When a guy named Blast tells you NOT to do something you need to listen.

DO NOT USE COLEMAN FUEL/GASOLINE/KEROSINE/ETC IN AN ALCOHOL STOVE!!!!

The burn characteristics between alcohol fuels and those long-chain carbon fuels are very different. Use of them in an alcohol stove will result in 5-foot tall flames if you are lucky and an explosion if you are not. The non-alcohol fuels burn significantly hotter than alcohols and the resulting higher heat results in faster volitilization of the fuels which results in even higher heat which results in BOOM!!

Which, to be honest is really cool if you are prepared for it.

An aluminum popcan stove will quickly melt spilling burning fuel everywhere. A brass Triange will first turn into a blowtorch and then explode. I'm not sure what a titanium stove will do but I suspect it'll explode before it melts.

-Blast

NO not unless you have a death wish.

There are two kinds of HEET gas additive that are alcohol. One works better than the other. Perhaps someone can chime in.

Use Yellow Bottle HEET (methyl alcohol). The red bottle is isopropyl and is not recommended.


http://zenstoves.net/Stoves.htm

(scroll down 3/4 of the page)

Zen.net says a high proof grain alcohol like Everclear is acceptable and clean burning, if a bit pricey, but might make a nice multipurpose option, burn it, use it for an anti-septic, drink it, etc etc.

Re,

C. Rowe

"...have somebody video tape it..."

And be sure to say "Here, hold my beer," and "ya'all watch this," just before you touch it off...

Isopropinol will work, Dave, but it doesn;t burn cleanly or efficiently. Use denatured.

I tried my pressure jet alcohol stove on a 40/60 mix of alcohol/coleman gas. It produced a very hot and very tall flame that you might see with an overprimed white fuel stove. I was ready to reach for the extinguisher but luckily I only used 3/4 oz. of fluid so it died out fairly quickly. In one of the similar alcohol stoves that doesn't use the pressure jet technique (the wicking type), it probably would work OK.

The one neat thing about the stove shown in the diagram is that you can flip it upside down and use esbit solid fuel tablets just as easily.

I've been looking at making a small homemade can stove using natural fuels like twigs and such but then flip it over and use it as an alcohol stove as an alternative.

Alcohol is not really a high energy fuel.

Even the pure alcohol can be disappointing for people used to camping with propane or white gas. Sort of the 'Sterno syndrome', a dozen people shivering in the cold for an hour waiting for the food to get warm. Sterno, jellied alcohol, and Sterno burners were/are notoriously slow and inefficient. Liquid alcohol stoves are not that bad but they are still a bit slower than many of us are used to.

91% rubbing alcohol will work but it soots up more than with the pure stuff and burns cooler so it takes longer to do the same amount of work so you wait even longer and need to carry more of it.

That said if 91% is all you have it will work.

Best deal on alcohol is from industrial suppliers who package it as a solvent.

Good to know. That's why I ask before trying it.


Thanks everyone!