So my brain finally got around to putting together a working device for burning alcohol and heating/cooking food. Before this, there were several attempts, but they were all crooked, like my hands. And today, after reading a couple of complete articles about the subject and choosing the simplest and most effective alcohol lamp, I ran to the store. I bought a couple of cans of beer, not ordinary cans, but 0.75 liters with thick side walls and started sculpting. 
First of all, the jars were emptied into my mouth. Then I amputated their lower parts. The result was two pieces, one higher, the other lower. The one lower will serve bottom spirit lamps, and the one that is higher is, accordingly, the top one. 
I treated them with sandpaper so that when burning the alcohol lamp would not smell like paint, which would probably burn. 
I made the edges of the lower part corrugated so that it fits into the upper part more easily. I did this with ordinary pliers. 
And I simply inserted the lower (small) part into the upper (which is larger). I pressed it with my fingers and leveled it with a thick book. By the way, I tried putting cotton pads inside the burner - it was bullshit. Because of the cotton wool, the alcohol does not boil as it should and does not evaporate evenly. The burner with cotton wool inside seems to “breathe”. The flame is sometimes larger, sometimes smaller. Extremely unstable. I then removed all the cotton pads and now the burner is empty. 
And this is what it looked like after assembly 
The next step was to poke holes for the alcohol to evaporate. To do this, I used a regular self-tapping screw; it was very sharp and easily pierced the aluminum wall of the spirit lamp. Holes with a diameter of approximately half a millimeter were located 3 mm from the top edge. From hole to hole I made a distance of approximately 8mm. Then I added more smaller holes in between the larger ones. You can see it in the photo below. 
And several small holes on top for filling with alcohol. Alcohol gets inside through these holes. When setting fire, I cover these holes with a coin. 
This is what we ended up with) 
This type of burner requires warming up before ignition. To do this, I cut out a tray from ordinary foil in which I will place the burner. When igniting, you will need to drop 2-3 ml of alcohol into this tray and set it on fire so that the flame heats up the alcohol lamp and the alcohol in it begins to boil. In the future I plan to make the tray stronger. For example, from a can of sprat. 
Without hesitation, I decided to immediately try out the most complex device I had learned :) Installed it on cutting board tray, put an alcohol lamp in it, and poured exactly 1 liter into an empty kettle cold water.
Everything is ready for testing! I measure out 30 ml of alcohol with a syringe, pour it into a glass so that everything is like in camping conditions, let’s imagine that I don’t have a syringe and I measure it by eye :). But for the purity of the first experiment, I do everything clearly. I pour alcohol into a spirit lamp straight from a glass. 
I pour 3 ml of alcohol from a syringe into the tray to warm it up. 
I throw a coin on the filling holes and light the alcohol in the pan. The flame is almost invisible, it is transparent blue. But it heats well! 
I put a kettle with a liter of water inside on the alcohol stove and note the time! 
A minute later the alcohol lamp warmed up and flames appeared from the holes. After another 30 seconds, the alcohol in the pan burned out and the alcohol lamp began to look like an ordinary gas burner. Burns evenly, without extremes. Slightly smells of burnt alcohol. The kettle boiled 12 minutes after ignition. The alcohol lamp itself, filled with 30 ml of alcohol, burned out for a total of 13 minutes. Just enough for a liter of water) 
I'll try to insert a video of this unit in action here. You can see even burning, at the end the kettle boils and whistles slightly.
Craft - it's interesting! :)
Bottom line: after spending a little time and alcohol, I made a beautiful, useful little thing that will help me drink tea and cook soup on rare trips. The price of this alcohol lamp is zero. But the effectiveness was a pleasant surprise for me! To boil 1 liter of cold water, 32 ml of alcohol and 12 minutes at room temperature are enough. Here. Thank you!))
If you are outside the city where there is no access to a gas main, then you have probably encountered the need to use a type of device. Quite often, people use stoves or stoves that are powered by gas cylinders. An alternative solution can be homemade device, which operates on liquid fuel. If you are the owner of a suburban area, and periodically try to solve the problem of heating rooms and cooking, then, quite possibly, an alcohol burner is suitable for you. It can become an indispensable attribute even if you prefer to go to free time on overnight trips.
