Homemade Gel Fuel

I received a wonderful gift from my sister to use her gel fuel fireplace for a while in my home.  I have secretly wanted a portable fireplace for the longest time, though I knew nearly nothing about them.

After a quick primer, I set about looking for an affordable gel fuel source and was disheartened they were so expensive, relatively speaking.  This was why my sister was willing to give it up for a while.  I experimented with some Sterno, similar to the gel fuels available- just not as high-flaming, to get a feel for the thing.  It is a bit intimidating to say the least.  However, after more research online, I found I could make my own gel fuel. All I could think was is it safe? Is it legal? Will I die trying?

I read and read and read about what the 'real' stuff was made of and realized it was the same and not any 'safer' per-se'.  I followed the directions found here. As fragile as most articles made the process sound, it actually worked exactly right the first time.  I was shocked and thrilled.

Here is what I did:
1-Rinsed and roasted 6 eggshells at 350 for 30 minutes, then pulverized in my blender
2-Added the powder to a loaf pan and added 5% vinegar to about 1/3 up the loaf pan, then stirred for a while to get the reaction going.  I did this occassionally over an hour or so. I then let it rest overnight undisturbed.  In the morning, I dehydated this in the oven at 355* for 40 min (was making breakfast at the time in the oven), then opened the door another 30 (which wasn't working as fast), then closed it another 30 minutes to concentrate it to 1/4 the original depth.  There was white crusting along the top original edge.

3-I strained this through a napkin and sifter to remove the solids and let the liquid cool for 30 min.

4-I measured this remaining liquid (1/3 c) and placed it in a plastic bowl. I measured 9 parts 91% isopropyl alcohol and added this to the bowl. I stirred and added 2 drops blue food coloring, in order to see it better in containers and for possible spills.
5-I was undecided about the safety of adding the vegetable oil yet, so I dug out my essential oils; the mixture was already gelling in the bowl. I put in 4-5 drops of cinnamon, cedarwood, and juniper, figuring that it might be enough to elicit the crackling.  It did not give off a smell, but did cover over the alcohol smell some.
6-I poured this into used sterno cans. It gelled randomly and was watery everywhere else as I was pouring. I forgot to add the salt or borax for flame color, so I just sprinkled some table salt on top and moved it a bit around with a chop stick. The mixture re-gelled in a few minutes.

6-I lit one for a test. It burned without a 'whump' and immediately with a bright white/yellow flame.  It flickered nicely and produced a 5 inch flame.  When I lit 3 in a row, it made a very nice real looking fire behind the fake log.  The flames joined over the middle and grew to 7-9 inches at times.  This was enough to convince me to leave it at 2 cans at most.  I did not burn them fully today, but they should last 2.5-3 hours.
7-after snuffing and cooling for 15 minutes, the mixture remained fluid.  I am leaving one uncovered to see if it will re-gel better covered, uncovered, or at all, after burning. Will post update next time.

Some things I will do differently:
1-add oils, color, scent immediately, then pour while liquid to set undisturbed in cans.
2-burn only 2 cans at a time for flame height/heat reasons
3-add more scent and maybe experiment with additional vegetable oil for crackle.  There was some sizzle noises 10 min into the burn.
4-definitely use a bigger snuffer- NOT the sterno covers.  I will use a large mason jar lid or purchase a sterno snuffer online.  Using plyers was awkward and I dropped the lids in the back or on the side multiple times, due to the size and heat of the flames.  NOT good in an emergency.

This product was EASY to make, just a little time consuming.  However, the store bought product retails for $3-$4 a can.  Mine cost MAYBE $1.75 for 3 cans and most items were already on hand.

NOTE: Another noteworthy product was an aeresol can of extinguisher from walmart, on same shelf as the regular red canisters. It was cheaper than buying an additional conventional extinguisher, yet it was advertised to spray longer than the 2 leading ones by almost 2/3 time.

