Product
Description
According to the Brasslite website and product literature, the Turbo
II-D is the improved version of the Turbo II (now discontinued). The
Turbo II-D has a double wall (the reason for the "D" in the
name), which increases the weight by 0.4 oz (11.3 g) but creates
significantly improved flame control. The Turbo II-D is for use by 1-2
people. It has a fuel capacity of 2 fl oz (57 ml) and will burn for 20
minutes on a full load of fuel (longer if simmering). It's recommended
that the Turbo II-D be used with a cook pot having a minimum capacity of
33 fl oz (1 liter), but the base size of the pot is more important to
reduce flame spillage and wasted fuel. The minimum recommended pot base
size is 5 inches (13 cm). Flame size can be reduced by partially closing
the ports (air intakes) to compensate for pots that are at or slightly
less than 5 inches (13 cm) in diameter and 33 fl oz (1 liter) capacity.
Summary
The Turbo II-D is a larger alcohol stove that is suitable for 1-2
people. It has a simmer sleeve that allows simmering a meal at low heat
or putting the stove on “hold” between courses. Over the 6-month
test period, I used this stove on 11 outings for a total of 44 trip
days. Conditions included high altitude, hot and cold weather, wind, and
snow. After I adjusted to the alcohol stove’s personality (mainly the
lack of flame control), I became comfortable with its reliability and
found it easy to like. It works extremely well for ultralight
backpacking because of its simplicity and lightweight and the fact that
I can take only the amount of fuel needed. It required that I develop
skill at determining the correct amount of alcohol to use to boil a
given amount of water, taking into consideration the water and air
temperatures, wind, pot size, etc. This skill was easily mastered. Boil
times were about double those of a pressurized fuel stove in my testing
conditions. The stove is very sensitive to wind (as are most camping
stoves), and a good windscreen is essential. Brasslite’s innovations
have raised the level of usability and performance of alcohol stoves to
the point where they deserve serious consideration for general and
lightweight backpacking use.
Introduction
Over the course of many
outings during the 6-month test period I have come to peace with the
Brasslite Turbo II-D alcohol stove. It connects with the spirit of
backpacking in its simplicity, silence, and predictability. It has no
moving parts, no pumps or seals, and no throwaway fuel canisters. Unlike
pressurized fuel stoves, which seem to make more noise than heat, the
alcohol stove silently and efficiently heats my pot. I developed a
relationship with it, just like I would with a canine companion. It
especially embraces the principles of ultralight backpacking where
appropriate gear is essential, simple, functional, and light. The most
important thing I learned in this test is that the alcohol stove is
efficient, durable, and dependable. It fits well with my ultralight
philosophy and environmental ethics.
Brasslite has raised the performance of alcohol stoves to a higher
level. In this report I will summarize my experiences and impressions
with the Brasslite Turbo II-D over the past 6 months. If you have not
used an alcohol stove before and are considering a purchase, this review
should help answer many of your questions.
Field
Test Locations And Conditions
Over the 6-month test
period I used the stove on 11 outings in 4 states for a total of 44 trip
days. In late September, shortly after receiving the stove, I went on
one last backpack in the high alpine country of the Southwest Colorado
Mountains just before a snowstorm ended the backpacking season. In the
fall I shifted to backpacking in the canyon country of Northern Arizona
and Southeast Utah. Fall also included an 8-day canoe trip on the
Colorado River in Southeast Utah. During the winter my wife and I used
the stove on 5 backcountry car camping trips in Southeast Utah and
Northern New Mexico. And in the spring I went on 2 more backpacking
trips in Southeastern Utah canyon country. Over the course of these
trips I used the stove under the following extreme conditions: high
elevations (11,800 ft/3597 m), high temperatures (85 F/29 C), low
temperatures (15-30 F/-9 to -1 C), snow (6 in/15 cm one night), wind (up
to 25 mph/40 kph), and rain. We also enjoyed many very pleasant days in
very beautiful places, the kind that keeps drawing you back.
How I Used The Stove
The majority of the time (it was winter) I heated cold water 32-45 F
(0-7 C). On solo trips I typically boiled 2 cups (16 fl oz/473 ml) of
water for breakfast in the morning, and the same amount for my dinner in
the evening. On trips with my wife we typically boiled 2 cups of water
for coffee followed by 3 cups (24 fl oz/710 ml) for hot cereal in the
morning, and 3 cups (24 fl oz/710 ml) for dinner in the evening. I
stayed with full cups of water to simplify my record keeping. My cooking
method is very simple: I simply boil water, add stuff to it, let it sit
5-10 min, and eat it. I use treated water, so it doesn’t actually have
to reach boiling, although I prefer it. I do not do any simmering, so
the stove’s simmer ring was not a useful feature for me.
