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Thread: Lessons learned...

  1. #1
    Ent FishyFolk's Avatar
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    Apr 2012
    Location
    Harstad, Norway
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    Lessons learned...

    I made a stupid mistake the other day.
    I cleaned up one of my 111T stoves for the summer season, as they are wonderfull to cook real food on when car camping with the family.

    So after giving it a good shine, lubricating gaskets, changing aworn out graphite gasket in the spindle etc, it was time for a test burn.
    I use parafine (parafine based charcoal ligthing fluid actually) in my liquid fuel stoves, so it needs preheating using something that won't soot.
    And my prefered preheating fuel is denatured alcohol, which I buy in 5 litre cans and distribute in smaller bottles.

    Anyway I light up the preheating fuel, and it appears to burn clean with no smoke. But then at first visible white smoke...then towards the end, just before it burns out,
    black smoke billows from the stove, and the burner unit is sooted over in a matter of seconds...and then flame out.

    I suspected that there was a leak somewhere. That parafine was dripping into the preaheting bowl, ad that mad it smoke like the devils furnace... and went trough all the motions.
    I even asked on both a an international, and a Norwegian forum. Checked gaskets, repositioned the cleaning needle, to no avail.

    I even performed a test burn of the denatured alcohol, but it appeare dto burn clean...a couple of days passed, and I looked at the alcohol again. It was kept in a
    black bottle. So I poured some out in a glass...it was not the clear liquid I expected. There was some oil like drops in it, and almost milky.

    On the first test burn I had only lit it, seen no smoke and snuffed it out. Now I burned it to the end...and yes, lots of black smoke!

    Off to buy a new batch of denatured alcohol...clear liquid, no oily stuff. Test burn: Clean, no smoke!

    Test in stove...clean burn no smoke...

    ANd only then I look at the bottle I had put my denatured alcohol in...yep, an old parafine bottle. Must have been some left at at the bottom...
    Last edited by FishyFolk; 21-05-2017 at 07:24 PM.
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