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Is it worth getting a spirit burner over a bunsen?


NowakScience

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It matters a lot how much heat you require. I think you want something you can control quite well, so I'd think something like a camping burner is easy and cheap. But sometimes these may be a little too much (their smallest flame still too big).

 

But a spirit burner is just messy (I think it's a yellow sooty flame, right?) and cannot always be controlled, depending on the design.

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  • 2 weeks later...

It matters a lot how much heat you require. I think you want something you can control quite well, so I'd think something like a camping burner is easy and cheap. But sometimes these may be a little too much (their smallest flame still too big).

 

But a spirit burner is just messy (I think it's a yellow sooty flame, right?) and cannot always be controlled, depending on the design.

alcohol burns clean, no soot.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Why not get a hot plate? That's what I use for home lab.

I was thinking that but although it's ideal for boiling liquids and can reach considerable temperatures, it doesn't produce a flame. In lab settings, hot plates are generally used to heat glassware or its contents, not to produce a flame. I want something that literally has naked flame to it.

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I was thinking that but although it's ideal for boiling liquids and can reach considerable temperatures, it doesn't produce a flame. In lab settings, hot plates are generally used to heat glassware or its contents, not to produce a flame. I want something that literally has naked flame to it.

 

Why exactly do you need to produce a flame?

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I'm not sure, it just seems as if a naked flame would be useful for setting things alight, not heating them up.

I'm also not too sure on how the hotplate functions, I was assuming it was only for heating things to a high temperature.

I had a quick look on the internet at hotplates for sale and there seems to be a lot produced for camping and outdoor needs but not many as laboratory equipment.

I'm actually only in high school now and haven't come across hotplates yet, we just use rusty old relics called Bunsen burners haha.

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Okay, but why do you need to set things on fire? Usually that's one of those things we try to avoid.

 

The hot plates used in labs are also magnetic stirrers and they can be pricey ($100 or so for a cheap new one), but they're usually pretty good. It would be good to know what is it you're trying to do to be able to tell you what you're better off getting.

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