Thanks HOI and Chris - when I built my stove, I added some finberglass becaused it seemed to be the thing to do. I tried lighting it separately with a lighter first to see what would happen - it sort of melted, smelled and turned grey. I really questioned the fiberglass usage. Then I realized that there is really no combustion in the alchohol chamber - just pressure - so there's no flame contact with the fiberglass. It's really pretty intriging how alcohol stoves work.