When a collapse occurs, chances are that we will need to bug out and live off the land. This is when having a fire to help us stay warm and to cook our food is key to our survival. One of the best things we can have with us is plenty of gel fuel. This is why knowing how to make our own and adding it to our supplies just might be the most important skill we have for our survival!
How to Make Gel Fuel with Soy Wax
If you choose to use the soy wax, just follow some simply steps:
Melt 6 ounces of soy wax in a pan.
Add 1/2 cup 70-99% isopropyl alcohol (higher percentage is better if you can find it) and stir until completely combined.
Pour the mixture into 6 soup cans or pet food cans until they’re about 3/4 of the way full then add a wick that goes to the bottom of the gel fuel.
Cool in the fridge for several hours or overnight, and then it’s ready to use.
If you’d rather store in quantity, you can put it in gallon jugs. Just make sure that you label it well so that nobody mistakes it for water or something else and store it away from children and pets.
How To Make Gel Fuel With Calcium Acetate:
Making calcium acetate at home: You’ll need crushed chalk (calcium carbonate) and white vinegar (acetic acid). Combine 4 parts vinegar to 1 part chalk and the result will be carbon dioxide, which will evaporate, and calcium acetate and water, both of which will remain. This process smells like rotten eggs, just so you know.
You’ll be left with a solid on the bottom and a liquid on the top. It’s the solid that you want, though you’ll need some of the liquid to make the gel. You’ll need to evaporate 1/2-2/3 of the water out of the solution.
You can do it by placing the solution in the oven for a few hours, sitting it in the sun, or carefully evaporating it on “low” on the stove top. You can also strain it using a cheesecloth or coffee filter.
Making the gel fuel: Combine 9 parts isopropyl alcohol and 1 part calcium acetate.
Stir together and it will instantly begin to gel. Put it in the empty soup cans as described above. Add some water in if you’re using solid calcium acetate that you bought. The ratio, regardless of whether you’re making your own or adding water to store-bought, is about 1 part water to 3 parts calcium acetate.
These are two easy ways to make plenty of gel fuel at home. The methods don't require that many ingredients and you can store it fairly easily. It is important to label it well after you make it so that you know right where it is and can get to it quickly when you need it. You will want to make as much of this as you can because you never know how much you might need it when SHTF!
To find out more about making your own gel fuel, please visit The Prepper Dome.
How to Make Gel Fuel with Soy Wax
If you choose to use the soy wax, just follow some simply steps:
Melt 6 ounces of soy wax in a pan.
Add 1/2 cup 70-99% isopropyl alcohol (higher percentage is better if you can find it) and stir until completely combined.
Pour the mixture into 6 soup cans or pet food cans until they’re about 3/4 of the way full then add a wick that goes to the bottom of the gel fuel.
Cool in the fridge for several hours or overnight, and then it’s ready to use.
If you’d rather store in quantity, you can put it in gallon jugs. Just make sure that you label it well so that nobody mistakes it for water or something else and store it away from children and pets.
How To Make Gel Fuel With Calcium Acetate:
Making calcium acetate at home: You’ll need crushed chalk (calcium carbonate) and white vinegar (acetic acid). Combine 4 parts vinegar to 1 part chalk and the result will be carbon dioxide, which will evaporate, and calcium acetate and water, both of which will remain. This process smells like rotten eggs, just so you know.
You’ll be left with a solid on the bottom and a liquid on the top. It’s the solid that you want, though you’ll need some of the liquid to make the gel. You’ll need to evaporate 1/2-2/3 of the water out of the solution.
You can do it by placing the solution in the oven for a few hours, sitting it in the sun, or carefully evaporating it on “low” on the stove top. You can also strain it using a cheesecloth or coffee filter.
Making the gel fuel: Combine 9 parts isopropyl alcohol and 1 part calcium acetate.
Stir together and it will instantly begin to gel. Put it in the empty soup cans as described above. Add some water in if you’re using solid calcium acetate that you bought. The ratio, regardless of whether you’re making your own or adding water to store-bought, is about 1 part water to 3 parts calcium acetate.
These are two easy ways to make plenty of gel fuel at home. The methods don’t require that many ingredients and you can store it fairly easily. It is important to label it well after you make it so that you know right where it is and can get to it quickly when you need it. You will want to make as much of this as you can because you never know how much you might need it when SHTF!
How to Make Gel Fuel with Soy Wax
If you choose to use the soy wax, just follow some simply steps:
Melt 6 ounces of soy wax in a pan.
Add 1/2 cup 70-99% isopropyl alcohol (higher percentage is better if you can find it) and stir until completely combined.
Pour the mixture into 6 soup cans or pet food cans until they’re about 3/4 of the way full then add a wick that goes to the bottom of the gel fuel.
Cool in the fridge for several hours or overnight, and then it’s ready to use.
If you’d rather store in quantity, you can put it in gallon jugs. Just make sure that you label it well so that nobody mistakes it for water or something else and store it away from children and pets.
How To Make Gel Fuel With Calcium Acetate:
Making calcium acetate at home: You’ll need crushed chalk (calcium carbonate) and white vinegar (acetic acid). Combine 4 parts vinegar to 1 part chalk and the result will be carbon dioxide, which will evaporate, and calcium acetate and water, both of which will remain. This process smells like rotten eggs, just so you know.
You’ll be left with a solid on the bottom and a liquid on the top. It’s the solid that you want, though you’ll need some of the liquid to make the gel. You’ll need to evaporate 1/2-2/3 of the water out of the solution.
You can do it by placing the solution in the oven for a few hours, sitting it in the sun, or carefully evaporating it on “low” on the stove top. You can also strain it using a cheesecloth or coffee filter.
Making the gel fuel: Combine 9 parts isopropyl alcohol and 1 part calcium acetate.
Stir together and it will instantly begin to gel. Put it in the empty soup cans as described above. Add some water in if you’re using solid calcium acetate that you bought. The ratio, regardless of whether you’re making your own or adding water to store-bought, is about 1 part water to 3 parts calcium acetate.
Corey Canna Millard
Raven Arnold
The basic concept here is a flammable, volatile compound suspended or standardized into a semi solid.
In this case, they’ve made an isopropyl “candle” with soy wax, and they’ve gelled isopropyl with a soft of gelatine.
There are other ways you can do this. Any acetone or similar solvent based compound will usually dissolve styrofoam or other polymer plastics. You can use nail polish or gasoline with styrofoam blocks or cups, or denatured alcohol with something like a red Dixie cup, to get something kind of like napalm.
You can also use straight up Jell-O and turpentine (or gelatine, if you want to be a spoil sport).
With this kind of thing in mind, consider the calcium acetatate method. The calcium and water and hydrogen gel out (don’t know the exact chemistry of it) and leave you with something similar to an acetone suspension.
Long story short:
solvent +polymer –> semi-gel
Volitile fuel + semi-inert wax -> hard gel (candle)
Diluted fuels (like alcohols, or products of chemical reactions) + gelling agent like gelatine, pectin, calcium acetate -> jiggle gelly fuel
I love how they say never ending supply, you still have to be able to make or get the constituent components