proof burning

Conquistidor · Post by **Conquistidor** » Mon Apr 17, 2006 9:51 pm

at what % or proof does alcohol burn at?

thanks

possum · Post by **possum** » Tue Apr 18, 2006 6:49 am

room temp, 100proof AMERICAN,50%abv

Heating the sample makes even fortifiedwines burn in a saucepan, if you use a gas burner and set things up right.

CAUTION --alcohol flames can be very hard to see, darkend lighting helps.

Brett · Post by **Brett** » Tue Apr 18, 2006 9:43 am

there damn near invisible in the daylight

look for the heat vapour and or pass ur hand a foot or so away over the top quickly to feel for heat

Conquistidor · Post by **Conquistidor** » Tue Apr 18, 2006 9:46 am

im not too worried about stuff catching on fire (I am very careful). Im just interested in the % that alcohol burns at (like a flame test). Like how 151 burns, but vodka doesnt.

knuklehead · Post by **knuklehead** » Tue Apr 18, 2006 7:45 pm

40% abv vodka will burn it just needs a little preheating. If you pull 40% or 80 proof form your still and its warm it will ignite pretty easily. If you have it at room temperature and in a spoon it just requires holding the flame over it a little longer to warm it before will ignite. If your testing proof that way the variables are initial temperature of the test sample as well as the time it takes to ignite after applying the flame. The flash point for 100% ethanol is I believe around 12 C. Adding water to it will raise the flashpoint so like possum said 50% will be around 20 C.

Brett · Post by **Brett** » Wed Apr 19, 2006 10:20 am

basically if u have to hold the flame to it for some time then its under 50%, if u touch the flame to it and it burns its 50 or above

knuklehead · Post by **knuklehead** » Thu Apr 20, 2006 8:50 pm

I was just bottling some neutral and decided to do a little test. I took about 1/3 table spoon of 80 proof (40%) vodka and put it in a spoon. The spirit was at room temperature, around 20 C. I held a lighter to it for 3 seconds and it ignited. My point is that 80 proof will burn, just needs a little preheating. If you are testing it right out of the still and it is coming out at 25-30 C even 80 proof will ignite when you touch it with a flame.

Conquistidor · Post by **Conquistidor** » Fri Apr 21, 2006 11:25 am

OKay that makes sense. So it all depends on the temp of the alcohol.

TEC · Post by **TEC** » Fri Apr 21, 2006 11:41 am

Liquids do not burn, Vapors burn.

Heating the 40% liquid will cause the alcohol to come out in a vapor form pure enough to burn. Acording to one of Toni's calculators, a 40% liquid mixture will give you a 75.1% vapor.

Harry · Post by **Harry** » Fri Apr 21, 2006 4:46 pm

knuklehead wrote:40% abv vodka will burn it just needs a little preheating. If you pull 40% or 80 proof form your still and its warm it will ignite pretty easily. If you have it at room temperature and in a spoon it just requires holding the flame over it a little longer to warm it before will ignite. If your testing proof that way the variables are initial temperature of the test sample as well as the time it takes to ignite after applying the flame. The flash point for 100% ethanol is I believe around 12 C. Adding water to it will raise the flashpoint so like possum said 50% will be around 20 C.

Actually for 50% it's 27°C. See this Distillers msg for a flashpoint table.
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Distillers/message/35248" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow

knuklehead · Post by **knuklehead** » Fri Apr 21, 2006 7:35 pm

Thanks for the link Harry. I was looking for a flashpoint table but couldn't find one so I wasn't sure of the exact temperatures. I know 100% ethonal had a flash point of 12 C but that's all I could find.

WhiteLightning · Post by **WhiteLightning** » Sun Apr 23, 2006 4:24 pm

I got some 181 (85%) whiskey that when it burns it will burn a super bright blue flame to almost clear. after the flames gone there isnt any residue left, unlike sometime when i burn my 50% stuff. When i first strated distilling i used proof burning to decide when to cut off the run, it actually work pretty well, but a bit too much work for how much i was distilling.