Main advantages of devices
The mentioned burner can easily be made by you yourself. You can take it with you to the garage, to the country house or on a hike, as well as to those places where there is no electricity, main gas or wood stoves. Using such a device, you can quickly heat water, cook food or heat a room. This invention is suitable for those places where it is impossible to make a fire, since the device produces a flame that is almost invisible, but it will be enough for cooking. An alcohol burner has many advantages, among them good performance in difficult weather conditions. And this is true even if the outside air temperature drops to -40 degrees. If you make such a device yourself, you will be able to feel how easy it is to use, compact, economical and affordable in terms of purchasing fuel. The last factor can be called one of the most important advantages of such burners, since alcohol can be purchased everywhere. Among other things, the cost of such fuel is low, especially when compared with kerosene or gas.
Burner manufacturing technology
An alcohol burner can be made in one of several ways. If you are new to this business, then you should choose the simplest method that does not involve the use of technology involves the use of two empty tin cans; they must first be cleaned and rinsed running water. After this, the products should dry well. In the central part of one of the cans, 4 punctures should be made using nails. The same holes should be made around the perimeter of the rim of the jar. This element will become a blank for the future burner, from which a flame will burst out when used.
This part must be cut from the can so that the length of the side is equal to three centimeters. To do this, you can use household scissors, since the tin is quite thin and can be easily cut with any sharp object. When an alcohol burner is being made, at the next stage it is necessary to cut off the bottom of the second jar; this must be done as carefully as possible so that there are no nicks. Otherwise, you will need to use a file or sandpaper.
Methodology of work
A piece of cotton wool is placed on the bottom of the burner, which should first be moistened in alcohol. Next, the structure is covered top part so that it functions as a sealed lid. If you do not ensure tight contact of the parts, then you can install strips of tin that remain from cutting the products into the cracks. When you make an alcohol burner with your own hands, it must be used according to a certain principle. Alcohol should be poured onto the top of the structure where the holes are made. This must be done in such a way that the composition gets on the rim. The latter should also have holes. Next, the alcohol is set on fire, the tin heats up, and the heat is transferred to the cotton wool, which is soaked in alcohol. As a result, vapors begin to be released that will support the flame.
Final works
At the last stage, we have to make supports on which the cooking pot will be located. To do this, you should use two metal rods, which are driven in the shape of the letter P into the ground parallel to each other. During the cooking process, ensure that the device does not tip over. If you decide to make a product such as an alcohol burner with your own hands, then you should remember that such a device is disposable, since tin cans will no longer be useful for the next time.
Alternative manufacturing option
Useful homemade products may turn out to be somewhat more complex than the option described above. However, such a design will be characterized by higher reliability, durability and strength. We'll talk about it further.
Preparatory work
In order to make a device with your own hands, you should prepare a compressor; it is best to use a car inner tube, which you can borrow from a truck. It will need to be pumped up from time to time. An alternative solution is a compressor from an old refrigerator. You should prepare a receiver; a plastic canister with a volume of 10 liters or less is perfect for this. The cork should be solid, it is advisable to choose a translucent one. Such useful homemade products are made from several elements, among them the fuel tank should be highlighted; for this you need to use a two-liter steel container, into the lid of which two tubes are soldered. One of them should be long, the other short. The first one sinks to the bottom of the tank.
Work technology
Alcohol ones can be purchased at the store, but the design is so simple that you can make them yourself. The fuel tank should be filled with alcohol, but not more than 1/2 full. Installed at the compressor inlet simplest filter. You can do it yourself, using a funnel on which a segment is stretched. The principle of operation of the device is ensured by pumping air with a compressor, as well as its further entry into the receiver under some pressure. It smooths out pressure pulsations. The air is then sent into a container with fuel, where it is mixed with alcohol vapor. The resulting mixture goes to the burner. The combustion intensity can be adjusted using a special screw located on the burner.
Third manufacturing method
If you are wondering how to do alcohol burner, then you will need to prepare a flat metal jar, which can be a container for canned food or cosmetic cream. You will need pumice, as well as alcohol. The mechanism of such a device is extremely simple and does not require an application special effort during manufacture. To create the device, you need to pack pumice into the container as tightly as possible, and then pour a certain amount of fuel on top of everything. These manipulations must be performed as carefully as possible so that the liquid is absorbed and does not splash out. Thanks to the presence of pumice, the flame will burn for 15 minutes, since due to its porous structure it will act as a fuel distributor. Such an alcohol burner made from cans will allow you to cook food, as well as heat it sufficiently small room by type of garage or change house. To heat food, you need to build a stand for dishes, which is made of stones, wire or other material. The main thing is to take into account the requirement that the dishes need to be stable.
