Alcohol stove melting pennies !! help.

[burntoutphilosopher]

hi guys, been trying a few alcohol stoves, and my sideburner jet stove is melting the penny i used to cover the fill hole.

anyone had this happen? any idea why?

i have one stove stuffed with insulation that actually hasn't melted a penny yet, not sure if this is why, or maybe less jets so cooler burn?

... also as for wicks, i found some cool stuff at the hardwear store, it's a cloth you put behind metal pipes before you weld them, won't burn or melt up to 2500 degrees and is softer than wool, makes a great wick, far better than the pink stuff in your attic.

anyway comments on alcohol stoves in general would be appreciated, this is a new world for me.

[Skidsteer]

Use a nickel.

[burntoutphilosopher]

L O L

solves the symptom, but not the problem.

it shouldn't be that hot in the first place. not off the use of only 0.75 ounces of HEET

[Skidsteer]

L O L

solves the symptom, but not the problem.

it shouldn't be that hot in the first place. not off the use of only 0.75 ounces of HEET

Well yeah. Not to put too fine a point on it but the Penny stove is a colossal piece of crap design from the standpoint of effeciency. IMO anyway. Even a basic Pepsi can stove is more effecient that a Penny stove under actual real world conditions.

Try a catstove or kitten stove. They're a lot more forgiving.

[burntoutphilosopher]

:: googling now ::

thanks for the help... i'm a cannister stove person never tried alcy before.

[oops56]

check out my penny stove video shows how to fix it lol
at you tube this is me [rjburg ]

[Skidsteer]

check out my penny stove video shows how to fix it lol
at you tube this is me [rjburg ]

Hee Hee! That's a classic.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qxNIqG1qZmA

[Franco]

Penny Stove : see the new Low Profile version
As good as before but more compact.
Franco

[Wise Old Owl]

oh how many pennys does one need to complete the trail?

[4eyedbuzzard]

Hee Hee! That's a classic.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qxNIqG1qZmA

Love it! The Gallagher of penny stoves.

[moytoy]

Maybe this thread should be in the humor section. Alcohol burns at about 500 F
Copper melts at aroung 2000 F..

[Skidsteer]

Maybe this thread should be in the humor section. Alcohol burns at about 500 F
Copper melts at aroung 2000 F..

Pennies are made of zinc which melts at 785 F.

[moytoy]

Copper plated zinc to be exact but the melting point is still way above the temp of Alcohol. I've been using a penny stove for years and have never had a penny melt. Maybe I'm missing something here.

[moytoy]

OK I just pulled out my penny stove that has had the same penny in it for over a year now. It's been used probably 60-70 times during that period and I see the penny is warped and now easy to bend with my fingers. I guess my old eyes just never noticed the "melting" before. I'll sit down and be quiet now.

[couscous]

Try using a penny that's older than 1982 .. that's when they were changed from 95% copper/5% zinc to 97.5% zinc/2.5% copper.

[burntoutphilosopher]

since there seems to be some skepticism, i thought i'd post pics.

this is after a FIRST USE with 3/4 of an ounce of normal yellow HEET.

the sideburner jet does not have a wicking material inside, the top burning jet does.

~Paul

Attachment 9556

Attachment 9557

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Attachment 9559

[moytoy]

You don't need wicking material in a penny stove. They work on pressure built up in the can because of the heated fuel.
I use a lot smaller holes than you have. I bet your getting the stove to hot and pressurized fuel is coming out of the fill hole. Heating the penny and melting it. Just some ideas I'm throwing out.

[moytoy]

some more pics

[atraildreamer]

hi guys, been trying a few alcohol stoves, and my sideburner jet stove is melting the penny i used to cover the fill hole.

Just proves that the US Dollar is getting weaker in the world economy!

[zelph]

hi guys, been trying a few alcohol stoves, and my sideburner jet stove is melting the penny i used to cover the fill hole.

anyone had this happen? any idea why?

i have one stove stuffed with insulation that actually hasn't melted a penny yet, not sure if this is why, or maybe less jets so cooler burn?

... also as for wicks, i found some cool stuff at the hardwear store, it's a cloth you put behind metal pipes before you weld them, won't burn or melt up to 2500 degrees and is softer than wool, makes a great wick, far better than the pink stuff in your attic.

anyway comments on alcohol stoves in general would be appreciated, this is a new world for me.

You've got contaminated fuel. It has turned into something more potent than from when it was new. Not my way of thinking but a reliable source from youtube videos. When a stove burns that hot to melt a penny, then it's bad fuel.