Bunsen burners

[bswartzwelder]

I would like to retry precipitating with oxalic acid. I have several Mr. Coffee type carafes, but they all say not to boil in them and not to place them directly on a stove top element. It looks like I'll have to resort to flasks and beakers which I've got. I don't have any laboratory type heating devices (read Bunsen Burners).

I know to use them I'll need something between the flams and the glassware, but we simply don't have natural gas around here. Is there any simple way to use propane to supply the gas for the Bunsen burners? I would guess I'll need some kind of pressure regulator. What kind of animal should I be looking for? Hooking everything up should be rather straight forward. Does anyone manufacture Bunsen burners which would work off of one of those 14 to 16 ounce propane tanks which provide the heat to little propane torches?

Maybe I'm overthinking the problem here. Would something like Sterno heat things up hot enough to boil AR or oxalic acid?

 

[Geo]

A camp stove or even and alcohol burner will work. Sterno will work in a pinch. If you are going to use an open flame outside, use a wind barrier to keep the wind from cooling your process. If you are using it indoors, use a fume hood or forget it. I've seen a homemade alcohol burner made from two soda cans. I don't know how reliable it is because I've never used one. In any case be sure to have an A,B,C rated fire extinguisher on hand.

 

[bswartzwelder]

Thanks Geo. I've ordered the sterno camp stoves on Amazon.

 

[Claudie]

You can take an empty tin soup can, fill it with toilet paper, soak it with alcohol, and have a burner that will burn a long, long, time. To extinguish it, just put a lid on it. This also works great as a survival stove to keep in the car in case of break down in the winter, cover it with a larger can and have a small heating stove!
Make a small one or a large one, whatever size you need. :|

 

[bswartzwelder]

Thanks Claudie. I was also thinking about an alcohol fueled device. I wasn't exactly sure on how to build one. As is usual, I was overthinking the process. I wish I could remember Occams razor and his way of thinking. Often the best solution is the simplest solution. I could see that by buying multiple Bunsen burners, then a propane pressure regulator, then bottles of propane, that my thinking was becoming not only too complex, but also too expensive. I have ordered 2 small sterno camp stoves and several mesh screens for on top of them to help protect my glassware. I doubt I will ever be going camping again, but your idea would have surely made a nice campfire discussion ala Les Stroud or Bear Grylls.