tiki torch alternative fuel ideas

With the cost of common citronella-scented tiki torch oil close to $10/gal (up almost 4 bucks since last spring)... I was wondering if anyone has had success with any less costly fuel alternatives.

you may want to consider cutting back on using those torches as frequently as you do......you don't have to light them every night :)

and face the wrath of the gods?... not on your life. the torches must be lit. perhaps I will cut back on the quantity lit however and see how that goes over. still... there has to be a lower cost fuel alternative out there. my inner tiki tells me so.

Maybe you can make "Bio-Tiki Fuel" out of used Chinese Restaurant fryer oil and leftover bacon grease :lol:

http://www.buytikitorches.com/category/tiki-torches-oil

Check prices for kerosene.
Another possibility is low odor mineral spirits (paint thinner), from Home Depot, Walmart, etc. Burns very clean:
Kerosene Lamp info
Also, Jet A fuel, for about $4/gal.
Low sulfur diesel would work, but I'd just get a small amount and test it in one torch, to see if it's too smokey or smelly for your purposes.

Start shopping for torch fuel in August as the stores start to put in "back to school" merchandise. That is when garden/patio supply goes 50%-75% off. Tiki is a seasonal sale for major retail outlets.

The stores know that no one lights tiki torches after Labor Day. :)

On 2009-05-05 05:52, MadDogMike wrote:
Maybe you can make "Bio-Tiki Fuel" out of used Chinese Restaurant fryer oil and leftover bacon grease :lol:

I think you're onto something , Mike...
We could use BioWillie in our torches:

"BioWillie brand biodiesel has a similar operating performance to regular diesel yet burns with a natural vegetable aroma -- without the familiar black soot and smoke. Some even say the exhaust smells like french fries!"

"The rum's the thing..."

[ Edited by: Limbo Lizard 2012-11-07 07:02 ]

Anyone know how to make 'em smell like bacon...? Yum.

I do like the "veggie-fuel" direction, tho. Wondering seriously (or as serious as I can be) if there's any possibility "scenting" 'em so they don't smell like french fries. (We already have all the wildlife we need at our BBQs -- the generous aroma of french fries would just lure more of the uninvited kind, possibly including extra neighbors, to the Cosmic Tiki Hut here.)

There may be a real market for this idea... I love me torches, but when the breeze turns impish they sure smell like a bus. Any alternative that's cleaner, cheaper, and still keeps "The Marabunta" at bay would be welcome indeed...!

As I expected of this fine tiki nation... a plethora of excellent concepts & ideas.

MadDogMike and his Bio-Tiki concept is brilliant.

I think this tiki fuel thing is a very un-done topic & deserves the attention of our best tiki minds.

Like many in the tiki clan I light my torches every night... so I'm sure I am not alone at feeling the pinch of high tiki oil prices.

Mahalo for all the aiwaiwa ideas. Keep em' coming.

http://sandiego.craigslist.org/nsd/grd/1155534401.html

When you call, ask if they have any vintage tiki mugs too.
Buzzy Out!

BioTiki Fuel. Ah ha, you guys are speaking my language here! So, 100% veg oil from my local taco shack does not burn so hot in the torch. It just fried my wick... no pun intended. If you mix half used veg oil with torch fuel, it does burn and gives off a nice smell. Depending on how thick the used veg oil is from your local fryer, you may need to mix more torch fuel, diesel, or kerosene.

Also, if you are lacquering, or staining, the best paint thinner for cleaning those brushes is veg oil. Since I have a ready supply of used veg oil left overs from my car, I've been trying it on everything. I've even stained a few tikis with it.

I've also mixed rubbing alcohol with the used veg oil and that works. I use the rubbing alcohol for my volcanos. They burn for about an hour with 90 proof rubbing alcohol and a little longer if I mix in veg oil.

Hey Tony, I know some of the guys out in Indo soak their carvings in baths of Veg oil, once fully penetrated, no more cracking.

Seeing the interest in alternative fuels.... Loving this new Green Organic Sustainable Lamp oil for tiki torches and lamps from Firefly Fuels its the Firefly SAFE & GREEN Eco-Friendly Lamp Oil & Tiki Torch Fuel Check it out!! http://www.fireflyfuel.com

Amazing timing on this thread!

I've been researching how to light up our yard at night. I LOVE tiki torches - but I'm not a fan of a) the fuel, b) having to light them, and c) the fire hazard (I'm thinking propane gas type - I know they are safe - but I don't want anyone getting silly and then getting burned). I've opted to setup a bunch of simulated flames around the yard using a little microprocessor board, some LEDs, and code from here:
http://www.instructables.com/id/Realistic-Fire-Effect-with-Arduino-and-LEDs/

I like this because I can make mysterious blue, green, and purple flames as well. I'm planning on housing the LEDs some old lanterns and runway lights I've collected. Will post pics when done (someday). I plan on setting the whole thing up to run on solar, with a photocell that turns them off and on automatically.

