I've never seen a chafing dish heater like that. All the ones I have seen have the wick exposed---since it is fumes that burn, not liquid fuel. You might try pulling the ends of the wick out the holes in that center piece.

The unit you have is meant to run on denatured alcohol.

Thank yo so much brickeyee. I will buy some and give it a try!

The wick appears pretty short in the picture and you may need a new wick.
It needs to be long enough to be in the alcohol in the tank and stick up 1/8 to 1/4 inch depending on the flame size you need.
Make sure you leave some space above the liquid in the tank since it will expand slightly from the heat.
I would test it outside under the chafing dish (add some water to the dish) over a non-flammable surface.

You need to do a search Buffet Burners for a flameless alternative to sterno. We use these all the time. They are great for the environment, saves you lots of money, and you can use them all day if you need to. Just think of all that trash you create in a year burning all those cans of chafing dish fuel, and all that CO2 into the air. Sterno does not even heat the chafer properly, and if any wind is blowing they don't work at all. With this product you convert your chafer to a flameless chafer! We need to be more concerned about the world we all live in. If you find yourself using things over and over, you should try to look for a solution to the problem.

Would you mind reposting the Photo of Burner....I'm a member but cannot access the picture.
Thank you.

Mayfirst:
I just came across your question re your chafing dish, (controlled by a small "handle" that controls the flame height and is ignited by a rope wick). I have the same type chafing dish and have tried all of the local hdware and cooking stores w/no luck.
I could not get it to light aft waiting for rope wick to absorb
the denatured alcohol. (It does NOT use a sterno can). I even trimmed the wick so it was "fresh" at both ends and left the
part of the rope in the den. alcohol frayed, as it was when I
last used it!).
What did u finally do to get the wick to light?
Thx so much!
Teach2005@bellsouth.net
Do u suggest I buy more rope wicking? If so, what thickness did u use?

The original post with the photo is 8 years old now so the photo was probably lost during one of the site transitions.

I don't understand how this works from the description. I have a fondue pot with an alcohol burner, it just has a stainless steel mesh thing with a sponge underneath and you pour fuel into the sponge and light it at the top of the screen. There is a metal damper or lid you slide back and forth to regulate the size of the flame. No wick involved.

Looking for help! I have the one with the screen and damper it has a little wick in the center. It will not stay lit for more than a minute I have tried everything. It is a closed unit so I don't know how to repair. It has little holes around the top outside edge. Sterling. Gorham. I am using denatured alcohol. I have poured into the spout and over the mesh screen it is saturated but will burn out at the wick.

Here are 2 photos of the burner it is a sealed unit

That screen is what mine looks like, but mine has no wick. The flame burns all over the top of the screen. As long as the liquid isn't actually covering the screen. Looks like the spout on the side is a filler neck.

The holes around the sides might regulate air intake, are you sure they're open?

What are you using for fuel specifically? I use a quart can of Denatured Alcohol from the hardware store. It's pure ethanol with a few percent of a petroleum distillate (that's what the 'denatured' is about - you can't drink it!). Rubbing alcohol (isopropyl) may not work the same as it typically has 30% water in it.

Sorry I did not see this reply until now. Yes I have denatured alcohol it burns off and the flame extinguishes itself. I don’t know how to open the holes around the sides they are fixed. I could try putting a needle through them all & see if that works .