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Reviews > Cook Gear > Stoves > Brasslite Turbo II-F > Matt Mauceri > Field ReportBrasslite Turbo II-F Manufacturer: Brasslite Product Description After viewing the Brasslite website, the Turbo II-F is what I expected it to be. The Turbo II-F is an alcohol fueled stove, which runs off of either denatured alcohol or methanol. The stove has essentially four parts to it. The base of the stove is a pre-heating primer pan, which is crimped and bent up to form a dish that will hold fuel. During use in cold weather fuel is poured into this pan in addition to the fuel in the chamber needed for cooking. The fuel in the pan helps to maintain the heat of the stove during operation. The chamber is an open cylinder that sits on top of the pre-heat primer pan and has 6 small vent holes on the sides about 2/3 of the way up, and a larger hole on the top. The chamber will hold up to 1 oz (29.57 ml) of fuel. This model of Brasslite stove features the ability to control the flame and simmer. This is done by way of a sleeve that slides to cover the 6 holes on the side of the stove. With the holes covered the stove does not burn as hot and allows for a simmer temperature, when the holes are open the stove burns at full heat. The sleeve has a short tab which sticks out of one side to allow it to be adjusted while in operation. The last part of the stove is a metal cage two grids tall that sits on top of the chamber. This cage is the pot support, and allows the pot to stay the proper distance from the stove for optimal performance. The Brasslite Turbo II-F stove constructed with brass for all parts except the pot stand, which is made from stainless steel wire cloth. There are no screws or rivets used in the construction, all parts are held together by silver jewelers solder, or by tightly pressed bends and seams in the case of the simmer sleeve. Field Experience After my initial timed tests of the Brasslite Turbo II-F inside my garage I was pretty familiar with the stoves operation, but still a little nervous about relying on it in the field. I took the stove with me on a few day hikes and rock climbing outings in the Bucks County area of Pennsylvania. I packed my stove inside of my MSR titanium mug, which seemed to be a perfect storing place since it fit inside the mug nice and snug and offered great protection for the stove. I put the mug and windscreen inside my MSR titanium Kettle and was very pleased to see my nice compact and light kitchen. On these trips I used the stove only to boil water to make hot drinks with. I was heating up enough water for a cup of coffee, so only had to bring about 8 oz (237 ml) of water to a boil. I used about .5 oz (15 ml) of alcohol to do this which seemed to be the perfect amount to get the water as hot as I needed. I will note that this amount of fuel did not yield a full boil that would be acceptable for purifying purposes. The water I used on these day events was water that I carried along with me, so I did not need to use more fuel to bring the water to a longer boil. On these three trips I did not encounter any real winds, so I had no problems with the windscreen or getting the stove lit. Everything worked very smoothly, and the stove was as easy to use on these trips as it was to use on my garage floor. The last two months I have taken the Brasslite Turbo II-F stove with me on two overnight trips. I did not time the boil or burn times on any of these trips. Mostly because I kept forgetting to bring a watch, but also because the time it takes to boil water and cook dinner are really not that much longer than I was used to. Both overnight backpacking trips were spent on the Appalachian Trail. The first trip, at the end of October, was in the Pennsylvania section of the trail hiking from Bake Oven Knob area to the Lehigh Gap. This section is wooded ridgeline hiking on Blue Mountain with a steady elevation of 1500 ft (457 m). I was tenting at an established site next to the Bake Oven Knob shelter. The weather for this trip was clear skies with temperatures ranging from highs of 68º F (20º C) to lows of 44º F (7º C). The second overnight backpacking took place in mid-November at High Point State Park in New Jersey. The terrain encountered on this trip is typical of the Appalachian Trail in Pennsylvania and New Jersey; rocky trails and wooded ridgeline hiking. The elevation at the High Point shelter area I stayed at was 1430 ft (436 m). I also used the stove at the High Point State Park Monument. The monument stands tall on the Highest Point in New Jersey a whopping 1803 ft (550 m). During this trip the weather was very cold, wet, and of course windy. Temperatures plunged to 28º F (-2º C) at night, and reached a high of 42º F (7º C) during the day. The area also received a light snow that was already sticking to the ground when I had arrived at the trailhead in the evening. Total accumulation of snow was hardly significant, but it was enough to make me nervous about using new equipment. Winds the next day were reported to be blowing between 15 and 20 MPH. On the first backpacking trip with the Brasslite stove I was excited to finally get a very light pack on my back. With this new stove and a lighter tee-pee style tent, I had to check my pack twice to make sure I had everything with me because it was so light. I arrived at camp after dark, pitched my tent, and set up to cook dinner. Because my tent has no floor, I just kept my door open and cooked inside my tent. This really once again eliminated any wind encounters, and of course the stove and windscreen worked great. I boiled 16 oz (473 ml) of water using 1 oz (29.57 ml) of alcohol since I was using un-purified water and it would need to boil longer. In the morning I used the same amount of fuel and water for breakfast, but I also squeezed some alcohol into the cold-weather priming pan on the bottom of the stove. The stove is then lit from the bottom pan, and it seemed kind of uneventful and not