| |
Gear Reviews
Documents
Tools
|
Initial Report - Brasslite Turbo II-D Stove
Date: September 30th, 2003
Reviewer Information
Name: Jim Sabiston
Age: 49
Gender: Male
Height: 6' 3" (1.9 meters)
eight: 207 lbs. (94 kilos)
Email address: JimSabis(at)aol(dot)com
City: Bay Shore (Long Island)
State: New York
Country: USA
Backpacking Background:
I've been camping for several decades. I joined the Adirondack Mountain Club three years ago, the Appalachian Mountain Club a year later and am active in both. I have also expanded my backpacking to include more winter trips, mountaineering and backcountry cross country skiing, and participated in the AMC's Winter Mountaineering training program with Chauvin International Climbing Guides. More recently, I have actively studied ways to backpack lighter and more efficiently. During the summer months, my style tends toward very light, but not quite ultralight. I use a hammock or tarp for warm weather, and a small four-season tent for winter trips. Most of my other gear is very changeable, as I am constantly experimenting with gear and techniques.
Product Information:
Manufacturer: Brasslite
Year of Manufacture: 2003
URL: www.brasslite.com
Listed weight: 2.6 oz. (74 g)
Weight as delivered: 2.6 oz. (74 g)
Specifications for the Turbo II-D: (from the Brasslite Web site)
Width of chamber and stand: 2.4 in.(60 mm)
Width of Preheat Pan: 3.0 in. (75 mm)
Height of chamber: 1.7 in. (43 mm)
Overall Height: 2.75 in.(70 mm)
MSRP: $50.00 US
First Impression:
The stove arrived in a small plain brown box, shipped Priority Mail. Inside was the small white box containing the Brasslite Turbo II-D. Included in the larger box was a plastic fuel bottle, with markings indicating approximately 10 oz. (296 ml)capacity. Inside the box was a shipping receipt and literature from Brasslite. The literature outlined the instructions for building a windscreen and using the stove. The construction of the stove appears to be very good, using quality materials and careful detailing. The first thing that strikes you about the stove is its small size, approximately 2.75 in (70 mm) tall by 2.9 in (74 mm) wide at the base. The next thing is the fact that this little stove is a small work of art. The level of precision and attention to detail are quite remarkable and an unusual find in today’s mass production/mass marketing environment. It is actually a pleasure just to hold and admire it. It is clearly hand made, with detail variances and minor flaws to be expected in any handmade item, but these add to the feel and character, rather than detract from it. The brass construction also contributes favorably to the overall look and character of this little gem.
Construction Details:
With the exception of the stainless steel pot stand attached to the top of the stove body, construction is entirely of very thin brass sheet metal. The entire stove is held together with silver soldered joints. Many of the soldered joints are so well done, that the solder is visible only upon very close examination.
The only moving part is the ‘simmer sleeve’, which covers most of the stove body. The sleeve has six small triangular cutouts at the bottom. The sleeve can be rotated to move the cutouts so they line up over the six air intake ports, also located at the bottom of the stove body. Rotating the simmer sleeve allows control of the air flow into the stove. The sleeve is constructed of thin sheet brass and has a small folded tab (which resembles a bit of origami!) allowing the sleeve to be rotated after the stove is lit. The simmer sleeve is held in place by simple friction. The sleeve is prevented from coming off by the fluted stove bottom and the pot stand top, which is fitted to the outside of the stove body. Therefore, the simmer sleeve cannot be removed.
The pot stand is attached permanently to the stove body by five very tiny tabs, carefully bent and silver soldered to the stove top around the bottom wire of the stainless steel stand. Careful attention to detail is evident throughout the stove, but a good example presents itself here. Rather than just tack the tabs in place casually and solder them, which would almost certainly suffice, each tab is carefully located. All tabs butt up against an upright wire of the pot stand, two adjacent to the stand opening, two approximately ¼ of the circumference around on either side of the opening, and the last directly opposite the stand opening. This last tab is also located directly over the soldered seam of the stove body. In other words, each tab is located precisely where it can make the greatest contribution to the stoves strength and maximize the effects of the soldered joints without increasing the stove’s weight. Smart, efficient , careful design and construction. Truly impressive.