Baby Food Maker

I had a moment of nostalgia in Walmart yesterday doing my research job. I ran across this item from Nuk that reminded me of a similar item I received when my youngest was a baby. I was just beginning to spread my wings from the uncomfortable mold that the market placed on new mothers; it stated we only had store bought options to rely on to feed our children.  If we had any doubts about the sources they used or the quality of the ingredients, our only option appeared to be to brand-hop.  I was starting to use my blender to process simple fruits and cooked vegetables on my own, but it was hard to do in smaller batches.  Not a problem though, since this was also about the time I discovered month-ahead meals anyway.  However, this little item found its way into my hands, and I was thrilled to be able to take a spoonful of whatever meal I had prepared and put it through the mill.  It was not the awful gelatinous consistency of processed baby food (how DO they get food to resemble nothing of what it once was, and look like everything else aside from color, anyway?)  It was ground, real food that I knew the origins of.  I LOVED this item and the kid did too. 

Sports equipment rentals!

I found myself at Eastern Mountain Sports in the local mall yesterday.  Over the course of conversation with the staff, I found out that they rent snowshoes ($15/day), x-country skis, tents, packs, kayaks, etc. They also have occassional excursions in regional country areas to learn how to do things like mountain climbing with guides and equipment. Now there's no excuse for you NOT to get outside, even in these temps (below 0 here) and IF you can unbury yourself, New England.  I believe other sports equipment stores may also offer similar options, if you are not in this area or cannot find an Eastern Mountain Sports near you. Give them a call first, its warmer :)

Budgeting Software

I know I mentioned this somewhere, or I meant to-silly Lyme or old age, whatever.  Anyway, I have used the same $9.99 budgeting software on clearance for $5.00 for at least 15 years.  It made it through all the computer upgrades up to Vista then wouldn't work anymore.  After hours of desperately searching for any patch, user fix, update, or new version of this software (Home Budget for Dummies by Anuman Interactive), I gave up and sadly went in search of something else to take its place. With much trepidation, I looked and tried many free online versions of budgeting software made by wonderful and generous individuals.  However, because our income fluctuates greatly with all my random jobs, I really needed (and have come to rely on) the ability to see a forecast graph to show possible red dips in our income or bills over the year.  I like to plan way ahead for gifts, trips, or high ticket repair items, and this allows me to 'dream' budget.  Beside this vital function, I also needed to be able to input my data into a monthly calendar-like format to balance bill paying dates according to that same fluctuating income.  I never knew the goldmine I was offered with my age-old software, and almost gave up the search, until I found online-based  Calendar Budget.  Needless to say, I was thrilled when it had all the same functions and more, including my oft-pined for feature of downloading bank transactions directly into the program.  I have not run into any bugs yet, except of my own making, when I re-title an expense or something sloppily. When this happens, it kindly lets me know where I went wrong and I can fix what I will inevitably do.  I have mixed feelings about it being an online-based program as opposed to housed on my computer.  Online-based allows me to login and do finances from anywhere and saves my data if my computer crashes; this is a once every 5 year issue with us. Otherwise, I am hoping my data is safe.  Since I download bank transactions to a computer, save there, then upload, I assume my actual bank info is safe.  If someone really wants to know how much I spend on groceries or gas, that point really doesn't alarm me and maybe it would induce a donation, lol.  All in all, it is a free program/service that is feature-rich and well worth recommending!

Probiotics

During Lyme treatment, I was put on an antibiotic. I am easily susceptible to yeast infections, so I started eating high quality yogurt every day. This was ok, but not enough. Hubby purchased Ultraflora for me and I took this 3 hours after the antibiotic. This was better but despite an almost gluten free diet, the yeast was still an issue. I noticed this mostly first thing in the morning, so I added a cheap version of probiotic at night as well. This worked better and I have continued this for weeks following the antibiotic to ensure a healthy repopulation of good bacteria. Using an opened capsule topically, mixed with water to a loose paste, was a great one-time alternative to the creams out there.