Thanks, I will try the Denatured Alcohol, and see if it burns cleaner. The 99% gives a lot of yellow flame. I want to see a little more blue flame if possible. Back when this little extractor was made I wonder if they used whale oil.....just kiddin'....

I know my little Whisperlite camp stove uses white gas(coleman fuel), but I don't think that is the same as denatured alcohol.

I trimmed the wick a little to make it flatter, and also to get rid of the the old carbonized wick remenents. It seems to burn a little better, more even. I will see what the everclear and or denatured burn like. Also I will look around for some wick material.

I have 3 or four of this type. Denatured is the way to go. Isopropyl is not good. Everclear will work, but why pay the money.
Watch these things, I got distracted will using one, it got so hot it melted the soldier that held it together in a very short period of time.
Pretty decent espresso, I prefer the clamp top type compared to the screw on it seems to work better.


Ted

Thanks for the input. I did pull off a nice espresso yesterday on the tailgate of my truck as I was looking at a snow covered Mt. Lassen. I loosened up the grind like it would be for a Moka Pot, and it extracted a full bodied espresso, no crema. That was with 99% isopropyl burning..... which doesn't burn super clean. I will get some Denatured Alcohol..... Does it burn hotter?

I will answer my own question. Yes the denatured alcohol burns hotter, and cleaner. I get a nice blue flame, that is pretty windproof. On my return trip from Ashland, OR, I again stopped with a view of Mt. Lassen(my 1/2 way point of he drive) to make a little tailgate espresso, this time using the denatured alcohol. The water came up to temperature a couple minutes quicker, and I think that the coffee extracted quicker too, due to the hotter flame. The espresso came out great! Still no crema, but espresso had a nice mouthfeel and great aroma, and was very smooth......... And maybe the scenery lent itself to the superior taste........ Great cafe' by the side of the road looking at a National Park Volcano......

This little machine is a keeper for sure....... I will definitely be using it for road trips, hiking trips, and any other trip that needs a little pick me up, from here on out.

If you can find a Caravel you can carry just the kettle and portafilter, and pour water boiled from any source into the kettle to brew real espresso. You need some heatproof gloves to hold the kettle while pulling the shot though.

PC

What a great find that stove was!! Yep, denatured alcohol is the way to go and do trim the wick for better, more reliable performance. I lived without regular electricity for 20 years and have lots of experience with wicks.