> we've been using methyl alcohol sold as gas line anti-freeze.

I've never heard of such a thing.  And here I was, considering a move 
to Canada.  Forget it, buddy.  :-)

Yellow may also signal the presence of sodium, which can be added 
to impart a visible flame, as a safety precaution.  Adding a pinch of 
baking baking soda to your meths bottle can preclude paint or bodily 
damage due to invisible spill fires.  From what I've heard, this practice 
doesn't affect the performance of the alcohol.  So, that yellow flame 
may not be "bad" impurities, but "good" impurities.

But we were talking about methylated (denatured) ethyl alcohol, right?  
Methyl alcohol is pretty nasty stuff, from what I'm told, and it's difficult 
to buy over-the-counter here due to its noxious properties.

regards,
  -vance-

Vance Bass                
Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA
Small-scale live steam resources: http://www.nmia.com/~vrbass
 

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