Pressurized Alcohol Stench

[LaDonna Bubak - Planet Catalina]

I have a pressurized alcohol stove on my C27 & every time I use it (which isn't often), it emits such fumes as to drive me from the boat! Does anyone else have this problem? Would a thorough cleaning help at all or is that just how it is. I am a little sensitive to fumes, but not overly so - diesel fumes don't really bother me too much but propane can burn my eyes. HELP! I'd love to use my stove but sure can't at this rate & I have NOOOO experience with alcohol stoves. Thanks!LaDonna

 

[Richard]

no smells on my boat

Have you tried just smelling the alcohol directly and seeing if that bothers your sense of smell? Have you changed the alcohol lately on your stove? It could have sat there for years!I have used it on my old 27 and now on my 30 with no problems. Just make sure to preheat the burner before lighting!

 

[Jean Belanger]

pressurized alcohol stove

I am a new owner of a catalina boat c25 and I had some problem with the alcoohol stove. I had a fume problem. I cleaned all the parts and I tried it again: I gave it a few shots at the pump, opened a valve so as to let some liquid go under the burner, closed the valve, lit the liquid so as to heat the burner. When the alcohol had all burned, I open the valve and lit the burner and the rusult was great. I now intend to keep the stove. Hope this will help. N.B. The burner must be hot before lighting it.Jean. c25sk#4859

 

[Bob Camarena]

Investigate a Little

It might be worthwhile to investigate a little as to what it is exactly that's bothering you. Is it the smell of unburned alcohol ? If so, there may be a leak. If your flame sputters and has a lot of yellow, it may be incomplete combustion, in which case a good cleaning may help. On the other hand, you may just be sensitive to burning alcohol. You might try burning some in a small alcohol lamp or chafing dish burner and see if the fumes bother you. Let us know what you find out.

 

[LaDonna Bubak - Planet Catalina]

Here's what I've found

The funny thing is I'm not at all sensitive to alcohol lamps. I'm more sensitive to kerosene. It's not the unburned alcohol that I have a problem with. The stove doesn't sputter (the manufacturer & the folks that supply their parts both asked me if I knew how to light it!), runs pretty smoothly & works fine other than the fumes. Interestingly, I have a similar problem with those little heaters you put on top of a propane tank.So I took the blasted thing apart and everything looked pretty clean. One of the burners definitely has a problem though. The needle inside the burner is either broken or pushed down. I called the parts distributor & it's $30 just for a repair kit for each burner! My plan is to just put the thing back together, use the "working" burner & use a small portable stove if it still bothers me. I don't use my stove enough to shell out $60 for some repair kit that might not solve the problem! What would be cool is one of those "wick" alcohol stoves that aren't pressurized. LaDonna