[pct-l] Denatured alcohol...

[AsABat]

I've played with snuffing out an alcohol stove (in a fire pit in my back
yard). It can be done, but isn't always easy.

First, laying something on top may or may not work depending on the
design of the stove. Some have holes that are still exposed.

Covering it with an upside-down pot works eventually, after all the air
in the pot is burned. That can take longer than you think. Still, the
pot has to seal at the ground, which works in soft soil but not so well
on hard uneven soil.

Even if an upside-down pot worked, most hikers only have one pot - the
one on the stove with their dinner in it. I suppose toss the dinner on
the ground and put out the stove, but then there's the bears <grin>.

Water might work, if enough water can be used without splattering the
burning fuel into the grass.

Besides the less-visible flame, alcohol stoves typically have a variable
flame length, slow to start, then flaring high until the stove warms up,
then settling down. OTOH, some white gas stoves that need priming can do
the same. The difference is they can be quickly shut down if it
threatens to be a problem.

The bottom line is a clear area 10-feet MINIMUM in diameter. Clearing
grass is not good environmentally, so a natural clearing is preferred -
an existing fire ring, a sandy area, a large flat rock outcropping.

Whatever, but be safe.

AsABat


> -----Original Message-----
> I don't follow that, you can always snuff out an alcohol stove.