Anyone has ever used a wickless alcohol burner to brew?

[maltyPython]

I am new to this forum, but I have been brewing for quite a while. I manage my yeast bank on my own and I am really happy with the results. Part of any yeast management system is a "burner" to operate pseudo-sterile transfers and today I have received a new toy I decided to buy for this purpose. It is a wickless alcohol burner that totally blew my mind (check this out)



Keep in mind that this puppy produces a very high temp flame (>600C) and it burns RUBBING ALCOHOL! So I started wondering if one can use this to mash/boil wort instead of the usual propane burners? Do you think it would be fast(er)? How much alcohol do you think it would consume per hour?!

 

[buzzkill]

how would you adjust the heat for boil overs, will it burn for a full 60 min +.

 

[maltyPython]

Good point...didn't think of that!

I am pretty sure I have seen a video of such a thing with a regulator of sorts...but that's looking way too far ahead LOL I am just intrigued by this because I think that as btus go, rubbing alcohol is not really good.

I think that I'll test the little guy I have to see how many btu's spits out and I'll post the results

 

[prosper]

some back-of-the-napkin numbers:

isopropyl alcohol contains something like 14000 BTU's per pound. Gas burner efficiency can vary, but you're not going to get ALL those BTU's into your wort - figure 30-50% at most.

So to bring 6.5 gallons to a boil, you need something like 8,000 BTU's (depending on starting temperature), so at 33.3% efficiency, you're going to need a little under 2lbs of rubbing alcohol, maybe 800mL's.

So - how long does it take your burner to get through that much alcohol?

 

[Catt22]

The 600 deg C is not all that hot @ approximately 1100 deg F. The peak flame temp for propane can approach 2700 deg F under ideal conditions. Are you sure that your alcohol burner is supposed to run on rubbing alcohol? Most rubbing alcohol contains a large percentage of water which may make it unsuitable for fuel, although I think there are some types of rubbing alcohol that are nearly pure alcohol, so this may or may not be an issue. I think you will find that alcohol is more expensive to use as a fuel than propane.

I just checked and actually methyl alcohol (the type used for racing engines) is about the same price as gasoline, so it would be cheaper per gallon than propane, but it will also not produce as much heat per gallon as propane will.

From this web site: http://www.southernsteamtrains.com/notes/alcohol fuel.htm

"PURE ALCOHOL CHARACTERISTICS

Both ethyl and methyl alcohols are clear and colorless liquids with similar physical and chemical characteristics. Because of the poisonous nature of methyl alcohol its uses are mostly reserved in the service of industry as a solvent and as a vehicle for other products. It is used as a fuel for recreational boat stoves as well as back-packer type stoves. Shellac is made from synthetic gums that are dissolved in wood alcohol, and Sterno is a jellied form used in camping and professional food presentation. Ethyl and methyl alcohols have different caloric values with ethyl being the larger at 12,550 BTU per pound and methyl at 10,200 BTU per pound. Pure methyl alcohol has almost no detectable odor, while pure ethyl alcohol has a slightly attractive sweet odor."

 

[buzzkill]

be a nice thing to have when camping.

 

[maltyPython]

So it turns out that the thing I've got does not burn in the same way that I can see in the video I posted, it is built differently and it produces a much "tamer" flame, so I cannot really speak for the burner in the video.

Anyway, Prosper raises a good point: these burners are based on vapors produced by alcohols, so my guess is that 800ml of alcohol would take HOURS to burn. Basically, there is not much of an argument in favor of this miniburner other than for yeast management purposes!