Sterno Cans: Storage, Use and So On

[Atlas]

Something I only recently thought of to store: Sterno or any other brand of alcohol fuel. Small, portable, fairly light and can heat up food in case of an issue. I originally inherited a bunch from my friend who moved and was cleaning out his camping stuff. Put it away and didn't think about it until I moved myself and dug them out. Bought another 20 cans at a thrift store recently.

Now, storage. I originally had them in a medium sized wooden crate, but moved them into large ammo boxes. I guess my thought process here is that wood burns and putting something flammable in it is a bad idea. Plus, ammo boxes are fairly easy to carry, store and transport. Anyone have any input on this?

And expiration. I can't find ANY "best if used by" dates on either of the two brands I have, so I assume they last pretty much forever?

 

[ClydeB]

Not sure there is an expiration date on Sterno. Though I have seen really old ones that have dried up and not usable if it wasn't sealed properly. I suppose you could revive old dried up ones by reintroducing some alcohol to the can. Supposedly the ingredients are just calcium acetate and some type of alcohol. There's details about Sterno here if you are curious.
Zen Gelled Alcohol Stoves - Sterno-like Stoves

Far as storage? Couldn't say whats best long as they are sitting upright. I've got mine still in their cardboard wrapper inside a plastic grocery bag on a plywood shelf in my garage.

 

[Hajisc]

Sternly is good for keeping food warm but heating up cold food you need a very thin container. It's not a real intense/flame and takes a long time to heat up cold food.
Adding alcohol and stirring well will bring it back .

 

[HeadlessRoland]

Why couldn't these be stored on their side? So long as there's a tight seal and you give it time to re-settle after storage, I'm not seeing why you couldn't stack them upside-down.

 

[ClydeB]

Why couldn't these be stored on their side? So long as there's a tight seal and you give it time to re-settle after storage, I'm not seeing why you couldn't stack them upside-down.

"So long as there's a tight seal" is the key phrase. If you have a seal failure, would you rather the alcohol evaporate in the tin? Or run out and over anything below it?