Sciencemadness Discussion Board

spirit lamp fuel

swaroop210 - 27-4-2018 at 05:56

Hi everyone I made a spirit lamp but I have no alcohol so I wanted whether I could use turpentine plz help me:mad:

Ubya - 27-4-2018 at 06:01

quote from wikipedia
Quote:

In early 19th-century America, turpentine was sometimes burned in lamps as a cheap alternative to whale oil. It was most commonly used for outdoor lighting, due to its strong odour.[14] A blend of ethanol and turpentine added as an illuminant called burning fluid or camphine was also important for several decades. Camphine was the dominant lamp fuel replacing whale oil until the arrival of kerosene.


i would try, maybe the smell could be a problem though

swaroop210 - 27-4-2018 at 06:03

Thanks bro

swaroop210 - 27-4-2018 at 06:04

Well what would I do to reduce explosion of the lamp

PhenethylamineMachine - 27-4-2018 at 06:08

You really should just obtain some Ethanol though...

ethyl alcohol is the preferred alcohol, but you could also use isopropyl alcohol, so long as the alcohol concentration is over 90%.

PhenethylamineMachine - 27-4-2018 at 06:09

Quote: Originally posted by swaroop210  
Well what would I do to reduce explosion of the lamp


The lamp shouldn't explode at all.

swaroop210 - 27-4-2018 at 06:23

Sorry I did not tell you that it was a homemade one

beerwiz - 27-4-2018 at 09:59

I've used homemade spirit lamps for years. Go to the liquor store and buy 95% vodka unflavored, works perfectly.

weilawei - 27-4-2018 at 09:59

Perhaps if you posted a description of the lamp, we might be able to offer suggestions. I enjoy building small stoves (rocket stoves, wood gasifiers, etc) from time to time.

morganbw - 27-4-2018 at 11:35

Dang, sir just put you're volatile in and fire it up. I am sure there may be a clever person or two who says never use this or that.
My thoughts are if it will wick and it will burn, just fire it up.
I have never met anyone who just had turpentine though.

Sulaiman - 27-4-2018 at 13:55

From memory, turpentine burns with a smoky flame,
so should be OK but some kind of jet stove would be better than a wick.

sodium_stearate - 27-4-2018 at 15:27

denatured alcohol is ready available
at hardware stores.

swaroop210 - 28-4-2018 at 00:51

Well in india you may not find denatured alcohol in hardware stores
So tell if I can make ethanol at home

PhenethylamineMachine - 28-4-2018 at 05:56

Quote: Originally posted by beerwiz  
I've used homemade spirit lamps for years. Go to the liquor store and buy 95% vodka unflavored, works perfectly.


"Everclear" from the liquor store would also work, as it is simply ethyl alcohol and a small percentage of water.

...pretty expensive lamp fuel though.

Denatured alcohol can be bought in large quantities at low cost, isopropyl alcohol would probably be next cheapest, regardless, ethyl alcohol or an alcohol substitute should be inexpensive and widely available.

XeonTheMGPony - 28-4-2018 at 05:56

you can make ethanol very very easy

It is the distillation up to 90% then some that gets tricky, but if you have access to copper pipe and a large pot that seals well as a boiler you can do it

PhenethylamineMachine - 28-4-2018 at 06:14

Quote: Originally posted by swaroop210  
Well in india you may not find denatured alcohol in hardware stores
So tell if I can make ethanol at home


Oh, I did not realize you were in India, that information could have been valuable in the initial post.

You have liquor stores, no?

To make ethyl alcohol you would need to ferment a substance, such as grains, potatoes, sugars, fruits, and so on and then distill the resulting fermented material. Added enzymes might be needed depending on the substance chosen for fermentation.

Distillation of ethyl alcohol actually has it's roots in alchemy, it's a fascinating topic, though it's an activity which also requires some degree of knowledge and skill. So, could you do it? Very easily, though it's not something you just want to jump into without proper preparation, in all honesty finding some ethyl alcohol from a store is your best bet.

You have the internet, you could also order alcohol online.

Bert - 28-4-2018 at 06:19

Quote: Originally posted by morganbw  
Dang, sir just put you're volatile in and fire it up. I am sure there may be a clever person or two who says never use this or that.
My thoughts are if it will wick and it will burn, just fire it up.
I have never met anyone who just had turpentine though.


I have personally fucked up by doing what you suggest as a child/young teen.

Feeding too much HEAT back into the fuel, having it boil out of the improvised burner, setting the table on fire. No injury, no house burned down, dumb luck there was not.

swaroop210 - 28-4-2018 at 06:43

Thanks sir