Here is a cool video for you alcohol stove nerds out there!

[Jon Fong / Flat Cat Gear]

Cool physics going on here, probably not practical but fun to tink about.

 

[Kevin Babione]

Okay – I must qualify because I really enjoyed this!  The ring wouldn’t be that heavy to carry along for a little entertainment in the evening.  I wonder if it would work with the Everclear I use as my stove fuel…

[Jerry Adams]

“lighter fluid is dangerous so that would be something for responsible adults”

I wonder if you could use lighter fluid (naptha) instead of alcohol in an alcohol stove.  It must have twice the energy density so would require half as much weight for a trip.  This is one problem with alcohol, it weighs too much.  For a longer trip this can cancel out the lighter weight of the stove.

I wonder what the difference would be in those channels if you used alcohol.  It’s hard to see the flame.  It doesn’t evaporate as good as lighter fluid.  Maybe a different width in the channel.

[Roger Caffin]

EEEKK!

Lighter fluid is usually liquid butane, under pressure. Try putting that in an alky and ‘big whoomp’. The gas would spread out across the ground, fast. Forest fires are us.

‘Naphtha is a flammable liquid hydrocarbon mixture that is used as a solvent, fuel and raw material’.
Composition not specified – depends (entirely) on vendor. Risky!

Cheers

[Jon Fong / Flat Cat Gear]

The stuff sold in the USA is pretty tame because too many people add extra lighter fluid because they think that the charcoal is not lit.  Here is a list of some typical ingredients.

Royal Oak Charcoal Lighter Fluid, Net Content: 32 oz, Liquid, Odor/Scent: Petrol, Clear, Compositions: Petroleum Distillates, Iso-Alkanes, Hydrotreated Petrol, Distillates, Specific Gravity: 0.777, Boiling Point: 320 deg F, Flash Point: 102 deg F, VOC Content: 100 %, Viscosity: 1.09, Flammability Rating: 2

[Roger Caffin]

Perhaps we have a problem here with terminology?
It seems to me that there is ‘lighter fluid’ for putting in hand-held cigarette lighters (basically butane), and there may also be ‘lighter fluid’ for lighting charcoal BBQs? Composition unknown and variable.
I dunno – maybe?

Cheers

[MJ H]

The confusion may be because of different types of lighters. That was regular Zippo lighter fluid in the can at the beginning, which is napatha. It’s for cigarette lighters like the traditional Zippo that are not pressurized. There’s plenty of butane cigarette lighters here, but most are disposable. But you can buy a refillable butane lighter and fill it with butane, but most people wouldn’t think of it as “lighter fluid”.

The can in the film was way too small for charcoal lighter fluid. Which isn’t really needed if you get a chimney starter.

[Jerry Adams]

yeah, old zippo lighters.  I used to have one but they’re really smelly.

“lighter fluid” in the U.S. is similar to paint thinner or mineral spirits or charcoal lighter fluid.  It’s not as flammable as white gas.  Uh oh, another term that’s different in the rest of the world.

lighter fluid is more like kerosene.  One more term that’s different in the rest of the world.

inside a zippo lighter is a fiber wick material which you soak with the lighter fluid.  Then close the lid which isn’t air tight or anything.  The fluid only slowly evaporates with the lid closed. Open the lid and light with a flint igniter.  It doesn’t explode like white gas.  About the same level of flame as an alcohol stove.

I think it would work to some degree on an alcohol stove.  Maybe some problem like sootier, but alcohol stoves are pretty sooty…

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