The Turbo II-D claim to fame, and what makes it different from earlier Brasslite models, is the addition of an inner wall inside the main body of the stove. This reportedly has the effect of improving flame control, apparently in combination with the relocation of the air intake ports to the base of the stove, rather than near the top of the stove body, as in earlier models. While I have not used the other Brasslite models and therefore cannot make a direct comparison, the logic seems reasonable enough. In my one ‘quick, get me my alcohol and a match!’ test, the stove burned with an extremely stable and upright flame pattern.
I promised myself that I would complete my examination of the physical structure of the stove before I would actually light it. Well, I almost made it. I have not had nearly enough time to make the recommended wind screen, but I figured this would not be necessary in the laboratory (which does double duty our kitchen), and would allow me to study the flame pattern. I filled the stove with approximately ½ oz. of denatured alcohol, dribbled a couple of drops of alcohol on the top of the stove (as per the instructions) and touched a lit match to it. It lit instantly with a clear ‘pop’. I immediately placed my MSR Titan Kettle on top and watched. The stove quickly came to temperature, with a single solid flame emanating from the large center hole in the top of the stove.
The flame spread out so it just reached the edge radius of the pot, with little or no flame curving up the sides of the pot. This indicated that the size of the burner hole and the height of the pot stand are just right, as is the diameter of the titan pot. I noticed that the ‘laminar’ (unpressurized) flame was extremely sensitive to air movement. If I blew even lightly across the top of the stove, I could cause a major disruption in the burn pattern, certainly destroying any hope for an efficient burn if a breeze is allowed to the stove when used out of doors. The recommended windscreen will be essential to the proper operation of this stove. It should be noted that this is characteristic of all laminar burning stoves. A pressurized fuel jet generates a certain amount of its own pressure which, to some degree, can overpower an external breeze. Laminar burning stoves cannot do this. This does not make them less efficient, but the flame does have to be protected. The water came to a full boil in about five minutes with a bit of fuel to spare.
The literature provided with the stove is well written and comprehensive. The first page bears the mark of a legal eagle, spending time on basic warnings, disclaimers and other fancy ways of saying ‘This is a stove. Stoves burn fuel. Burning fuel is very hot. Please try to be smart (safe) when around very hot burning fuel’. These sound like common sense things, but such is our litigious society. The small business owner must do these things to protect himself. That being said, the information and warnings are informative and should be read. There is also some very relevant information buried in there, such as the design weight limitations of the stove (20 lbs.).
Page two goes into great detail on how to make the windscreen. After reading through them a couple of times, I think I have a pretty clear idea of what the finished product is supposed to look like. There are no pictures provided. This should not present a problem, as the instructions seem pretty clear, but it would help. Page two concludes with a few notes on maintaining the stove.
Page three is comprised entirely of instructions on how to use the stove. These instructions include both warm and cold weather techniques. Also provided is a table which provides recommended fuel amounts to boil various amounts of water. The last page is dedicated to the instructions for building a pot cozy.
Initial Conclusions:
The Brasslite Turbo II-D is a little gem! It is clear that a lot of thought and development time has gone into the design. It is pleasing to the eye and I anticipate it getting a great deal of attention from my fellow alcohol burners!
Likes:
1 - Quality materials and construction.
2 - Very light.
3 - Truly simple to use
Dislikes:
1 - Simmer ring tab sticks out just enough so that the stove will not fit inside my titanium mug. The stove would otherwise be a perfect fit.
Continued Testing:
The first item on the agenda will be to construct a windscreen. I will follow the instructions for both the aluminum foil and aluminum sheet screens. I’m headed for a three day hike this weekend, so I’d better get moving!
I will perform a series of controlled environment burns in my kitchen to set an operational base-line for other comparisons. The cooler weather has already arrived , so the stoves cold weather burning characteristics will be of particular interest. I will note fuel consumption and burn times and note how each is affected by the ambient temperature in the variety of weather conditions I will experience through fall and winter.
I do not normally get too fancy with my trail cooking, but I will play with some recipes that require simmering to see how well the simmer ring works.
In closing, I would like to thank Brasslite for the opportunity to test this very interesting stove!
Jim Sabiston
Read more reviews of Brasslite gear
Read more gear reviews by jim Sabiston
|
