The plastic container then fits inside the pot, and the pot lid is placed on top of the whole ensemble.  Everything is then placed in a stuff sack to hold everything together.  It's a nice compact package.  The height isn't significantly different, but, naturally, the smaller pot has a leaner profile.

Our Caldera Cone contenders, all packed up and ready to be slid into their stuff sacks.

Now, notice something in the above photo.  I've got a Reflectix type cozy on my plastic container on the left.  The cozy allows me to retain the heat of whatever I place inside.  My dinner stays warmer longer, and if I'm re-hydrating freeze dried food, the water stays hotter, significantly improving re-hydration.  The container is tapered such that I can keep the cozy on the container and still nest the container in the Titan kettle.  Nice.  Unfortunately, there's no way to nest the Caldera Caddy in the Firelite 550 pot with a cozy.

Let's take a little closer look at our two plastic containers.

Left:  An ordinary Ziploc storage container.  Right:  A custom "Caldera Caddy"

Say, isn't that just an ordinary Ziploc storage container on the left?  Yep.  Exactly right.  Just a few bucks for a two pack down at the grocery store.  Sweet!  Of course you have to have a little bit wider pot (like the Titan kettle) in order for the Ziploc container to nest properly.  You can't nest the Ziploc container in a tiny little pot like the BPL Firelite 550.

There is one drawback to the Ziploc type container.  The cone is taller than the container, leaving the upper edge of the cone unprotected.

My Caldera Cone is just a little bit taller than a Ziploc container.

However, the edge of the cone fits into the lid well, giving what I consider adequate protection to the cone.

The edge of a rolled Caldera Cone fits neatly into the lid of a Ziploc container

Left:  A Ziploc container with the edge of the cone inserted into the lid of the Ziploc container.  Right:  A Caldera Caddy with a rolled cone inside.  Note the space between the rolled cone and the wall of the Caldera Caddy.

A rolled cone fits well into the tapered Ziploc container. A rolled cone is a little awkward in the straight sided Cadera Caddy.  The custom Caldera Caddy does of course offer more complete protection to the cone.

Well, OK, but how are those containers to eat out of?  I mean we are going to employ those containers in a multi-use way aren't we?  Of course we are.  Why on earth would I pack an extra plate or bowl?  Let's look at the Caldera Caddy first.  It's a little tall and narrow, but...

My hand inside a Calder a Caddy

Actually, the Caldera Caddy isn't bad.  I can fit my hand fully inside which means that I can clean it adequately.  The top of the Caldera Caddy makes a nice little cup.  Of course the threads are a little hard to clean.  And, being tall, you may want to get a spoon with a little longer handle.

My normal length Sea to Summit Spoon is a little short for a Caldera Caddy.

On the other hand, I find the wider opening of the Ziploc container to be a little easier to access.  The Ziploc container isn't really all that much shorter than a Caldera Caddy, but I do find that my particular spoon works better with the Ziploc Container.

A Sea to Summit spoon inside a Ziploc container.

Note in the photo above that you can see the Reflectix cozy through the clear walls of the Ziploc container.  I pretty much just leave the cozy in place unless I'm washing the container.

A Ziploc container with a Reflectix cozy.  Note how the cozy fits into the lip under the threads of the Ziploc Container.

OK, so this is weird, but there's a lip on the Ziploc container just below the threads.  The edge of the Reflectix cozy fits perfectly into that lip.  It's almost like they were made for each other.  Note also that the threads on the Ziploc container are completely on the outside of the vessel.  Big advantage when it comes time to wash up.  The Ziploc container also comes with markings for both cups and milliliters, another advantage.

Overall, I'd have to say I prefer the Ziploc container over the Caldera Caddy even though the cone doesn't fit completely inside.  The Ziploc is easier to clean, has measurement markings, is easier to eat out of, is a better fit for a rolled cone (except the part of the cone that sticks out of the top), and mates really well with a Reflectix cozy.  The Caldera Caddy does offer better protection, and being able to use the upper portion of the Caddy as a cup is nice.

