Kenyon alcohol single burner?

[Creekwood]

My last boat had a dual Kenyon alcohol stove with the chimney. It got sooty when I overfilled the centre wick. You only use the centre one to get it heated so the alcohol in the main tank starts to boil a bit so it vaporizes out the holes and burns nice and blue. If you overfill the centre it burns too long and that flame is what makes the soot. I think your use of the snuffer plate is probably snuffing the centre chimney which is why your flame is cleaner.

i never felt safe using that stove though. The blue flame is hard to see and any alcohol spills can easily light things up where you don't want. On my boat now I use a portable butane single burner stove for the morning coffee. It's faster and far safer.

 

[Rohan]

" It took a while to get them up to operating temps and a good clean burn."

Depends on what you consider "a while". With only 8 jets exposed it took around 40 minutes to boil one litre of water! I think the stove would have been at operating temperature by then but still had yellow flame and sooting when I exposed the 9th jet and beyond. Might have to consider a portable butane unit if I can't improve on this. Or at least put the kettle on well before I even think I want a coffee!

Are the portable butane units safe?

 

[Creekwood]

" It took a while to get them up to operating temps and a good clean burn."

Depends on what you consider "a while". With only 8 jets exposed it took around 40 minutes to boil one litre of water! I think the stove would have been at operating temperature by then but still had yellow flame and soothing when I exposed the 9th jet and beyond. Might have to consider a portable butane unit if I can't improve on this. Or at least put the kettle on well before I even think I want a coffee!

Are the portable butane units safe?

There are built in butane units so I think they must be safe. The flame is really hot too. It's instant start and instant off too. Mine is a Seaward like this one:
http://www.defender.com/product.jsp?path=-1|406|694|330373&id=742724

 

[Rohan]

Just wondering if there is anyone here in Australia who is successfully using their Kenyon stove and if so, what fuel you are using. I'm beginning to believe that there is a difference between the product sold here as Methylated Spirits and Denatured Alcohol as sold in the US. Perhaps Methylated Spirits is less refined and that's the cause of the sooting?? I recently tried "Bio Ethanol" fuel for those fancy and ineffective decorative table heaters, believing this might do the trick but still plenty of sooting. Butane looks the way to go, it would just be nice to be able to use the original stove, especially as it was unused before I bought the boat.

 

[Molson]

I know here in Canada stove alcohol is hard, if not impossible to find. I used Methyl Hydrate (maybe same as Methylated Spirits?) I didn't encounter any sooting. Make sure any air controls are adjusted until you get a good blue flame, any yellow flame will cause sooting.

Having said that, I now use a butane stove and love it. I went all season on 2 cans.

 

[dpmulvey]

Agree with the Butane route. Actually, I would prefer it to the electric I have now. No need to fire up the gennie on cool mornings at anchor to boil water or cook bacon.

 

[Heinz]

has anyone found a drop in replacement for the single alcohol burner>>??