Gel Fireplace Substitute Fuel
by Pariah on Mar.20, 2009, under Serious
Ok, so here’s the deal, this is going to be a serious post, which is very rare from me. Don’t be shocked I’m not changing format’s or anything, just helping people out. So here’s the deal people, my mother has one of these gel fireplaces, if you don’t know what they are you can just stop reading, if you do carry on this may be helpful for you. They run off of these expensive little cans of gel that burn behind fake logs and make crackling noises like real wood, I may be wrong here but I think some are even scented. Anyway the point of this post is that my mother was looking to order some to use it at least once this year before it gets too warm. The canisters are like $60 for a box which is like 4 or more fires I think depending on how many canisters you use. In her search she stumbled upon a recipe on eBay to make her own fuel and the recipe was only $3, what a deal! So in a few days the recipe shows up and I just kinda chuckled at how she got ripped off. A little digging and I found the recipe on the web for free, now it did take a little digging and the typical user may have a little trouble finding it so I’m going to list it here as well hoping it gets out there for everyone and is easier to find. The real gel is a gelatinized isopropyl alcohol that’s all… The cheap home made recipe is just that, a $2 or less bottle of 70% isopropyl alcohol from any drugstore, or if your lucky a gallon jug can possibly be found and can save you some more money. If you have some old empty gel cans you fill them about 70% to the top, carefully put them into the fireplace and with a long match or long lighter such as a gas grill lighter light the canister. Make sure none of the liquid spilled down the side of the canister before lighting, if so clean if up first. To get the crackling noise you can add some wax filings to the canister as well using a knife or a grater to shave off some wax filings and ad some to the mixture before lighting. You can experiment with how much wax makes the amount of “wood crackling” sounds that you prefer. I take no responsibility for the outcome of this substitute use, I’m just helping to spread the word and save you your hard earned money from people trying to make a quick buck selling a piece of paper or email on ebay.
September 8th, 2009 on 11:16 am
Hi,
Have 2 gel fuel fireplaces and needless to say finding gel fuel in Canada is impossible. Ordering from the US along with over the border shipping…..way too expensive.
Going out to buy a case of rubbing alcohol and some candles.
Do you know how they make it gelatinized? Do you think Cetra powder would work, the stuff they use to make jam jelly or how about jello powder itself?
I was told not to use vasoline which was my first initial thought to turn the liquid into a more jelly like substance.
Thanks in advance!
September 8th, 2009 on 3:49 pm
I’m reading a lot that people are using this method and it works great but I just looked a bit for a way to thicken it and haven’t seen anything, no one seems to have bothered, if your going to try I’d just suggest lighting them outside to see if the thickeners change the flame height, smell, or CO output. When my mother bought the recipe I was actually thinking of trying the gelatin powder as you mentioned, not much just enough to make it a bit easier to move it around.
February 18th, 2010 on 6:11 am
I’m wondering the same. I hate the way the “Real Fire” smells. As far as the crackling… I could care less. lol
December 9th, 2009 on 5:20 pm
Does anyone know if this lasts as long as the normal gel cans or if it smells more or less?
September 12th, 2010 on 9:11 pm
Preparing for the long, cold Michigan winter, I have been doing some experimenting along these lines.
During the 1890′s Germany had a surplus of denatured alcohol, and a shortage of coal. Useful for heating, it was poor at providing light to read by, until it was doctored with a dash of turpentine!
This makes a brilliant white light.
In my fireplace, I use 16 oz aluminum cone-top beer cans with a wick made from cotton kitchen twine punched through the screw-on lid. The idea of open tins of flaming alcohol makes me nervous.
I find that a 3/4″ width wick works well. Just wrap a pot or something with the string, slide it off, tie it up to make a ‘rope’, and voila!
For a more yellow flame, add ordinary table salt to the alcohol, but the turps adds just a hint of ‘pine’ that is very pleasant.
Best wishes!
September 12th, 2010 on 9:25 pm
P.S. Tiki torch wicks work fine, and a soda or beer can, neatly cut in half with old scissors makes a perfect snuffer/lid so your alcohol doesn’t evaporate!
Just be sure to put a tiny pinhole in it to prevent the suction from making it too hard to remove!
December 28th, 2010 on 12:52 am
Did a lot of digging on this topic and found that to thicken alcohol various forms are used, however, isopropyl alcohol is one of the main ingredients. The higher the alcohol content the cleaner it will burn(93%)or higher. Grain alcohols or denatured alcohol can be used as well. Anyway to turn it to a gel use a mixture of carbomer 940, a nuetralizing agent and glycerin. The crackling effect can also be achieved by adding a small amount of vegetable oil. Denatured alcohol (kleenstrip SLX ) may be used indoors and is safer because it may be extinguished with water.the only drawbacks are it’s a little more expensive and the flames are more blue in color and it is extremely flammable and poisonous if ingested (not kid or pet friendly).