OK, so how about the practicalities of cooking?

Left:  MSR Titan kettle with 2 cups of water.  Right:  A BPL Firelite 550 with two cups of water.

Well, sort of the "standard" test for an alcohol stove is to boil two cups (approx. 500ml) of water. As you might imagine, two cups of water in a 550ml pot is a fairly tight fit.  But fit it does.  You do get a little water bubbling out of the pot when you do a two cup boil, but I didn't find this overly troublesome.

A little bit of water boils over when conducting a two cup boil with a BPL Firelite 550 pot.

I did have the stove go out once when I was doing a two cup boil and a little water bubbled over.  That's not a big deal to me with my style of cooking, but that may be of concern to some.  Of course, one could put slightly less water in the pot which would reduce the chances of a boil over.  I will say that the BPL Firelite 550 pot is well designed.  The vent in the lid of the pot releases a good deal of pressure when the water comes to a boil which reduces spill over.

The vent on a BPL Firelite 550 pot in use.

Interestingly, the set up with the BPL Firelite 550 pot usually boiled slightly faster than the set up with the MSR Titan kettle.  I'm not sure why this would be, but it consistently occurred.  The advantage was only ten to fifteen seconds per two cup boil.

Two cups of water boiling in a BPL Firelite 550 pot

Two cups of water boiling in an MSR Titan kettle.

As a purely practical matter, I happen to like the 850ml size of the Titan Kettle.  There are times when I want to be able to boil more than just two cups of water (when making noodles and wanting a hot drink at the same time for example).  For me the versatility of the 850ml size, although a little bit bulkier and a bit heavier, makes it the better choice.  Others of course will prefer the ultra light weight of something like the minimalist 550ml set up. Others still will find my 850ml preference overly confining and will want a full 1000ml capacity.  Each to his or her own.  Whatever size you choose and whatever you pack it in, rest assured that the Caldera Cone is a very good ultra light alcohol stove system.

Well, look at the time.  Time to head back down the hill and head for home.  I hope this comparative look at two Caldera Cone alcohol stove systems has been useful.

Downtown Los Angeles and the Pacific Ocean as seen from Henninger Flats, the site of today's testing.

Thanks for joining me on another Adventure in Stoving,

HJ

P.S. This blog post is part of my series on the Caldera Cone. In case you missed any of the series:

• Caldera Cone Alcohol Stove Review (on Seattle Backpackers Magazine)
  
• Caldera Cone Review Supplement -- Additional Photos and Technical Appendix with Weights
  
• Caldera Cone vs. Clikstand Alcohol Stove Tests
  
• The Caldera Cone's 12-10 Burner
  
• What "Color" is your Caldera?
  
• The "Magic" of the Caldera Cone (Why is the Caldera Cone so efficient?)

Appendix "A:"  The Trail Designs 12-10 Burner
Of course, being the hopeless stovie that I am, ;) I have to put in a comment on the excellent 12-10 burner that is the same between the various Caldera Cone set ups.

A Trail Designs 12-10 alcohol burner.

On this particular day, I did a lot of testing of not only of the Caldera Cones shown but of multiple DIY burners.  My DIY burners do fairly well in something like a Clikstand which is well aerated.  The low-oxygen interior of a Caldera Cone is different story.  My DIY burners pretty much all suck inside a Caldera Cone.  And the 12-10 burner designed for the Caldera Cone?  It burns like there was nothing to it.  Take a look at this photo.  It's a little hard to see because I'm shooting over the handles in order to get a look into the interior of the Caldera Cone, but if you look closely you can see the flames.  Efficient blue flames, flames with very little yellow.

A look into the interior of a Caldera Cone with a burn in progress.  Note the nice blue color of the flames.

I'm running on a high ethanol content alcohol blend here.  I've done a fair amount of fiddling with alcohol stoves.  Getting blue flames on a high ethanol content alcohol is no small thing. Getting them in the interior of a low oxygen environment like a Caldera Cone is whole another thing.  This is a significant accomplishment.  The more I use the 12-10 burner, the more impressed I am.  The guys over at Trail Designs really got this one right.

