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For my Trangia stove, I usually use denatured alcohol / ethanol / methyl alcohol. Bringing methyl alcohol into Russia is apparently prohibited, and bringing ethanol is subject to a 22€/litre duty. I've understood that actually finding спирт, as it's apparently called in Russian, is potentially very difficult, according to sources (1), (2), (3), (4). One of those sources recommends an industrial site near Moscow and to pay the guard a bit of money for him to get some methyl alcohol...

Where specifically can I find fuel for my Trangia stove in Russia? I will have almost a day in Moscow before I head north to Inta prior to my hike. I've heard they might sell it at the аптека, perhaps in 100 mL bottles. But I'm also told it should be sold at camping stores. Where can I find a fuel that will be suitable for my stove?

(I will be taking the train, so aviation limitations are not relevant in my case)

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    Just a comment because of no actual experience, but this popped up during my search: themoscowtimes.com/2016/10/04/…
    – Jasper
    Jun 23, 2019 at 20:53
  • @Jasper unfortunately 70% isn't suitable for a Trangia. It's probably strong enough to burn, but the heat output will be heavily reduced -- not only from the lower alcohol concentration, but from the fact that much of the heat will be wasted heating and evaporating the water. And the burnt sugar/flavouring residues won't do the stove any good. However, it might be worth looking for 95% drinking alcohol (rectified spirits) in shops as a fallback option: probably very expensive compared to denatured alcohol, but still likely to be less than €22 / litre.
    – Pont
    Jun 24, 2019 at 7:23
  • @Pont Also less than the €4 / 100 mL that it might apparently cost at the аптека.
    – gerrit
    Jun 24, 2019 at 9:47
  • Why the downvotes?
    – gerrit
    Jun 25, 2019 at 22:39

1 Answer 1

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Alternative answer in case you can't reliably come up with a good fuel solution: buy an alternative burner for your Trangia stove.

If finding ethanol fuel is too much of a hassle it might be worth considering buying a gas burner for the Trangia stove you already have.

See for example here on the Trangia home page.

These burners can be used interchangeably with all modern Trangia stoves, so you could leave the ethanol burner at home and only pack the gas one for this trip.

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  • Ah, interesting! Less hassle than buying an entirely new stove (and learning to use it).
    – gerrit
    Jun 24, 2019 at 13:03
  • And you won't have to leave the beloved Trangia at home. :) (I know I wouldn't...)
    – fgysin
    Jun 24, 2019 at 13:04
  • Looks as though there's also an MSR-style Trangia multifuel burner (PDF link) which can handle petrol, diesel, and kerosene.
    – Pont
    Jun 24, 2019 at 13:26
  • @Pont I saw that they have spirit, gas, multifuel, and gel burners — I will research the pros and cons of each (I think gas should be easily available in Russia, as of course petrol and diesel)
    – gerrit
    Jun 24, 2019 at 21:24
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    I was very happy with my Trangia gas burner, and finding gas is no problem in Russia. The gas burner has significant advantages to the ethanol burner and I will use it as my preferred burner from now on.
    – gerrit
    Jul 22, 2020 at 7:21

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