[at-l] Alcohol Lantern Design Theory

[Bob C." <ellen@clinic.net (Bob C.)]

"...Have  you  thought  about  approaching this from the opposite direction, and
building a stove that uses lamp oil for fuel?" asks Skeeter.

Lamp  oil  is  mostly  perfumed  kerosine with a jacked up price. Kerosine, if I
remember  right,  has  more  BTUs  per  ounce  than either alcohol or white gas.
Whether that energy can be captured in a homemade stove is the question. I don't
have the answer. But old kitchen stoves burned kerosine with a wick arrangement,
but  no  pressure  except gravity. They produced a nice blue flame if I remember
right.  (At age 11 I earned a quarter a day, changing the five gallon oil bottle
for an elderly couple.)

I  believe  these stoves are still made, but sold mostly to folks living off the
grid  and  counter-culture types. Kitchen varieties won't work on the trail (way
too  heavy)  but a tiny version might be able to be fashioned by someone who's a
better tinkerer than I am.

Weary