My cook pot is 5.5 in/14 cm in diameter, slightly larger than the
minimum 5 in/13 cm diameter recommended by Brasslite. The capacity was 6
cups (48 fl oz/1.4 liters). I built and used a heat deflector and
windscreen following instructions that came with the stove. In cold
weather I used a .5 in/2 cm thick piece of fiberglass insulation under
the stove to reduce heat loss. Throughout the test I used denatured
alcohol as fuel and dispensed it from the fuel bottle provided by
Brasslite. Each time I used the stove I measured and recorded water
temperature, air temperature, amount of water used, amount of fuel used,
and estimated wind speed.
Data
The following table shows the range of boiling times I recorded for 2 cups
(16 fl oz/473 ml) and 3 cups (24 fl oz/710 ml) of water, compared with
data from the Brasslite website.
|
Water
|
Fuel
|
My Boil Time
|
Brasslite Boil Time
|
| 2 cups/16 fl oz/473 ml |
.75 fl oz/22 ml |
5.15 to 11.5 min |
5 min |
| 3 cups/24 fl oz/710 ml |
1 fl oz/30 ml |
7.5 to 10.5 min |
7 min |
The main point here is that the time to reach boiling varies tremendously,
depending on the conditions. All of my testing was done in fall,
winter, and early spring. Water and air temperatures were usually cool,
it was often breezy, and elevations were above 6000 ft/1829 m.
Brasslite’s tests were conducted at low elevation using warmer fuel
and water, in calm/warm air conditions. Larger pot sizes, metal type and
thickness, wind conditions, windscreen position, lower water
temperature, lower air temperature, and elevation may all increase field
boil times.
My
Experiences With The Brasslite Turbo Ii-D
Lighting the Stove—The directions state that the ports (air
intakes) need to be fully open when the stove is lit. When I used the
warm weather lighting method (putting alcohol only on the top of the
stove), the stove would frequently not ignite, even at temperatures of
60-70 F/16-21 C. I resorted to using the cold weather lighting method
most of the time (putting about 3 ml of alcohol in the brass pan at the
bottom plus a little on top). It is better not to skimp on priming fuel
when igniting the stove because if it does not ignite I have to repeat
the process using more fuel. During the lighting process I typically
waited about 10 sec to be sure the stove was ignited before I put my pot
on. The stove burns slowly at first, then more vigorously as it gets
warmed up.
| Controlling
the Flame Level—The stove has no direct way to adjust the
flame level or turn it off. As one would expect, the stove burns
less vigorously in cold weather and more vigorously in warm
weather. The flame level is actually more controlled in cooler
weather, and more flame spillage (less efficiency) occurs in
warmer weather. On a few occasions the stove flared up excessively
(photo to right) and quickly consumed the fuel. I could not detect
any pattern to this behavior, and fortunately it happened only a
few times. The ports can be partially closed (up to one-third) to
adjust for smaller pots and warmer weather to reduce flame
spillage. |
|
Using the Simmer Sleeve—The main purpose of the
simmer sleeve is to simmer food once boiling has been reached or to put
the stove on “hold” between courses. I did not use the simmer sleeve
feature for cooking, but I did test it several times. To adjust the simmer
sleeve, it is necessary to press down on the cook pot and bump the
sleeve’s tab to get it to slide. As the stove became more corroded, the
simmer sleeve was more resistant to sliding. It can be loosened by
spreading the tab with a knife. I had to loosen it several times during
the test so it would slide easily. For me, the simmer sleeve was not a
useful feature. It was somewhat difficult to slide (at the risk of
spilling my cook pot), and the response was fairly slow (1-2 minutes).
With an alcohol stove it makes more sense to me to simply boil water, add
a quick-cook meal, and let it set 10 min to “cook”, rather than
simmering it on the stove. I found that a pot cozy is not really necessary
for quick-cook meals.
Controlling Burn Time—The
process is to estimate the amount of fuel needed to boil a given amount of
water, taking into account the initial water temperature, air temperature,
and wind conditions. Once the
stove is ignited, it burns until the fuel runs out, so ideally you want to
use just the right amount of fuel. Some experience and skill are needed to
correctly estimate the amount of fuel needed, but after awhile it becomes
instinctive. The amounts listed in a table in the instructions are very
close, and one quickly learns how much to adjust them for the specific
conditions.
Fuel-dispensing Bottle—This
is a perfect accessory to accurately measure and dispense fuel into the
stove. It does not leak. I found that the reservoir side of the bottle
should be up when dispensing the fuel.