Appendix "B:"  Weights


  BPL Firelite 550      MSR Titan Kettle
  Lid      15g/0.53oz      37g/1.31oz
  Pot      65g/2.23oz      97g/3.42oz
Total pot  80g/2.82oz     134g/4.73oz
Container* 74g/2.61oz      55g/1.94oz
Cone       30g/1.06oz      34g/1.20oz
Stove      15g/0.53oz      15g/0.53oz
Total     199g/7.02oz     240g/8.47oz


*Container notes:  A "Caldera Caddy" was used with the BPL Firelite 550 set up.  A Ziploc storage container was used with the MSR Titan kettle set up.

Interestingly, the difference in weight between the two set ups is only 41g/1.45oz.  Some weight is saved on the Titan Kettle set up by going with the lighter weight Ziploc container instead of the heavier Caldera Caddy.  I did not include the weight of the cozy in the above figures since I wanted a 1:1 comparison.  For your reference, the cozy weighs 21g/0.74oz.

Related posts and articles:

• Getting Started with Alcohol
• DIY Alcohol Stoves -- Basic Design Considerations
• Cold Weather Tips for Alcohol Stoves
• Caldera Cone Alcohol Stove Review (on Seattle Backpackers Magazine)
• Caldera Cone Review Supplement -- Additional Photos and Technical Appendix with Weights
• The Clikstand Alcohol Stove System Review
• Caldera Cone vs. Clikstand Alcohol Stove Tests
• What "Color" is your Caldera? 
• Trangia 27 Alcohol Stove System Review
• The Caldera Cone's 12-10 Burner
• The Trangia Alcohol Burner
• What's the Best Alcohol for Stove Fuel? 
• Is Ethanol Worth It?
• Methanol/Denatured Alcohol -- Safe Handling
• Priming Alcohol Stoves
• What Is Meths?  (And how is that different than Methanol?)
• Going "Green" with Stoves:  Alcohol and Biodiesel

Priming Alcohol Stoves

"Priming" is a good technique to know about for alcohol stove users.

What is Priming?
Priming is a sort of a heat before the heat.  Basically, when you "prime" an alcohol stove, you heat the stove so that the stove will be at normal operating temperature and function properly.

Take a look at this stove.  This is a closed jet (pressurized) type alcohol stove.

A closed jet type alcohol stove.

Notice that flames are coming out of the "jets" around the rim of the stove.  Pressure inside the stove causes vaporized alcohol to stream out of the jets .  What pressurizes the stove internally?  Heat.  If you heat alcohol, it vaporizes, and that vapor pressurizes the stove.  In order for this stove to work properly, the alcohol has to be hot enough to vaporize.  How do you get the alcohol hot?  You prime the stove.

Generally the most effective way to heat the alcohol inside a stove is to light a fire underneath it.  Here's another closed jet stove.  Notice the small pan I've placed underneath the stove.  Do you see the blue flames coming out of the pan under the stove?  I'm priming the stove.

An alcohol stove being primed.  Note blue flames coming from the priming pan.

To prime the stove, I place alcohol in the priming pan.  I light the alcohol in the priming pan on fire.  I let the alcohol burn a bit, and then as the stove heats, vaporized alcohol starts coming out of the jets.  Sometimes, the alcohol coming out of the jets will ignite without further intervention.  Sometimes you have to light the alcohol coming out of the jets.

Now, with some stoves, you pretty much always have to prime them to get them to work.  The two stoves in the above photos are like that.  They really don't work until they get hot enough to vaporize the alcohol, and they really don't get hot enough to vaporize the alcohol unless you prime them.

Other stoves don't normally need priming.  Take a look at the three stoves in the photo below.  These stoves are open jet (semi-pressurized) stoves.  They will generally light right up if you light them in their center opening.

Some open jet type alcohol stoves.   This type of stove generally doesn't need priming.