Henrik "VanTiki"

I have a friend who makes large amounts of bio-diesel from waste oil at home. He started out making small batches in 2 liter soda bottles for his garden tractor, using a formula that is everywhere on the internet (search: 2 liter bio-diesel). You could use this to make torch fuel from vegetable oil too. You add oil, methanol and Lye (sodium hydroxide) to a soda bottle and shake it up, then allow it to separate a few days and then pour off the fuel from a thick sludge in the bottle bottom composed mostly of glycerine that is a byproduct of turning waste oil into fuel.

P.S. It does smell like fries only because fries smell like burning vegetable oil. Which is much better than that stuck behind a bus smell perfuming your tiki bar.

Hello! My name is Carl and I joined this forum just to post this pic. Frankly you may be the only people on the planet that care :)

On the left, store bought tiki fuel, about $10/gal
In the middle, paint thinner, about $8/gal
On the right, diesel fuel, about $4/gal or free from work :wink:

All the wicks were trimmed and set to a measured length. Notice the smoke is virtually identical. Yes, the diesel had a smaller flame. No noticeably different odor. One could add citronella oil, about $2/oz.

Anybody want to compare the MPG (minutes per gal) for each? :o

CS
Chino Hills, CA

[ Edited by: carlsharp 2012-11-12 18:15 ]

Welcome Carl, I noticed you didn't try gasoline :lol:

Gasoline is way to volatile for the application. How fun would that be when the torch is almost empty. The wick becomes a fuse. :o
Before engines gasoline was a waste product that had to be discarded, and this was in a world lit by wick lamps. I considered Coleman Camp Fuel but at $13/gal it was out of the running.

[ Edited by: carlsharp 2012-11-12 18:18 ]

First, BRAVO and THANKS to you, Carl, for conducting tests and sharing here!

Second, I can share that I also looked around at fuel alternatives last summer and then tried using kerosene because Tiki Torch brand fuel is relatively expensive and kerosene is inexpensive and readily available all over the place here in Florida. It worked very well, I don't think the flame was any different than with other fuels. I need to do a side-by-side test with kerosene, Tiki fuel, and now diesel too.

I do A LOT of fire pit nights here with cocktails, and I like to use flames from torches for subtle area lighting. After I successfully tested the kerosene in tiki torches I ended up finding "railroad-style" kerosene lanterns at Wally World in the camping section of the store for less than $5 each (choice of blue or red, heh...) and bought three. They have a nice wind-shielding glass which is removable and washable, and they generate quite a bit of light. Not tropical or tiki at all, but definitely practical, and you COULD remove the glass and metal upper structure for a minimalist-sort-of open flame. And replacement wicks are cheap and readily available at Wally World.

I found that kerosene is very inexpensive and safe, and I found that it is also an excellent fire starter for my fire pit with low volatility. I use plastic pint bottles (with the pointy "squirt spouts" from local beauty supply stores) to re-fuel my torches and lanterns, and also to gently light my fire pit. Kerosene does not light quickly -- no "whoosh" and burned hair if you know what I mean -- it's my gentle fire-starting friend.

There's nothing like the light from flickering flames, wide-open night skies, good friends, and cocktails.

I thought of Kerosene but did not have any on hand. Also, here on the left coast it's about $11/gal at the hardware store, with no easily found bulk source.

Yikes, $11/gallon for kerosene? Out here it's about the same price as a gallon of gas. People use it for utility heating in workshops, garages, barns, etc. when it gets super cold. About 1 in 10 gas stations has a gas pump set off to the side that's used for nothing but bulk kerosene purchases.

I'm considering trying kerosene or diesel. But I'm wondering how much citronella should be added per gallon?

I wouldn't worry about citronella - that is only to repel mosquitoes, which it doesn't do especially well, except when dead calm. Use another more effective way to deal with skeeters, if necessary. I'd just go with plain kerosene or low-sulfur diesel. Oh, and do NOT use Coleman fuel for tiki lamps. Not only is it expensive, it's white gasoline, so... BOOM!

The best way to deal with mosquitoes is with a large area fan. Doesn't have to be fast, just enough to cover a large area. Mosquitoes are not strong flyers.

Tangential to the green and diesel fuel discussions, it seems the engineers have hit upon an ideal soot-generating device to assist in their research to cut emissions from diesel engines - tiki torches.
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/07/180728084149.htm

I too stock up after labor day. Sometimes 70 percent off.
Cheers

I posted earlier in the marketplace that Dollar General had their tiki torches marked down by 50%. In going to go back tomorrow and see if the fuel is also on clearance.

I'll let you all know what I find, since Dollar General stores are becoming quite common in certain parts of the country.

UPDATE - Tiki brand products are no longer on clearance at DG. :(

Cheers,

Jeff

[ Edited by: tikitube 2018-08-07 09:43 ]