really necessary to do so after it lit and burned so well. The temperature was about 48º F (8.9º C) so maybe it was not cold enough to worry about priming the stove yet. I also used an aluminum foil insulator pad for underneath the stove on this trip, which might have helped keep it working well. The insulator pad is really just a square of aluminum foil folded over a few times and placed under the stove and windscreen. During this morning's cook session, after the water boiled I used my multi-tool pliers to turn the simmer sleeve and kept the water hot for a little while longer. This let me start brewing my coffee in my mug, and kept the water hot until I was ready to start making oatmeal. My experience with the Brasslite Turbo II-F on this overnight really put any doubts in the back of my mind on its performance to rest. I was able to boil my water with no problems at all, and really enjoyed the trip more because I had less weight in my pack. The backpacking trip I took to High Point State Park in November was a typical trip for me. I was leaving late on Friday evening and it was raining when I loaded my car. I resisted bringing along my canister stove and looked forward to really putting this stove to a test. The thought did cross my mind that I might have been over-confident, so I brought along a couple extra food bars and carried enough water to make sure I would not have to use any un-purified water to cook with. I hiked in to the shelter in the snow, laughing at the situations I get myself into, and found it empty upon arrival. I laid out my things and broke out my stove to cook dinner. I filled the stove with 1 oz (29.57 ml) of fuel, which is the most it will hold, and used 24 oz (710 ml) of water. I wanted to cook my dinner and make my hot drink without having to fill and light the stove twice. I filled the priming pan, and got it lit on the first match. The fuel proved to be enough to boil my water at this colder temperature, though there was not much time to spare. I did not sleep very well in my 20º F (-6.66º C) sleeping bag, and in the morning I probably primed the stove more than I needed to. I was cooking on the shelter floor, and it was a good thing I cooked on the other side, because all the extra alcohol that was on the bottom insulator pad could have been a problem if I had been cooking near something flammable. When using the stove near leaf litter, or in a tent vestibule I will have to be a bit more careful with the priming or else it could be a problem. While drinking my coffee I realized that by cooking inside of the shelter I had once again eliminated the wind from my tests. The wind was blowing strong that day, so I knew I had a good opportunity to test it out. That morning I hiked from the shelter up to the High Point Monument. It was a great place to test the stove because it was certainly windy. I picked a nice clearing by the monument and started setting up the stove. I filled the stove up all the way and primed it a little, then put about 8 oz (237 ml) of water in the pot. I was not having a good time getting the stove lit, while holding the windscreen in place. There was just too much wind, my matches were being blown out before they got anywhere near the stove, and my lighter couldn't spark the fuel either. I also had to chase the windscreen twice when it got blown away by a gust of wind. The open clearing was not a good place to be cooking this day. The monument itself is surrounded on three sides by a large stone wall. It was also fenced off on the last open side by a construction barrier. I thought that I might have better luck trying to light the stove in one of the corners of the stone wall, so not letting a fence get in the way of my testing protocol, I let myself in by way of climbing the stone wall and tried the test again in a corner. I primed the stove again, and after a few tries I did manage to get the stove lit. I was having to hold the windscreen in place, with the vent holes at the top of the pot instead of their intended location at the base of the stove. This combined with the wind seeping in at the seam put the stove out a number of times. The wind was very strong during this time, and I don't know if any stove would have performed well in these conditions. I was running out of matches, and getting cold during these attempts, so I called it quits before the water even came close to boiling. I took the windy condition test too far, and I'll have to make up for it on my next trip. What I like: 1. Very sturdy construction especially considering how light the stove weighs. 2. Small size makes for easy packing. What I don't like: 1. Doesn't hold enough fuel for larger groups of people. Summary So far in my experiences with this stove I have been very pleased. I've gotten my dinner cooked and my coffee brewed every time I needed it to be done. While I didn't get the stove lit during my illegal visit to New Jersey's highest point, I think that it was unreasonable to expect any stove to be lit under those conditions. Aside from having to prime the stove to warm it up the temperature did not really effect the performance of this stove at all. Over the next few months I plan on testing the use of this stove in reasonable wind conditions, and I will probably be traveling to Utah to do some canyon and desert backpacking in the spring. I do have some winter mountaineering excursions planned, but the fuel capacity of the stove will keep me from using it on these trips. While the stove worked great in the cold weather where I used it, it would not be well suited being used to melt snow. Finally I still haven't gotten to really cook on the stove yet. It has worked well for my boiling needs, but I would like to do some more fancy cooking to see how the simmer functions can help make my days on the trail more flavorful. Read more reviews of Brasslite gear Read more gear reviews by Matt Mauceri Reviews > Cook Gear > Stoves > Brasslite Turbo II-F > Matt Mauceri > Field Report | |||