High Elevation Use—The
Brasslite alcohol stove worked just fine at high altitude. In my past
experiences with a Trangia stove and a homemade soda can stove, they did
not work very well at high elevations. I later realized that the poor
performance was caused by a close-fitting windscreen that restricted
airflow to the stove.
Flame Spillage—Especially at
warmer air temperatures (55 F/12.8 C and higher) there was flame spillage
around my cook pot. Sometimes it was excessive to the point that I could
not take the lid off the pot to add my food, for fear of burning my hand
or clothing. Flame spillage is wasted heat, and can be reduced by using a
wider cook pot or lighting the stove with the ports partially closed. It
can also be reduced by adjusting the windscreen so it is closer around the
pot to reduce the amount of air available. At cooler temperatures the
stove was quite well behaved, and there was minimal flame spillage.
Boil Time—My boil times were
usually 6-9 minutes for 2 cups (16 fl oz/473 ml) of water and 8-13 minutes
for 3 cups (24 fl oz/710 ml) of water, depending on air and water
temperatures. These were significantly longer than the average 5 to 7
minute boil times stated on the Brasslite website, but Brasslite
emphasized that actual boil times vary a lot because conditions vary a
lot. My boil times are probably typical for the western mountain and
canyon country. Note that most of my testing was under fairly cool
conditions.
Windy, Rainy, and Snowy
Conditions—Wind definitely affects the alcohol stove (as it does
with any camping stove), and a windscreen is essential. Because of the
convective heat loss more fuel is needed and boiling times are
significantly increased. Using the stove in the rain is a similar
situation, because of the conductive heat loss. The one time I used the
stove in the snow it worked just fine. In cold weather it is important to
use a heat reflector under the stove to reduce conductive heat loss. On
frozen ground or snow, placing a thin (.5 in/2 cm) piece of fiberglass
insulation under the stove helps to improve efficiency.
Convenience—This is a very
subjective topic, but I feel that once the technique is mastered the
alcohol stove is just as convenient as any other backpacking stove.
Boiling times are longer, but that is not a problem for me. There are
always lots of things to do while the stove is doing its job, especially
in the morning when I am breaking camp. With my cooking method, it is not
essential that water be heated to boiling; close is good enough. The main
advantages of pressurized fuel stoves are that you don’t have to
estimate and measure the amount of fuel needed for each use, and you can
directly adjust the flame level. See my Field
Test Report for a comparison of the Brasslite Turbo II-D with a
canister stove.
Reliability—After 6 months of
experience with the alcohol stove, my confidence in it has increased
immensely. It is very predictable and dependable.
Ultralight Backpacking Use—The alcohol stove is a perfect match
for ultralight backpacking. It is small, light, and simple. The Turbo II-D
at 2.6 oz/74 g is a little heavy by ultralight standards, but it is
designed as a 2-person stove. The new Turbo F weighs only .8 oz/ 23 g. I
especially like the fact that I can carry only the amount of fuel I need
for a particular trip.
Recommendations For Potential Improvements
I would love to see an alcohol stove that does not require measuring the
amount of fuel needed for each use. Simply fill it with fuel, cook, and
turn it off. Then return the remaining fuel to a storage bottle or seal it
in the stove until the next use.
Conclusions
If you prefer to keep things simple, lightweight, and functional, then you
will love the Brasslite Turbo II-D. It requires some skill to use, but it
is easily mastered. However, if you prefer to utilize all the features
that modern technology has to offer, then you would probably not be
satisfied with an alcohol stove and its lack of control. Brasslite has
done a very creditable job of advancing the usability and performance of
the alcohol stove. If you have not used an alcohol stove before, the
Brasslite Turbo II-D is a good choice.
Tester
Information
Tester Name: Will Rietveld
E-mail: willi_wabbit@bresnan.net
Gender: M
Age: 61
Height: 6' (183 cm)
Weight: 170 lb (77.3 kg)
Location: Durango, Colorado, USA
Backpacking Background: 46 years of hiking and backpacking in the
mountains and deserts of southwest Colorado, southeast Utah, New Mexico,
and Arizona. I have also made numerous trips in Wyoming, Montana,
Minnesota, Wisconsin, and upper Michigan. I have been a lightweight
backpacker for many years, and an ultralight backpacker for 5 years. I
have been retired for 6 years and backpack frequently. My wife and I
present workshops on ultralight backpacking in the local area and have
developed a website called Southwest Ultralight
Backpacking.
Acknowledgements
I would like to thank Aaron Rosenbloom at Brasslite and the
BackpackGearTest group for selecting me to participate in this test.
Will Rietveld |
