help with alcohol stove

[allen-deckard]

The alcohol stove on my boat I'm havin a bit of issue with nothing extreem but still an issue cause I dont think it's working correctly.

Ok it's an origional stove with a 1987 boat it's in excellent condition and personally I'd be supprised if it had ever been lit.

So anyway there is a wick or what looks to me like a wick that sits on top of the 2 canisters of fuel the control knob just slides over the "wick" to snuff out the flame when your done or controls how much of the wick you want exposed.

WELL when I lit the stove the "wick" burnt up like it was made of a piece of foam. after the "wick" was burnt up the flame looked half way decient and it seemed to work ok but I'm still a little concerned or currious maybe as to that wick and what it's purpose is if it's a safety thing or there to make a more even flame.

Is the stove supposed to make a nice blue flame that comes up or is that wick supposed to "glow" more like a propane burner I've had in the past and the wick like a catalist.

BTW this is not a pressurized stove.

I guess I thought that wick was supposed to act more like the wick on a colman lantern that uses the colman fuel and glows to produce heat and light but after it's lit the wick if touched is like an ash. Except when the shut off is slid over it touches the wick on this stove so anyway I'm way confused if anyone has any hints or know a resource that I can find it would be appreciated.

The stove has directions inside it but they dont mention that wick at all.

Thanks and sorry for the book

 

[watercolors II]

Very safe and wonderful stove.

Should not be a wick or any of the cotton stuffing sticking up high. The stuffing I believe is cotton, acts as an absorbent pad so the alcohol in the stove container is not in a liquid state and will not spill if the stove is tipped, that's what makes this stove so safe. The alcohol evaporates very quickly and it’s these fumes that rise up that burns creating a blue flame, it’s not under pressure, just a dancing flame.

Use denatured alcohol only!

There should be a wire mesh screen over the top of the stuffng.

If some of the stuffing is burnt I would remove just that part and you should be OK, you just lessen the amount of alcohol the container can safely handle is all.

These stoves are wonderful, I put a pint of alcohol in the spring and if I haven’t used it all up come fall the stove still works because that slide over cover really seals the container from evaporation, that must be why they are so expensive.

 

[jfrench]

Since I don't really know one alcohol from another, I had to look up denatured alcohol. Wikipedia says:

Denaturing alcohol does not chemically alter the ethanol molecule. Rather, the ethanol is mixed with other chemicals to form an undrinkable solution.The [need] for denatured alcohol arises from the fact that normal alcohol suitable for human consumption as a drink, is usually very expensive. As a result, if pure ethanol were made cheaply available as a fuel or solvent, people would drink it. Denatured alcohol provides a solution by adding 10% methanol, giving rise to the term "methylated spirit." Denatured alcohol is sometimes consumed as a surrogate alcohol, which can result in blindness or death if the denatured alcohol contains methanol. In Poland and other European countries denatured alcohol contains only substances having bitter flavor and odour, and does not contain methanol or any substance of severe toxicity.

So the moral of this story is that "they" make cheap alcohol poisonous so that the price of the drinkable stuff can be kept higher! The second moral is, you should look for Polish alcohol for your stove.

Next, I had to find out why rubbing alcohol isn't recommended. From http://zenstoves.net/Stoves.htm#Fuels I found: Rubbing alcohol is generally only 70% alcohol and won't work in many stoves. Alcohol with 91% or greater alcohol content will work, but will leave a sooty residue on your pot and brown water in your stove.

 

[Fly_H23]

If your stove is an Origo brand, the "wick" you mentioned is likely a thin rubber like gasket to keep the alcoholfrome when it's not in use. I did the same thing and burnt a hole thru it trying to get it lit.

Remove the thin black gasket cover then it should light easily. The flame is nearly invisible but certainly hot. It will boil water almost as fast as propane.

I buy denatured alcohol at walfart in the paint section for under $6 a quart.

 

[jfrench]

Here's a link where you can download an owner's manual for an Origo:
http://www.dometic.com/enus/Americas/USA/Search/?sq=origo

 

[allen-deckard]

Thanks guys and after reading i bet that it was the rubber gasket that burned up it was probably supposed to slide with the cover thing and over the years stuck in place instead of sliding.

Oh well it works good i guess just no rubbergasket for me lol.

Thanks.

 

[FastOlson]

That rubber seal piece is an option. You can place it over the burner if you are leaving the boat for a while and want to slow down the evaporation of the alcohol fuel. (You lift up the stove top, place the rubber seal over the opening, and close the cover.)
Having used an Origo range for over 15 years I am a bit bemused that anyone would try to "light" a flat piece of black rubber.

L

 

[jfrench]

I won't mock anyone who makes a mistake on these boats. Although I love my Cat, I was amazed at the lack of product information available for it. I remember being stymied by several seemingly simple things while I got it fixed up after purchase. One of them was the alcohol stove. I'd never even heard of such a thing before. No manual came with it, and I had no concept of how it worked. Obviously there's a problem when a third-party company (Catalina Direct) becomes the go-to source for the information and parts to maintain our boats.

 

[allen-deckard]

Well knowing now what the gasket is for it makes sence and yah now with a red face it makes sence.

However it doesnt even resemble rubber feels more like a felt type of material. But it's probably just because it's 25 yr old and was never used didnt help that it was completely fused to the top of the stove.

Regardless its working now the first alcohol stove ive ever used so something new heats a pot of coffee pretty quick so im happy be happier if the fuel was a bit cheeper but ill live.

 

[Fly_H23]

A quart of fuel will last many weekends. I've used mine 6 times and it still feels heavy with the fuel.

 

[FastOlson]

Buying and Filling trivia

I find that a gallon of stove alcohol costs about half as much from the hardware store as from a big name chandlery.

You might want to shop around a bit.

A handy trick I learned from another Origo owner is to make a "filler can" out of cleaned-up soup can. Bore a hole about 3/16" dia. in the center of the bottom. Just site the soup can right over the opening in the canister and add the alcohol to the can by pouring it straight in. Works like a charm. "Full" is when you tilt the canister 90 degrees and you can just see the liquid at the edge of the hole, but it's not quite running out. Always -- always -- remove the canister and fill it outside in the cockpit. Never take a chance on attempting to add fuel while it's still in the stove.
And... never refuel a hot canister. (But your knew that!)


L