Cold Weather Considerations
Now, notice that I said that open jet type alcohol stoves generally don't need priming.  When it gets cold, you may need to prime a stove that doesn't normally need priming.  Now, if you've got a little pan that your burner will fit into, then that in my opinion is optimal.  I use the lid from a tin of tea that you saw in the priming photo above.  If your stove has a cap, like a Trangia burner, then you can set the stove on the cap (remove the "O" ring first!) and use that to prime.  In my experience, using an object smaller in diameter than the burner does not work very well.  It's better to use a pan that your burner will fit into.

Left:  A Trangia burner set on top of its own lid (with the "O" ring removed!), ready for priming.  Right:  A small pan that the burner will fit into.  The small pan is a much better option for priming.

Preference Considerations
I generally prefer open jet type burners over closed jet type burners.  That's my preference.  It's not like a stove that requires priming is automatically a bad stove.  I just find that it's harder to put fuel into a closed jet burner, and to me priming is a bit of a hassle.  I haven't found that stoves that require priming are better than stoves that don't, so why go to the hassle of priming?  An open jet burner is easy fuel and easy to fire.  You just dump fuel into the wide opening and strike a match or flick your Bic.  Works for me, and that in general is my preference.  If a really great stove came along that required priming, I'd be interested in it, but somebody would have to call it to my attention. Stoves that require priming aren't an area I'm actively looking into.

Efficiency Considerations
Generally, priming is inefficient.  You're using fuel to heat the stove rather than to heat your dinner.  With a stove that requires no priming, 100% of the heat produced can go into the cooking.  Generally.  Now, of course the bottom line of efficiency is how much fuel does it take to accomplish a given cooking task, e.g. boiling two cups/500ml of water.
For example:
Stove "A" requires priming but can boil two cups of water with 0.5 fl. oz/15ml of alcohol.
Stove "B" does not require priming but takes 0.75 fl. oz/22ml to boil the same two cups of water.
Since stove "A" can accomplish the same task with less fuel, stove "A" is clearly more efficient than stove "B," priming or no priming.  The amount of cooking you can do with a given amount of fuel is the bottom line of efficiency. 

Still, as a practical matter, I have found that stoves that require priming are typically less efficient than stoves that do not require priming.  Absent more precise data, I would choose a stove that does not require priming if I were looking for an efficient stove.

HJ

Related posts and articles:

• Getting Started with Alcohol
• DIY Alcohol Stoves -- Basic Design Considerations
• Cold Weather Tips for Alcohol Stoves
• Caldera Cone Alcohol Stove Review (on Seattle Backpackers Magazine)
• Caldera Cone Review Supplement -- Additional Photos and Technical Appendix with Weights
• The Clikstand Alcohol Stove System Review
• Caldera Cone vs. Clikstand Alcohol Stove Tests
• What "Color" is your Caldera? 
• Trangia 27 Alcohol Stove System Review
• The Caldera Cone's 12-10 Burner
• The Trangia Alcohol Burner
• What's the Best Alcohol for Stove Fuel? 
• Is Ethanol Worth It?
• Methanol/Denatured Alcohol -- Safe Handling
• Priming Alcohol Stoves
• What Is Meths?  (And how is that different than Methanol?)
• Going "Green" with Stoves:  Alcohol and Biodiesel

Methanol/Denatured Alcohol -- Safe Handling

Methanol, which is what comes in a yellow bottle of HEET, is a popular fuel for alcohol stoves.  Methanol is however toxic.  Toxic as in deadly.

Denatured alcohol typically contains a lot of methanol.  For example, Klean Strip SLX Denatured Alcohol is typically about 50% methanol.  Therefore the following applies not only to just methanol but also to denatured alcohol.  Even if your brand of denatured alcohol doesn't contain a lot of methanol, the other denaturing agents can be equally toxic. 

As to dangerous amounts: 10ml pure methanol can cause blindness, 30ml can kill, but 100ml usually is required to kill.  Each bottle of HEET contains 355ml, enough to kill you three times over.  BUT don't freak out.  We're here to burn this stuff, not drink it.  Gasoline isn't particularly health friendly either, but we burn it every day in our cars.