Main types of alcohol burners
A homemade alcohol burner can be open or closed type. Each of the above designs has its own advantages and disadvantages. When it comes to the device open type, then you may encounter not so high efficiency; combustion will occur over a larger area. This will promote abundant evaporation of fuel. Among other things, closed-type burners do not provide the ability to control the amount of remaining fuel. Such burners require external ignition, which increases the fire hazard. However, each of the listed burners can be made independently. It is important to remember that the operation of burners is based on the combustion of vapors fuel mixture. Therefore, it is strictly forbidden to use substances that contain acetone or gasoline as fuel.
Experimental part
The capacity of the tank can be equal to 70 milliliters, the nozzles need to be made in the amount of 16 pieces, the distance between them should be one centimeter. The estimated burning time can be 25 minutes per refill. As practice shows, the duration and intensity of combustion of such devices depends on the type of fuel. The best combustion occurs from medical alcohol vapor. If we are talking about situations where salicylic acid is used, then it does not burn so intensely. If you fill the burner with food alcohol, it will show least time combustion.
The temperature of the alcohol burner is high enough to heat the tent and cook food. When using alcohol devices, solutions that contain about 50-70% ethanol should be used. This allows you to extend the operating period, although it reduces the intensity of the flame. The design has the ability to boil 0.5 liters of water in 7 minutes, which is enough to brew tea or steam noodles instant cooking. During operation, do not overturn the device, as this may pose a fire hazard. As practice shows, if you throw cotton wool on top and then set it on fire, overheating can cause the alcohol to begin to evaporate greatly, causing the burner to simply break in half. The design of the burner is very simple, but before making it, many people wonder why use liquid alcohol when there is dry alcohol. The answer to this question will be higher heat transfer, which indicates the possibility of heating water faster.
In conclusion
Using a few, you can make your own alcohol burner, which will be able to help you out outside the city and on a camping trip on vacation. It is noteworthy that you can make such a device without additional tools. That is why it is so attractive to home craftsmen, who often prefer to relax outside the city. There is no need to take such a device with you; it will be enough to use tin cans, which can be prepared in nature. And after the first use, the device can be disposed of.
Alcohol burners are useful for those who like fishing, hunting, and hiking. In one of the previous materials we talked about using a vessel from an asterisk. Today we'll look at a way to create a larger burner using an aluminum can. Many may wonder why make an alcohol burner if dry fuel is sold in stores. Dry fuel can also be used to brew coffee or prepare hot tea while camping, but practice shows that an alcohol burner does this much better and more efficiently.
Let's watch a video of an alcohol burner from the author of the homemade product:
What do we need to make a homemade alcohol burner?
- Aluminum can for soda, beer or other drinks;
- Round nose pliers;
- Four matchbox;
- Stationery knife;
- Medical alcohol;
- Felt pen or marker
- And scissors.
First of all, we must cut off the top of the jar. To do this, we need to make a cut with a stationery knife and tear off the unnecessary part with pliers.
Next, we put two matchboxes, a stationery knife on them with the blade towards the jar and cut off the lower part.
The same procedure will be done with the top of our aluminum jar, but this time with four boxes.
We apply two matchboxes to the cut off upper part, but this time we do not cut it, but outline it with a felt-tip pen or marker.
On the resulting line we place marks or dots every centimeter and make cuts with scissors so that they start from the line to the very bottom of the piece of the can.
Our alcohol burner is almost ready, and all we have to do is assemble its component parts into one whole. To do this, lightly fold the bottom of the top piece of the jar so that it fits easily into the second.
All that remains is to pour medical alcohol into our burner and test it.
Attention!!! Medical alcohol, like the burner itself, is flammable. When using it, be sure to follow the fire handling and safety rules. Keep the burner away from flammable materials and mixtures. Do not add too much alcohol as this may cause the burner to explode and cause serious injury.
The burner is working, which means that another homemade product was made successfully. This way we can boil approximately 250 ml of water in just 2 minutes using approximately 15 ml of alcohol.
You can make a simple light alcohol lamp with your own hands from ordinary beer cans. If you don't like beer, then Coca-Cola cans or any other cans are quite suitable. The main thing is that they are aluminum!
To make such a burner you will need a couple of cans, a stationery needle, glass wool (ordinary wool is fine, but with glass wool it will last forever), scissors and a book. You can make a stand for a saucepan from wire or an old metal hanger, but on a hike it’s easier to use improvised objects - a couple of stones or just make a small trench for an alcohol lamp.
However, let's return to how to make a homemade alcohol burner.
After all the tools have been collected, you can begin the process of making a spirit lamp.
To begin with, mark a straight line around the circumference of the jar. The easiest way to do this is to place the marker on the book and press it with one hand, while rotating the jar with the other.
