Hi again Jacquie,

These photos might help with the explanation about the pot cozy and the extra lid.

I've been thinking of getting the multidisk accessory and this might clinch it.  Unfortunately, while it's available in Canada, the only vendor I've found is in Ontario and charges more for the shipping than for the item itself.

I'll continue looking for a multidisk and order the materials to make a cozy, something I've been considering for some time.  Yours is the first example I've seen of one to fit a Trangia pot.

Jacquie, was this your Ontario supplier? -- https://www.canadianoutdoorequ... 

This is where  bought my stove.  Fair range of options there, but not being right up to date on the various components & systems, I'm not sure if this includes what you need.

Yeah, they have it for $11.50 but the shipping is $13.  That bugs me.  Last time I ordered from them I got Trangia fuel bottles and just added a little bottle of soap to bring me to the free shipping amount.  I don't want to do that this time because I really don't need anything else.

Graham, you should start your own cooking channel.  It all looks delicious.

As a retiree from a big paint company, it's hard to imagine you can't find the fuel at a paint store.  Twenty years ago we had 55-gallon drums of the stuff, but solvent based products were starting to be phased out even before I retired.  I think water-based alternatives are a good thing, but until they develop a water-based stove fuel, it's not a good thing for bike tourists.  If you have a commercial paint supplier that specializes in chemical coatings in your area, you might want to try them.

Wretched arithmetic, for sure.

Is eBay in the States an option, I wonder?  From that source I bought a spiffy "Mojo" alloy triangular stand for my stove.  Made by a chap in Ohio, it's a nice little three-piece-slot-and-hook-together item.  Mind you, since USPS jacked up their rates to Canada, there are fewer bargains available there.

Graham, following up on Gregory's post, do you have access to a chandler or a marina?  I know you're not near the coast, but boats use alcohol stoves.  

[ I nearly suggested, "Why not try gas-line anti-freeze?" but then realized that This Is Not A Good Time For Bad Jokes ;-) ]

Thanks Greg. I did eventually buy a 750ml bottle of no-brand meths from a suburban convenience store and it’s burning ok in the Trangia. 

I only went to one paint store and that was a sombre experience. They had bollards and tape to shepherd customers in one direction well apart from each other, and metres  away from staff.   When I asked the checkout guy about methylated spirits his head dropped forlornly and apologetically replied in a hushed tone, “Not even our wholesale supplier knows when they are getting a next shipment.”

I noticed they had plenty of kerosene, turpentine and shellite (high quality unleaded gasoline), so multi-fuel stove (MSR, Optimus types) users would be camp cooking with glee. I still have my vintage brass 1980 SVEA petrol camp stove as a back up. The chuffer. It’s a bit like a reusable Molotov cocktail bomb. It adds flaming excitement to meal times. 

That’s a good suggestion John. Two of my neighbours are boaties, they’d probably have some if I needed more. I have enough fuel for the time being, and I’m only doing the Trangia cooking for fun and practice.

If I was totally out of Trangia fuel on tour, my back up would be a twig burner. I have a few different types of lightweight stoves which burn small sticks. Boiling water with them is easy, but controlling their heat output for more subtle cooking takes practice.  That can be my COVID19 social isolation challenge next week. Gourmet camp cooking on a stick stove. 

The substitute for ethanol alcohol is methanol (the denaturing agent in most alcohol stove fuels). Methanol is sometimes referred to as wood alcohol and while it can be fermented naturally it is almost entirely made from petroleum stocks.  In the USA it is widely sold under the brand name “Yellow HEET”. It is sold to deice fuel lines and remove water from gasoline. In Canada it is even more ubiquitous and is typically sold in 375ml black bottles. It can be purchased from paint stores at shellac thinner.

I've used HEET many times on the road when I couldn’t find ethanol. It only has about 90% of the energy density of ethanol but it does burn cleanly. As mentioned before it is toxic if ingested or absorbed through the skin so some caution is recommended.