Methanol/denatured alcohol can be used safely if used with reasonable care.  

• Methanol/denatured alcohol isn't instant death in one drop like cyanide or something, but it's best to keep it off your hands.   If you do get methanol/denatured alcohol on your hands, wipe it off.  I personally avoid getting it on my hands by using a flip top squeeze bottle. My favorite arrangement is a squeeze bottle with a Packafeather cap. I get little or no splashing and have excellent control.

Left:  A bottle of "yellow" HEET (methanol).  Right:  A squeezable bottle of denatured alcohol with the excellent Packafeather cap.

• Avoid fumes both from unburned methanol/denatured alcohol and from methanol/denatured alcohol undergoing combustion.   I burn methanol/denatured alcohol outdoors in a well ventilated area. Methanol/denatured alcohol usually burns pretty cleanly, but still, better to be careful than not.  When not in use, I keep my methanol/denatured alcohol tightly capped.

• Avoid contaminating something you might ingest.  I never stove food in the same container as methanol/denatured alcohol.

• Avoid spills.  My alcohol squeeze bottle goes inside a Ziploc bag, sometimes two, which in turn usually goes inside my cook pot.  Being inside my cook pot a) prevents accidental squeezing and b) prevents damage to the Ziplocs.   My cook pot goes into yet another Ziploc bag. The Ziploc bag my pot is in keeps soot off the pack but would also prevent any alcohol from leaking.  Of course, I always inspect my pot before cooking. I've never had a problem, but if there were any alcohol residue, I'd clean it up before using the pot.

• Never, ever, UNDER *ANY* CIRCUMSTANCES drink methanol/denatured alcohol. Ingesting it is the number one most dangerous thing you can do; all else pales by comparison. If you ingest methanol/denatured alcohol, you might very well die a very painful death. Even if you get to a hospital, your chances are NOT good from what I've read. Using drink bottles for methanol/denatured alcohol storage is not a good idea.

• In every way possible, protect children.  Every time my little daughter sees a clear bottle of alcohol, she says "water" and wants some.  She doesn't know any better.  Keep out of the reach of small children.  For older children, do everything you can to avoid confusion.  A thirsty child in the night may grab something that looks like a drink bottle and down a good slug before they realize how nasty it is.  Again, do not use drink bottles to store methanol.  It's just not a good idea.

So, be careful, but don't be intimidated.  Methanol/denatured alcohol is safe as a stove fuel if you handle it with reasonable care and store it properly.

HJ

Appendix:  Myths About Methanol

For whatever reason, there are a variety of myths out there about methanol.  These myths seem to involve methanol more so than denatured alcohol.  Such myths suggest that methanol can be used for hand washing, facial cleansing, mosquito repellant, treatment of bug bites, wound cleansing, to kill head lice, etc. Methanol is toxic and is really not suitable for any of these applications, particularly wound cleansing.  Ethanol might be appropriate for some of these applications, but methanol is not.  Bodily contact with methanol should be avoided.


Related posts and articles:

• Getting Started with Alcohol
• DIY Alcohol Stoves -- Basic Design Considerations
• Cold Weather Tips for Alcohol Stoves
• Caldera Cone Alcohol Stove Review (on Seattle Backpackers Magazine)
• Caldera Cone Review Supplement -- Additional Photos and Technical Appendix with Weights
• The Clikstand Alcohol Stove System Review
• Caldera Cone vs. Clikstand Alcohol Stove Tests
• What "Color" is your Caldera? 
• Trangia 27 Alcohol Stove System Review
• The Caldera Cone's 12-10 Burner
• The Trangia Alcohol Burner
• What's the Best Alcohol for Stove Fuel? 
• Is Ethanol Worth It?
• Methanol/Denatured Alcohol -- Safe Handling
• Priming Alcohol Stoves
• What Is Meths?  (And how is that different than Methanol?)
• Going "Green" with Stoves:  Alcohol and Biodiesel