This slideshow shows my unsuccessful attempt to make a vaporizer capable of converting liquid rubbing alcohol in a gas at a rate high enough to be able to burn as a constant flame.
In other words: alcohol is liquid, becomes gas, burns.
If this project had been successful, I would have created a full Instructable and used the vaporizer to create an alcohol torch. A design for a new, Venturi-based torch is in my head, but I have not made it yet. The goal in the first place for this design, which did not work, was efficiency, as the vapor produced would burn more efficiently than a semi-liquid, semi-gas output of a Venturi-based torch.
This project did create alcohol vapors, which are extremely flammable(be smart). These could be smelled from the outlet tube, but enough vapors were not created at once to be burned at a constant rate.
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Picture 1: The final product. Yes, it is in fact mainly an applesauce jar. The fan that I got from Electronic Goldmine(http://www.goldmine-elec-products.com/prodinfo.asp?number=G17010
) is connected to a 9-volt battery with alligator clips that you can find at RadioShack.
Picture 2: The desired fuel, 70% Isopropyl alcohol.
Picture 3: Theory of Operation(ToS)#1. This picture shows where all the parts would go. The fan is shown blue, on top. The tubes are red, with the inlet tube on the right side partially submerged in the liquid, shown as green.
In theory, when voltage is applied to the fan, a slight vaccuum is created. Because the atmospheric pressure is now greater than that inside the jar, air moves from the outside of the jar down the inlet tube and through the liquid alcohol. When the air moves through the alcohol, some of the liquid becomes a gas. The fan then pushes the vapor out the outlet tube shown on the left.
Picture 4: Shows the air flow when the vaporizer is turned on.
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The Materials I used for the alcohol vaporizer are as follows:
* One Jar/Container - I am using an apple sauce jar.
* One Fan/Pump - I am using a small centrifugal-operated fan that I bought from Electronic Goldmine. It can be found here: http://www.goldmine-elec-products.com/prodinfo.asp?number=G17010
* Plexiglass/Other Plastic - I am using 1/8" Plexiglass here, but any plastic or other metal sheet-type object should do the trick.
* Polypropylene tubing - I bought a whole bunch of it from US Plastic a while back, so I'm trying to use it up since it didn't fit my original application. You can use any sort of tubing, be it metal, vinyl, etc.
* JB Weld/Other epoxy
* Wires for making electrical connections. ( I am also using alligator clips, you can find them at RadioShack)
* 9-volt battery. The fan I am using is designed to run on 5, but I'm using 9, because I can.
Tools:
* Dremel Rotary Tool - I am using a 300 Series.
* Soldering Iron and solder. (You could get around this using wire nuts or other means of connecting wires.)
* Hot Glue Gun
* Wire strippers/multi-tool. (Always good to have around when making something.)
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http://www.instructables.com/id/Liquid-Alcohol-Evaporator/
So, I`ve got an idea for your project. What if you did a spray mechanism to break the liquid alcohol into smaller particles? It would increase the contact surface for vaporization. You could even put some resistors (feeded by the same battery as the cooler/pump) along the tubing to have a heat source.
Good luck with your projects!
That's a good idea, and based on the drawing(thanks it helps!) it would be a lot like the venturi-based vaporizer design that I am planning, so it may happen.
Thanks for the comment!!
Didn`t work because I was using a "powder fuel" (coffee creamer! 8D) and it needed a perfect spread on the air to work but I`m sure it will work with alcohol! Just be carefull and have fun, as always!
I did one as this many years ago, using ethylic alcohol. The only way to fire it was to keep a flame under the end at the output. Same occurs with acetone, but the heat is far greater. Gasoline works almost well, but it is much more dangerous.
I had similar effects with mine, although you had to strain to see the flame. My goal was to keep a sustained flame by itself, so I considered this project a failure but it will be fun to go back to someday.
Thanks for the comment : )..
If you make a working one for ethyl alcohol, you can get rich:
http://www.awolmachine.com/page-2.htm