Like lots of it. Only one 5 minute boil on the can and half of it is black. I'm using everclear (mainly to avoid toxics) and I was under the impression this should put out little to no soot.

I'm using either a supercat or redbull stove with a heineken pot. I was playing around with a pot stand insert to use the redbull stove, but it got sooty with the supercat as well. I thought some of the plastic might be leeching into the alcohol in my fuel bottle (contact solution bottle) so I poured the everclear fresh from the bottle into the stove and got the same results.

What gives?

What is the distance from the top of the alcohol burner to the bottom of the cook pot?

--B.G.--

insufficient oxygen available to burn the fuel.

Get more air to the flame, or try methanol.

That would make sense. I did it indoors and used a windscreen that was choking it off a little bit. Only a quarter to half an inch around the base. It will probably be fine outdoors.

What's the Everclear proof? Lower proofs contain more water, which will cause more soot.

In addition to what others have said. It could simply be the cans that you are using to make your stove. Most if not all have at least some coating in them and takes a burn or two for it to burn off. The first few burns I do in a new alc stove always has just a little bit of soot.

However, I have never noticed lots of soot build up due to reduced air flow. The flame usually goes out. Maybe I just have never had that low of an air flow?

I have never used everclear as fuel, how much does that cost compared to denatured, just curious?

This is probably just poor air flow.

Often caused by the pan too close to the flame. OR, wind screen too tight.

Proof (60%-95%) souldn't bother things. Have you ever lit a shot of bourbon?
Water slows a burn down but this does not effect the fuel/oxygen mix that much.

Methanol (yellow heet) burns quicker than ethanol. The fumes *can* be poisenous, but burn clean. (SLX, high quality denatured thinners, AKA marine stove fuels, have a portion added.)

Isopropynol is rubbing alcohol...do not use this. All sorts of nasty byproducts.

Yes, probably a lack of oxygen, but in some locations Everclear is not 95% alcohol. The more water in the alcohol, the more soot.

Denatured alcohol may contain some bad alcohol, but the bad alcohol burns just like the good alcohol so is harmless.

Everclear is way more expensive than denatured alcohol.

Actually, I believe Trangia recomends adding a small amount of water to the fuel to reduce the soot.

Some stoves work fine with some water in the alcohol, others don't fully burn the carbon.
I don't remember what types of stoves though.

Jonathan,

I use Everclear 190 proof in my alcohol stove also.

>>Only a quarter to half an inch around the base. It will probably be fine outdoors.<<

Maybe not.

I used a Whitebox Solo stove with Everclear 190 proof and found that outdoors I did in fact need a windscreen. I also needed to open it up much more than a quarter or half inch around the base to maintain a flame.

The weather conditions were middle 60's to middle 70's in June of last year.

Party On,

Newton