It seems like it should work, for sterilizing an instrument. (such as a small knife)
I have some ethyl alcohol, but just a few ml left. Using isopropyl would be much more efficient for me. They both seem to leave soot on the instrument though. I have heated test tubes with the lamp before but never metal.
I wonder if there is also a way to sterilize a slant by using an alcohol flame some how. Seems like it would be sterile fast, since the flame is so hot. Isopropyl has a cooler flame compared to methyl or ethyl. I guess it wouldnt work, if the lid was left on it could cause a pressure build up or just melt the lid. If the lid was left off, It might just boil right out of the tube.

I've used isopropyl before, no problems. Use the 90% (or 99 if you can find it) in your burner, & don't use rubbing alcohol, it has oils added to it so skin won't dry out. I don't recall any soot using either alcohol & I usually sterilize tools in the flame untill red hot.

Mine says "rubbing alcohol" on the label, but it doesnt mention anything about the oils. It just says "Isopropyl alcohol 91% by volume". It also mentions on the label, that it can be used to prepare needles and syringes.
I dont know what is up with the soot.. When i was big into chemistry, I used to heat test tubes with both Ethyl and Isopropyl but they both left soot on the glass. That shouldnt be much of a problem but it is probably a good sign that the room I am working in has a lot of dust/airborn contams.

I remember years ago when buying IPA to clean the heads of my cassette deck an audiophile friend warned me about buying the stuff that said rubbing alcohol. I think it's a labelling thing, since IPA isn't food, they don't have to list all the ingredients, just the concentration of alcohol. Try & find just isopropyl alcohol.
Maybe the soot issue is contams in the air, or they could be from the wick of your burner. I've been using an upsidedown shot glass with a bit of alcohol in the bottom depression & have never had soot deposits.
Sterile is good :wink:
C1

So you use a shotglass with no wick or anything, just burn the alcohol right off of the glass itself? I have some shotglasses so i could try using one of those instead.

I dip a straw about 2 cm into the alcohol, plug the other end with my finger, place the "fuel" on the bottom of the glass & light it up. The only hassle is that you have to repeat the process every time you want to flame sterilize something. Try it out & let us know if the soot problem has been cured.
C1