Making a kerosene burner in the dark

Projects /  Prepareiness  Original post date: 11/17/2017

I have done cooking in a previous blackout with a penny stove.  Kerosene burners aren't as popular on the web.  I always want to see if I can make a Kerosene burner on my own as a challenge.  This is what I have done during the unplanned power outage today, so my tools and materials are very limited and no lights other than my small flashlight.  I had no web access until the power returns.  I like doing things the hard way.  :)

Here are some of the materials I have gathered.  I got a thick piece of cotton thread from a bag of potatoes, old household screw and a perforated piece of 3.5" driver EMI cover.

I took apart the fuse carefully with a cutter, and a pair of pier.  I had to remove the solder joint between the copper part and the fuse by running between the parts with a small screwdriver.  Once the fuse is removed, the copper shell becomes a screw top and can be unscrewed easily.

As usual, safety is a concern because what I was doing can be dangerous.  I could cut myself, cause a small fire etc.  I used a fuse because the glass was probably designed to contain a small explosion when a fuse blows out.

I trace the outline of the fuse on a tin lid of instant hot chocolate.

I used a sheet metal self tapping screw to make a hole for the wick.

I enlarge it by pushing the rimmer through instead of twisting it.  I don't want to step on  pieces of metal shaving lurking in the dark.

This is used as a cover and I re-crimped the copper shell over it.  This makes the container for the fuel. The wick is made by folding over the threads.

This is how the whole thing looks like.

The flame is bright orange as there are lots of carbon due to incomplete combustion when the wick is initially lit.

The flame glows due to the fuel heating up from conduction.  It touches the metal shield which conducts the heat away to prevent the fuel from burning there. The perforation allows the fuel vapor and air to mix and rises up to the top where it burns. The flame is now blue.

Part of the flame is orange because of the lack of perforations where metal piece overlap.  I guess I should have trimmed off the ends only leaving the part with perforations.

As the fuel runs out, the flame gets smaller again.

It works just as I thought.  Too bad that it takes about 4-5X the amount of fuel to make some instant noodles.  :(  I made a large candle fire to finish the cooking.  There was a lot of soot on the pot afterwards because of the candle flame.