[pct-l] Confessions of an alcohol burner

[goforth at cio.net (J. Lennox)]

I did not catch any flack.  

What I found so amazing was the pyrotechnics that resulted from less than 1/2 tablespoon of fuel, and that the lite droplets spread over such a large area.  And I had  such a long history of careful use of this stove, and the ones that preceeded it for 30 years. 

Vigilance, ever the vanguard of saftey.

Joanne


  From: ROYROBIN@aol.com 
  To: goforth@cio.net ; PCT-L@backcountry.net 
  Sent: Tuesday, February 17, 2004 8:13 PM
  Subject: Re: [pct-l] Confessions of an alcohol burner


  Goforth, I hope you didn't catch too much flack for pointing out that any stoves can be dangerous when people don't pay attention to business.  Thanks for the heads-up!    

  Any fuel that is contained under pressure can be explosive.  On that basis, gas and canister stoves would be more hazardous than alcohol stoves.  Some of these have a warning against being used with a windscreen.  

  A Trangia-type alcohol stove (soda can, photon, etc.) may not be quite as safe as a flow-through stove like the CatStove.  Any of these, though, are great scout projects and a lot safer than a gas stove in the hands of kids.  

  The solid-fuel stoves like the Esbit are probably the safest of all, unless you choose to eat cold.              
  _____


    I have always considered the alcohol stove design to be the safest and the
    fuel to be the least difficult to carry, use and handle.  I thought that
    alcohol was a non explosive fuel.