[at-l] wicking material

[Charles Copeland" <charles@uswnet.com (Charles Copeland)]

>From what I can tell, the alcohol soaks into the wicking.  When the stove is
lit, alcohol vapors come from the bottom of the can and from the wicking -
giving a slighly more uniform flame.  It also seems to slow down alcohol
"boiling" where the stove/flame get so hot the alcohol heats and starts to
boil.

I've built both kinds.  I don't use the wicking anymore though.  My stoves
have very small holes drilled at the same height on the can but spread
around the can (usually 8).  These holes act (and look) like burners when
the stove is lit - giving me an even flame all around.  I do have the
boiling problem but I don't worry about it - the boiling alcohol increases
the amount of alcohol vapor available to burn and the "burner holes"
increase the amount of oxygen.  The result is a *very* hot stove that just
manages to boil 2-3 cups of water before the alcohol is gone.

Charles


----- Original Message -----
From: "Christopher Willett" <cwillett@math.uiuc.edu>
To: <at-l@mailman.backcountry.net>
Sent: Thursday, January 31, 2002 5:53 PM
Subject: [at-l] wicking material


Can someone explain to me the purpose of the wicking material that
is used in some of the alcohol stoves?  For example, in the
cat stove, fiberglass insulation is put into the fuel cup/burner.
In other stove designs, for example the pepsi can stove,
it isn't used.  Without the wicking material, unburnt fuel could be
re-used.

Chris

----------------------
Chris Willett
cwillett@math.uiuc.edu
http://www.math.uiuc.edu/~cwillett
Department of Mathematics
University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign

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