This is how we mark both banks.
Now carefully cut around the circumference. You can use ordinary stationery scissors; the sheet metal is soft and can be easily cut with any scissors.
The result is two bottoms.
The lower part can be processed using a multitool, this will allow you to easily insert the upper cover on top of the lower one.
We put glass wool in the lower part, place it with a small “slide”, so that it tightly fills the entire cavity of the homemade alcohol lamp. Glass wool is preferable because it is not subject to combustion and does not deteriorate from heat. Glass is very refractory, and glass wool is just a lump of thin glass threads.
We close our homemade alcohol lamp and use a needle to make holes.
The more holes and the wider the holes, the higher the combustion temperature will be. You can make 5 holes in the center for pouring flammable liquid without disassembling the burner.
The entire process of making a homemade alcohol lamp can be seen in the video below.
In terms of “power”, a homemade alcohol burner is comparable to purchased multi-fuel burners.
Half a liter of water in the pot boils in 8 minutes. 40 ml of alcohol is enough for 25 minutes of burning. Half a liter of flammable liquid is enough for a week-long hike for 2 people, provided they have 3 meals a day.
Before starting, you don’t have to preheat the burner - just splash a little on the karaya and set it on fire, the alcohol burner will immediately warm up and the alcohol vapor will begin to actively evaporate and burn. Such a burner operates on the fact of expansion and evaporation of a flammable liquid at an elevated temperature.
As you can see, the burner turned out to be small and very efficient. It differs from purchased mixed fuel burners primarily in its small dimensions and, accordingly, light weight. In addition, it is easy to build from improvised means using only a multitool.
Tiger comments:
It turned out to be an interesting burner, small and light. It’s true that carrying denatured alcohol or white spirit with you in a bottle is inconvenient; it’s easier to just collect dry fuel.
Ivan comments:Simple, cheap, practical... This burner will come in handy when fishing. Lightweight, doesn't take up a lot of space.
GOLDEN EAGLE comments: Vitaly
IN European countries, have been using this type of alcohol lamp for a long time, replacing a conventional burner with it. We can find and take note of many advantages of this device. For example, in a type of transport such as, say, an airplane, you can easily carry alcohol. Containers for alcohol weigh much less than a gas cylinder, etc. And about the significance of such a spirit lamp on winter fishing you don't have to talk at all. Therefore, we suggest making such a spirit lamp with your own hands; it will be very useful in everyday life.
Buying an alcohol lamp is also a piece of cake. But, if you take all the advantages and characteristics, it will be better to make it yourself at home. In order to make an alcohol lamp, containers from tin cans are usually used. Such cans can be, for example, cans of canned food or beer. In order to make an alcohol lamp, you only need a couple of drink cans. The design itself is not complicated at all. And it is made quite quickly and simply.
So, let's start simple. You need to empty the first jar of its contents, rinse and dry thoroughly, and then cut off the bottom. You can immediately empty the second jar, but you can do this later. It's not so important here. Next, we will need a board of a certain thickness in order to cut the jars. It is best if the height the desired board it will be twenty-five millimeters.
The next move is this: we take the jar, put it on the table, and then press it tightly against the blade and twist it. It will be enough to make no more than fifteen revolutions. After this, the bottom can be easily separated from the top of the jar. The cut off part will serve as the bottom of the future burner. We will further insert the top into this part. Based on this, we insert our second jar on top (still whole). In order for the upper part to fit easily, it needs to be stretched a little. We insert it very carefully so that in the future we can easily disassemble our structure. A sufficient depth of about seven millimeters.
Having completed all these steps, we begin to manufacture the future upper part. If you did not release it earlier, now release the contents of the second jar. After emptying, drill holes around the entire perimeter. For greater effect, use a thinner drill bit.
After the completed manipulations, we proceed to the next ones. Remove the entire middle of the bottom and cut off the entire top of the can. This is what the design should look like.
From the remaining parts of the jars we make inner side. We will need to cut out a strip. To do this we need a special formula for us. The length we need must correspond to the height of half the jar plus the height of the narrow part of the second half of the jar. Simply put, our resulting length should be much greater than the width of the board we use.
In the lower part we make several cutouts in the shape of triangles, the height of which should be approximately three millimeters. These cutouts are necessary so that our fuel flows into the inside of the burner.
To complete our equipment we will need several steps. To make the folding process even easier, we use the remains of the jar. We cut out a small mount from them. And on the top of the jar we make a small cut, about six millimeters.
