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Brasslite Turbo II-D Stove
Field Report
Year 2003 Model Reviewer
Stuart
Bilby, male, stu@bwpl.co.nz Age 37, 176 cm (5'9"), 81 kg (179 lb)
Website
www.brasslite.com
Description
The
Brasslite Turbo II-D is a professional version of the homemade aluminium drink can alcohol stoves. It weighs only 78 g (2.8 oz). The double wall combined with the simmer sleeve, which rotates to cover the air inlet holes, allows the Turbo II-D to simmer. It is a laminar flow stove in which air flows in the base, mixes with the hot fuel gases and passes out the hole at the top. The fuel is not pressurised and there is no lid to screw on.
Further details, weight and price are given in my initial report.
Testing
I have used the stove backpacking as the only stove on a six-day transalpine trip across the Southern Alps, a two-day trip across the Kaweka Ranges in the central North Island and a single night trip with my three sons in the Waitakere Ranges near our home. I have also run a series of tests around my home.
I have used it for making muffins, frying bacon, cooking one-pot dinners and making many, many cups of tea. (A cup of tea missed is one you never catch up on.)
Fuel Bottle
The stove was supplied with a cunning 8 fluid ounce (237 ml) polyethylene fuel bottle that allows fuel volumes to be measured quickly and accurately. This has proved to be a pleasure to use. It allows simple and accurate measurement of the fuel and quick refuelling. I lost the little red cap on the pouring nozzle after a few days, which was frustrating but predictable.
Fuel
The fuel I used for all the tests was methylated spirits, commonly known as meths, which is very widely available in New Zealand at petrol stations and supermarkets. It is 92% Ethyl Alcohol, 6% Water, 2% Methanol plus a purple dye and a bitter flavouring. I suspect that the water content was responsible for the slower than advertised boil times that I achieved (see details below). Also it may have been responsible for the large amount of condensation that was sometimes present on the outside of the pot during the first two minutes after lighting. However, I also achieved better fuel economy than that given in the instructions.
Fuel Use
The time and fuel required to heat water depends on among other things; the water temperature, air temperature, wind speed, pot size, pot material, pot shape, lid, wind shield, fuel type, fuel temperature, pre-heating and air flow. The results I achieved are for specific conditions, but they provide an indication of what is possible.
Using meths, a 1.3 litre (44 fl. oz) titanium pot and a foil wind shield I achieved a rolling boil for 1 litre (34 fl. oz) of water in between 12 minutes 40 seconds and 15 minutes 30 seconds depending on the starting temperatures. Five hundred millilitres (17 fl. oz, 2.1 cups) achieved a rolling boil in 6 minutes 52 seconds. Details of the tests are given at the end of this report.
The stove consistenly achieved better fuel efficiency than stated in the instructions and in the temperatures I have been using it regularly burned on for 30% to 50% longer than that needed to achieve a rolling boil. Because of this I was able to reduce the recommended fuel volumes by about 30%.
I used 100 ml (3.3 fl oz) of fuel per person per day for two people over my 5-day trip. Temperatures at the times I was cooking were in the 5-12°C range (41-54°F) and I was doing a lot of high fuel use cooking including around four large hot drinks per day, baking muffins and frying bacon. I will report further on fuel use in my long-term report.
Simmering
The Brasslite Turbo II-D is great for simmering. It will run for more than 30 minutes on a single fuel fill. The simmer ring can be used to adjust the flame so that for small pots the flame can be restricted to the base of the pot. I used the stove for frying bacon and simmering various meals. It was easy to select whatever flame level was desired although there was a lag of around 30 seconds from the time the simmer ring was adjusted until the flame settled at its new level. I cooked muffins by putting muffin mix in a foil muffin cup that was supported above the base of my pot with a piece of heavy duty foil. The lid was put on the pot to form a small camp oven. Using a supermarket muffin mix without the recommended egg this produced good muffins, one at a time.
Initially the simmer ring was tight and difficult to turn but following the instructions supplied with the stove it was easy to loosen it. The simmer ring handle becomes hot and must be adjusted without touching it directly. I usually use a metal spoon.
Windscreen
The flame gets stronger as the stove heats and by the end of a large burn the flames can be licking up the sides of the pot. This can be controlled to some extent by partially closing the simmer ports. However I appreciate a strong flame at the end of the burn to rapidly push the water the last few degrees up to boiling, especially in cold temperatures.
