Field Report

Brasslite Turbo F Field Report

Personal Information:
Name: Christine Korhonen
Age: 30
Gender: female
Height: 5'4" (1.6 m)
Weight: 165 lb (75 kg)
E-mail: chris@wormguy.com
Location: Western Montana
Date: June 15, 2004

Backpacking Background:
I'm in Montana where I've becoming re-acquainted with winter. Now that I'm back above the snow line, I've attempted some winter camping and snowshoeing. I'm a lightweight backpacker mentally, if not always in practice. I've gotten my summer multi-day pack weight down to 13 lb (6 kg), but winter backpacking is still new to me, and my winter pack weight hovers around 25 lb (11 kg).

Product Information:
Manufacturer: Brasslite
URL: www.brasslite.com
Model: Turbo F
MSRP: US$25
Listed weight: 0.8 oz (23 g)
Measured weight: 0.8 oz (23 g)
Listed dimensions: base- 1.38" x 2" (3.5 cm x 5.0 cm) [conversion by Brasslite]
                               pot stand - 1" (2.5 cm) high
Measured dimensions: base- 1.5" tall x 2" diameter (3.8 cm x 5.1 cm)
                                     pot stand- 1" (2.5 cm) high
Instructions to make a windscreen & heat reflector included

Turbo F Description:
The Turbo F (F is for "feather") is an ultralight alcohol backpacking stove. The stove is made of thin brass sheeting with small holes around the side and a larger hole in the top. A stainless steel wire pot stand is attached to the stove base. The Turbo F does not have a priming pan along its bottom edge like previous Brasslite stoves. An 8 oz (240 mL) plastic fuel bottle with screw-top nozzle is sold separately.

Field Information:
So far, I've used the Turbo F on car camping trips and backpacking excursions throughout Montana and Wyoming.   Elevations ranged from 4500' to 7500' (1400 m to 2300 m). Temperatures were from 40 F to 50 F (4 C to 10 C) with some light wind and drizzle.

Pot Information:
I've been using my GSI Outdoors Anodized Aluminum Pots with the Turbo F. The larger pot is 1.25 quarts (1180 mL) with 4.5" (11 cm) diameter base while the small fits 16 fl oz (470 mL) and has a 5" (13 cm) base. Although the smaller pot has a manufacturer's volume of 470 mL (16 fl oz), I was able to fit 500 mL ( fl oz) of water (by my measuring cup) into the pot with enough room to boil. My measuring cup may be off.

Using the Turbo F:
Priming Since the Turbo F does not have a priming pan, the stove is primed by placing fuel on the top of the stove and lighting it. In my initial report, I was concerned about the amount of fuel I might spill using this method. So far, each time I prime the stove I lose a couple of drops over the edge but not as much as I thought I might lose. I take care to drip the priming fuel on the stove and not squeeze the fuel bottle too much while I'm priming. The fuel that goes over the edge catches on fire when the stove is primed, and the whole stove goes up in flames. Because of this, I've found that it is very important to have this stove on a non-flammable surface.

Flame With only 1 fl oz (30 mL) of fuel, the flame got very large and hot! The flame engulfed the base of my pot and came up the sides, often to the top of the pot. The metal handles heat up right along with the water until they are too hot to touch. I had to remember to use a bandanna when I picked up the pot. Wind affects the flame quite a bit, blowing it around. I had the stove blow out by a particularly strong gust when I wasn't using a windscreen.

Boiling Water I used the stove in cool weather at a decent altitude. Under these conditions, I could get 500 mL (17 fl oz) of water hot in about five minutes, with or without using a windscreen. However, I couldn't always get the water to a rolling boil. Even when using a windscreen, heat reflector, and pot lid, sometimes the water went into a rolling boil and sometimes it didn't. A couple of times I let the stove run a full 10 minutes until it used up the 1 fl oz (30 mL) of fuel I'd put in, and still no boil. Since I was using the water for cooking, hot water works fine for me.

When I needed to heat more than 500 mL (17 fl oz) of water, I used my larger pot. Since this pot has a maximum volume larger than 1 L (34 fl oz), it is slightly beyond the recommended pot size for this stove. When heating up this amount of water, I often had to re-fill the stove with an additional fluid ounce (30 mL) of fuel to get the water to the desired temperature.

Stability I used the stove on picnic tables, pavement, bare ground, grass and rocks. Since the pot stand is attached to the top of the stove, it wasn't as stable as my alcohol stove with a slightly wider, unattached pot stand. I had to be careful and pick a flat surface for the Turbo F. In the backcountry, bare ground seemed to work best, with flat stones next. When I used the stove on grass without a reflector, some of the grass caught on fire from the heat of the stove. Have to watch that! Since the Turbo F has a flat bottom, it must be placed on a surface without any bumps on it, or the stove will rock. When I used the stove on a stone, I wedged some smaller stone chips under the stove to get it level. The stove's stability might increase if it had small feet. Then the stove could rest on uneven surfaces that are flat at three or four points instead of requiring ones that are flat over the entire base of the stove.

I've had one mishap so far. I don't know what I did, but the whole setup went over. The fuel kept burning as it spread across the pavement, but it quickly burned itself out. I set my pot upside-down over the stove to put the largest flames out. Soup was everywhere. The stove rinsed easily and re-lit with no problems. The stove doesn't appear to be dented, and I don't see any lasting damage from the soup.

Cool Down After the stove burns out, it cools down almost immediately. After the flames are out, it takes about a minute before the stove is cool to the touch and can be refilled and re-lit.

Making the Windscreen, Reflector & Cozies I used the instructions included with the Turbo F to make each of these. The instructions were easy to follow. It took me a couple of hours to assemble the ingredients and make one windscreen, three cozies and one reflector.

So Far:
So far the stove works well. A lot of heat is lost around the sides of the pot when not using a windscreen, so I see why using a windscreen is recommended.

Like:
Lightweight
Good instructions provided for making a windshield, reflector and pot cozy

Will watch:
Fuel consumption using windscreen
Care needed for priming
Stability

Test Plan:
During the coming months, I will test the Turbo F for durability. I will use the stove with my homemade windscreen and pot cozies to see how these increase the stove's fuel efficiency. I will be testing the Turbo F primarily in the parks and on the trails of Montana and Wyoming.

Read more reviews of Brasslite gear
Read more gear reviews by Christine Korhonen

Reviews > Cook Gear > Stoves > Brasslite Turbo F Stove > Christine Korhonen > Field Report

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