Having been struggling with getting my new wick petrol stoves working properly, I thought I'd turn to something I'm more familar with: alcohol stoves. In particular this one I picked up a while back from the evil bay. I figured with this one even I must be able to get it going as they don't get much more simple than this: Open the flap, pour alcohol in, light alcohol, put kettle on. Simples. It took 25 minutes to boil 250ml (1 cup) water in the little 1960s aluminium kettle, indoors. But it did genuinely boil! It sounded right and I checked it was 100C with my instant read thermometer. Behold...the mighty Two Flame Sprit Stove (Midlands Lighting Company, Birmingham)!!! Mine has clearly only ever been burned using the little central flap, not the whole base, as only the centre part shows any evidence of firing. The outer part is pristine. Action shots:
That central flap is probably meant for simmering. Have you tried lighting it with the entire cover removed? ....Arch
I contemplated burning without the cover on, but as it looked like it had only ever been burned via the central flap I didn't want to mar the pristine outer part. The photo doesn’t show it that well but the dense fibre (asbestos? ) underneath the wire mesh is a pale cream colour in that outer part. So I only burned via the little flap. The height of the pot above the flame is also sub-optimal I think at 2 inches / 5cm, but it is aesthetically pleasing. And the kettle didn't have a sooty bottom. All that said, it did manage to boil the water. I’ve waited longer for water to boil!
