RE: [pct-l] Homemade alcohol stove

["Mayer, Jim" <JMayer@crt.xerox.com>]

Most stoves run well with Denatured Alcohol, which is sometimes sold as
shellac thinner or alcohol stove fuel.  You ought to be able to find it at
any hardware store.  It is basically ethanol that has been polluted so you
can't drink it.  You can burn rubbing alcohol and pure ethanol as well.

I would recommend VERY STRONGLY against burning anything with petroleum
distillates (especially gasoline) in an open burner like this.  My Trangia
burner is very explicit about that, and I completely agree.

I posted details of a stove I built recently a few weeks back.  I've built
one of the designs off the web, and my current OPINION is that it isn't
necessary to emulate the little holes around the rim of the Trangia burners.
The key thing to emulate is the wick around the sides of the burner... the
wick sucks up the alcohol and allows it to vaporize, which produces a
hotter, cleaner burning, flame.  My stove just uses fiberglass insulation as
a wick, and leaves the ring open at the top.  It seems to work just fine,
and actually burns a bit hotter than my Trangia.

As I said in my original note, I haven't field tested it yet.  That will
come this spring/summer.  It seems practical to me though, and I've used the
Trangia for over a year now.

-- Jim
* From the Pacific Crest Trail Email List |  http://www.backcountry.net   *

==============================================================================