Initial Report:  Brasslite Turbo F (Alcohol) Stove

Tester: Rosaleen Sullivan

Age: 54 years

Gender: Female

Height: 5’ 8.5" / 1.75 m

Weight: 190 lb / 86 kg

E-mail: rosaleen43 (at) aol (dot) com

Home: Eastern Massachusetts, USA

Date: April 7, 2004

Manufacturer:  Brasslite

URL:  http://brasslite.com/

Ship date:  April 2004

MSRP:  $25.00 USD

Product Specifications

FROM THE WEBSITE:  Construction Materials
Body: 32 ga brass shim (0.008 in / 0.203 mm)
Stand: 0.5 in (12.7 mm) stainless steel wire cloth
Medium grade jeweler's silver solder (melting point 1275 F / 690 C)Width of chamber and stand: 2 in (50mm)
Height of chamber: 1.38 in (35 mm)
Overall Height: 2.4 in (60 mm)
Weight: 0.8 US oz (23 gm)
Fuel capacity: 1 US fluid oz (30 ml)
Total burn time using 1 US fluid oz (30 ml) of methanol is about 9:30 minutes
Time to bring 16 US fluid oz (475 ml) water to boil: 4:30 minutes

MY MEASUREMENTS:

Size:  2 ½ in (6.3 cm) high, 21/8 in (5.8 cm) diameter (Overall)

Weight:  .8 oz (24 g) personal electronic scale

Fuel capacity, burn time, etc., will be looked at in the Field Test phase.

Product Description

The Brasslite Turbo F is a new and tiny addition to the Brasslite family of alcohol fueled stoves.  As the name suggests, the body of the stove is thin brass, and light in weight.  Aaron Rosenbloom has designed another functional piece of art.  The stove has a steel mesh stand welded onto the top of the stove.  For testing purposes, a fuel bottle with a twist to open and close spout was provided.  Also enclosed are warranty information, usage instructions, and instructions for making a pot cozy, a wind screen, and a reflector.  I found the Brasslite box on top of my mailbox upon my return from work today.  The gift presentation quality box was inside a corrugated mailer box.  The stove and fuel flask seemed to be packed with pride, neatly and artfully done up with a Brasslite logo and the trade mark “Light as a feather, Hot as a torch.”  The stove was even cushioned in shredded yellow paper, a nice finishing touch.  The presentation was perfect for a gift arriving in the mail.

Having already tested the Brasslite Duo, I expected another well designed stove.  Studying the Brasslite site, I was hoping the Turbo F would be enough lighter and smaller to consider carrying in place of a small juice can stove, or my tea candle stove, and yet work with an assortment of small “pots” that I like to carry on solo trips.  The site description and pictures matched well what I seem to have received.  I had hoped that the Turbo F would be both tiny and light enough to work with several different cooking gear configurations.  I sat a 25 oz (.75 L) beer can “pot” onto the stove and fired it up.  I may need to place another piece of screen onto the integrated stand to use the beer can pot successfully.  The convex bottom of the can changes the distance between the flame and the pot, so the flame spreads too much to be efficient in this application.  The stove did heat the water, so the test was not at total failure.  Experimenting to determine which of my many cooking pots will work acceptably will be an interesting part of the test.

Test plan and locations

My usual testing routine is to check out gear in the house, backyard, nearby overnights, then during longer trail stretches.  I have some backpacking plans for the next three weekends, so I will do some cursory checks, decide which pots to pack each weekend, and plunge right in.  While nearly all the snow is gone in my area, we should be below freezing at night again this weekend.  It seems I might be able to try out the Turbo F in cold weather, albeit officially “Spring.”  Adding liquid fuel to stoves can be trickier in cold weather than warm, and fuels can behave differently as they are used at different temperatures and elevations.  How well I can fill the stove without spilling the alcohol in cold conditions will be something to report.  Locally, I am close to sea level.  Over the next several months, I will get into bigger hills and small mountains of inland Massachusetts (east coast) and to Yellowstone National Park in the mountains of Wyoming (western USA) in early July.  I am curious to see if the stove behaves differently in our taller western mountains than here on the eastern plateau.

Pot sizes and shapes can influence how efficiently and how quickly water boils, so I shall do some time tests of the stove with a quick series of different pots to boil the same amount of water.  I have and use pots ranging from a Vienna sausage can or large beer can to a “Wal-Mart grease pot,” to an MSR Titan Kettle, and titanium Evernew pot.  I still have a stainless steel cook kit that I could use in the time test, but I no longer wish to carry it.  Any of these lightweight pots that safely fit the stove stand will be fair game for testing the stove’s performance.

My favorite trail cooking is the “boil and dump” method, mostly using home prepared and dehydrated foods.  Usually I plan on one hot meal per day, but for the test purposes, I would be willing to “sacrifice” and have my morning coffee hot.   In addition to “forcing” myself to take a leisurely lunch break and have some warm soup on a cool spring day, the way the weather is going, I will likely wish to heat up a quart of water for a “hot water bottle” at my feet!

Considerations I expect to explore during the test

            Heating abilities of the stove

                        o  Which of my various pots work efficiently with this stove?  Time to boil, amount of fuel, etc., will be looked at.

            Durability of the stove and stand

                       o   Aside from some natural oxidation of the stove from heat, how does the stove look?   Any apparent breakdown of materials? Stand still in good    condition?  Stove misshapen?

            Performance of the stove under varying conditions

                        o  Any noticeable difference between using the stove at sea level and in a mountainous location?  Hot and cold weather? Wind effects (with screen), if  any? 

            Usage-stretching of the stove

                       o   The designer states this stove is for the backpacker who just wants to boil water.  That is usually all I really want to do at the end of a day's hiking.  Still, I like to see what I, personally, can get out of a piece of gear.  So, I will not be able to resist seeing if I can do more than my usual boil water and dump cooking with this stove.  Stay tuned!

Backpacking style

I am moving from heavy to light and lighter weight.  My preferred shelter is a Hennessy Hammock and my meal preferences are mini to no cook (boil water and dump) using an alcohol or tablet fuel stove.  I'm learning to get along with as little gear as possible (for me) while remaining safe and comfortable.  I prefer leisurely hiking for most of the day during hikes of about 3 days, but have hiked happily for longer and shorter periods. 

With appreciation for the opportunity to participate in this test,

Rosaleen Sullivan