I was calling around for prices on denatured alcohol and one place told me that ethanol was just about the same thing. They said that a little gas is added to make it undrinkable. Does this sound correct? Can I use ethanol in place of the denatured alcohol? Thanks
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Denatured_alcohol
Can you make heads or tails from this mess?
I think Old Fart mentioned getting DA cheap through an LP distributor. I went to our local LP gas filler-upper and asked but they have a service that comes and cleans their tanks. So for now, I was unable to track a cheaper source down.
How much of this stuff do you need? I go thru 3-6 gallons a year. Granted I don't do as much fish as you though. Funny thing is my local mom and pop hardware store stocks it (their own brand) about $3-$4 bucks CHEAPER per gallon than the big boxes! Same with acetone and laquer thinner. Just goes to show you always need to shop around.
George would probably know the differences. After all, he was around when alcohol was INVENTED - lol!
I suppose if I was a scientist it would all make sense to me but I am a lowly taxidermist,LOL. Thanks for the direction though. Boy, you are correct in that shopping around pays off. I was not able to be as fortunate as old fart in finding an LP supplier who uses it BUT there is a place here in town that has a truck load full of it and the guy says he'll GIVE me 10 gallons free. WOOHOO! I told him I'd bring some venny sausage for being such a nice guy. HEY...maybe the guy would like some geese breasts too... eh? LOL!
Ethanol is the stuff you can drink, made undrinkable by the addition of some nasty denaturing agent. Not necessarily gasoline, and probably not gasoline. Methanol is also known as wood alcohol and works well if you can get it cheaper. Methanol is already poisonous as in very much so, so it is not "denatured." Check around. It is just as good and may well be cheaper.
...That we use in the taxidermy business is mostly methyl alcohol(methanol) not the denatured form of ethanol(ethyl or grain alcohol) that's the alcohol of "adult beverages". Methanol is an industrial use alcohol.
If your LP dealer can't supply you, try a petroleum distributer that supplies garages, mechanics and distributes home heating oil(fuel oil). I used to get 55 gal. drums from a Phillips distributer for about $1.50 a gallon, but there was also a drum deposit that I had to pay on the drum(refunded when the drum was returned). It's just easier to get it from my LP dealer and I don't have the evaporation loss that I think I had when I kept the 55 gallon drum around for over a year. A five gallon sealed container will last several months in my shop.
Marc , you can get denatured alcohol at any hardware store including Home depot and Lowes . Its cheap enough so I cant understand why would making phone calls . Rick
as long as I can remember I have obsessed with getting what I need as cheap as possible. Maybe it's from comming from such a large family or maybe it's just being too conservative with my cash.LOL I will have several containers with fish soaking all at one time. This is the reason I seek quantity. This way,there will be little chance of any mix up with the skins. Thanks Old Fart...That's actually where I will be getting my supply from, a petroleum distributor.