Set Up
One of the great features of the Brasslite is how easy it is to set up. No pumping, assembly or even priming on most occasions. It has no pumps, valves or switches.
In the early stages of lighting the Brasslite is quite susceptible to blowing out in any wind. Sometimes it goes out of its own accord for no apparent reason. Once it has heated up then this is not a problem. When the fuel is cold lighting the stove can be a little difficult, pointing the lighter down the hole can lead to singed fingers. This is resolved by spreading a little priming fuel on the top of the stove or in the priming tray around the base.
Fire Balls
Of all stove types the Brasslite is one of the safest. The alcohol fuel is much less flammable than white gas (white spirits) and the stove has no moving parts except the simmer ring and no valves or o-rings to fail. On one occasion I had a problem where the flames became large and uncontrollable with large yellow flames well above the top of the pot. This was unexpected and alarming. Closing the simmer ports did not solve the problem. There were flames pouring out of the air inlet holes. I suspect that what occurred was that I overfilled the stove and this resulted in the fuel sitting in the outer ring of the stove below the level of the air inlet holes. When lit this fuel acted as a priming fuel, overheating the body of the stove and resulting in thermal runaway with the fuel burning wildly. Once the stove was emptied of fuel and cooled it restarted normally.
The Brasslite is very clean burning with the meths fuel. There was a slight brown discolouration to the base of my pot after five day's use, but nothing that would rub off on my finger.
Dislikes
- Can blow out on lighting
- A little slow to adjust simmering
- Flame gets stronger as the stove heats
- Requires judgement to estimate how much fuel to add
Likes
- Simple, no valves
- Simmers well
- Comes with a great fuel bottle
- Light weight
- Stronger than a drink can stove
- Controllable flame size
- Reliable
- No plastic parts
- Hot enough to easily cook for two or three
- Fast and simple to refuel
- Built in pot stand
Summary
The
Brasslite Turbo II-D is a unique stove and it is becoming my preferred stove in most backpacking circumstances. It puts out enough heat to be satisfactory for cooking for two in most situations and it simmers well. It is an elegant alcohol stove that is simple to operate and very quick to set up; just add the right volume of fuel and light.
Backpacking Background
I live in Auckland, New Zealand and have been heading into the mountains for 18 years. I am an experienced backpacker, tramper and climber and most of my trips are multi-day off-trail trips. I love long trips up the remote gorges, forests and glaciers of the South Island's west coast. Over the last two years I have converted to a lightweight style.
2 December 2003
Appendix - Tests
All tests were performed indoors in sheltered conditions using a 1.3 litre (44 fluid oz) Snowpeak titanium pot with the lid on. The pot was 130 mm (5.1 inches) in diameter and has a good radius where the base meets the walls allowing the flames to cling to the side of the pot. The fuel was methylated spirits (Andrew Group Ltd, 92% Ethyl Alcohol, 6% Water, 2% Methanol plus a purple dye). Temperatures were measured with a Dick Smith digital thermometer (1 deg C, 2 deg F accuracy)
date: 25 Nov 2003
location: Auckland
altitude: 50 m (160 feet)
ambient air temp: 17.1 ºC (62.8 ºF)
initial water temp: 17.4 ºC (63.3 ºF)
wind shield: tall heavy foil
fuel: 44 ml (1.5 fl oz)
water volume: 1000 ml (33.8 fl oz)
rolling boil: 12:40 minutes
burn out: 16:52 minutes
date: 25 Nov 2003
location: Auckland
altitude: 50 m (160 feet)
ambient air temp: 17.8 ºC (64.0 ºF)
initial water temp: 17.8 ºC (64.0 ºF)
wind shield: tall heavy foil
fuel: 22 ml 1.5 fl oz
water volume: 500 ml (16.9 fl oz)
rolling boil: 06:52 minutes
burn out: 10:26 minutes
date 25 Oct 2003
location: Louper Biv
ambient air temp: 14.3 ºC (57.7 ºF)
initial water temp: 7.4 ºC (45.3 ºF)
wind shield: light foil
fuel: 44 ml (1.5 fl oz)
water volume: 1000 ml (33.8 fl oz)
rolling boil: 10:50 minutes
burn out: 15:30 minutes
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