[TC]

My niece and I would like to do a chemistry experiment which requires a burner to heat up the contents of a test tube. I don't own a bunsen burner, but I do own a small backpacking stove. Will that work?

My instinct is that the camping stove will not work because it is designed to distribute the heat over a wider area than a bunsen burner. However, I figured I'd check here and see if anyone has tried it.

-TC

[Mitch]

I haven't tried it, but it should work.

[Arkcon]

Its a fair option, it really depends on what you want to do.  Consider, if you have to gently heat a small test tube -- make a water bath:  Put a large beaker (glass Mason jar, whatever) of water on the camp stove, then hold the test tube in the boiling water.

Note: any glassware, even if its pyrex or the like, will need some sort of diffuser between open flame and the glass.  Or use some metal campware for the water bath. Or a sand bath for higher temperatures.

[TC]

Arkcon,

I understand your suggestion for a water or sand bath in a metal container. However, you also mentioned a "diffuser". What is that?

-TC

[Arkcon]

Don't put glass, even Pyrex or Kimax or other "oven safe" glass where an open flame can lick it.  It can still shatter.  More so now, given that the common flame-proof glass sold in stores isn't even borosilicate, just tempered soda-lime. 

(I just learned that today.  Sheesh.  Hellinahandbasket whyinmyday getoffamylawn...) http://www.cooksinfo.com/pyrex

A diffuser is a piece of metal between the flame and the glass.  http://www.cooksinfo.com/heat-diffuser

[billnotgatez]

As a side note but pertinent to the discussion
Cautionary tale
Long ago
It did not go well when I applied the flame from
Bernzomatic UL100 Basic Propane
plumbers torch directly to a test tube.

[Hacktacular]

And just to reiterate what's been said albeit belatedly...
The diffuser is definitely a good move.  I once heated pyrex over my kitchen gas stove without anything to diffuse the flame.  The explosion of glass throughout the room was impressive (as was the size of the shards I spent the next few hours pulling from my arms).  It's been said many many times in a variety of forums, but DO NOT HEAT GLASSWARE DIRECTLY!  Even the best stuff isn't designed for that kind of abuse.

[pcm81]

You got to be careful with intensity of the flame. Looong ago bunsen burners used alcohol. Now you have propane ones. The temperature that propane can reach, especially in "properly oxygenated" flame is much higher than alcohol could ever hope to achieve. Alcohol was wicked up from the flask, so it was a low intensity flame. You CAN melt glassware on propane flame, which you could not do on alcohol flame. Yeah yeah, i know if you spray ethanol under pressure into oxygen rich environment it can get hot enough to melt glass, but that is not how bunsen burners worked. If you are set on using propane stove, i'd suggest a low pressure stove, not a high pressure stove, the low pressure ones have less BTUs, hence will less likely get glassware hot enough to melt. Propane torch is high pressure.