I never really liked those stoves. Here's what I use...
They're so cool when they "bloom."
HJ
I agree...that same stove/burner is still what I use till this day. Hasn't failed me yet.
Although Jim, I wouldn't mind having that new Kovea Spider you have
Re: stove fail
Posted: Wed Mar 06, 2013 4:32 am
by mattmaxon
umm that's why you only use these and other stove outdoors.
The area around the stove is clear of flammable material...yada...yada...yada...
But I never liked the safety of these stoves, I know of at least one brush fire that was started while using an alcohol stove that had a problem just like this
Re: stove fail
Posted: Wed Mar 06, 2013 2:11 pm
by Hikin_Jim
Yeah, alcohol can spill, and if it spills when lit, flames can spread quickly. The upside is that alcohol can generally be doused by water (whereas gasoline fires generally cannot).
Kerosene will spill but generally won't ignite easily. It's pretty safe.
White gasoline (as in Coleman fuel) can spill and regularly gets spilled when people over-prime their stoves. Unlike kerosene, white gas is very volatile and will go up with whoosh if you chuck a match in a pool of it.
Canister gas is pretty safe, but once in a while the valves do stick open when you remove a stove, spewing gas everywhere. Extremely dangerous if it happens near another stove or a lantern or something. And canisters definitely can explode if misused.
Perhaps ESBIT is the safest fuel. Can't spill. Doesn't explode. Technically it's illegal in the Angeles National Forest since it doesn't have a valve to control it although in practice I don't think anyone would bust you for it.