Brasslite Stove?

Peewiglet said:

Has anyone got any experience of this, please?
http://www.brasslite.com/

Yeah, I use the TurboF as my main stove. It saves a good deal of
weight over the Trangia 28 (mini Trangia) I was using before. Cooking
time and fuel use works out about the same. Most Americans seem to
report considerably better cooking times and fuel consumption, I think
because they can get much better quality meths (denatured alcohol)
over there.

The only downside is stability. With a base of only 2 inches, you have
to make sure that the stove is set up securely and the pot is properly
centred. I've had a few spilt dinners, but I think I have the knack
now. The old "balance the stove on the heather" trick won't work at
all, so when choosing a spot to pitch I try to make sure that there'll
be reasonably clear ground in the vestibule.

If you decide to go for it, I'd recommend getting the fuel bottles he
sells too. Once lit, these stoves can't be extinguished, so you need
to know in advance exactly how much fuel you'll be using - and to use
only that amount.

Otherwise I recommend it highly, and Aaron is good to deal with.

Nohoval

Se?n Hennessy said:

Most Americans seem to
report considerably better cooking times and fuel consumption, I think
because they can get much better quality meths (denatured alcohol)
over there.

Are you sure it isn't because of their better climate? Less wind and
rain? ;-)

Quoted message said:

The old "balance the stove on the heather" trick won't work

Hmm... Cooking on heather eh?

So how does this stove plus the necessary liquid fuel compare in weight
to say, a pocket rocket with a gas cartridge?

Paul
--
http://www.wilderness-wales.co.uk
http://www.wildwales.fsnet.co.uk
http://www.photosig.com/go/users/userphotos?id=118749

In message <[email hidden]>, Paul Saunders
<[email hidden]> writes

Quoted message said:

Se?n Hennessy said:

Most Americans seem to
report considerably better cooking times and fuel consumption, I think
because they can get much better quality meths (denatured alcohol)
over there.

Are you sure it isn't because of their better climate? Less wind and
rain? ;-)

There are different varieties of alcohol suitable for stoves in the USA.
Some burn hotter than UK meths, some cooler.

Some parts of the USA have plenty of wind and rain too! I was in the
White Mountains in New Hampshire last autumn where the climate is far
more like the Scottish Highlands than the Sierra Nevada in California.

When using the Brasslite Turbo II-D I've found a foil windscreen makes a
huge difference to the boil time and fuel consumption. I find it boils
water about twice as fast as a Trangia 27.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

The old "balance the stove on the heather" trick won't work

Hmm... Cooking on heather eh?

Brasslite do recommend only using small pans (a litre or less in
capacity).

Quoted message said:

So how does this stove plus the necessary liquid fuel compare in weight
to say, a pocket rocket with a gas cartridge?

The Turbo IID weighs 70 grams, the Pocket Rocket 85 grams. I use twice
as much meths per day as gas. The lightest gas cartridge weighs 88grams
empty and holds 110g of fuel, easily enough for 2 days for me, making a
total of 275 grams for the Pocket Rocket plus fuel. With the Turbo II-D
I would need at least 120 grams of fuel for two days. The Brasslite fuel
bottle weighs 40 grams, making a total of 230 grams. However for four
days I would take a 250 size cartridge weighing 255 grams full making a
total of 340 grams for the Pocket Rocket. With the Brasslite I would
take 240 grams of fuel, making a total with bottle and stove of 350
grams. Overall I've found that the weight difference greater the longer
the trip with the Pocket Rocket (or equivalent) increasingly lighter.

On Mon, 26 Jul 2004 11:47:32 +0100, Steve Orrell wrote:

[...]

Quoted message said:

http://hikinghq.net/

A nice site - thanks v. much 🙂

[...]

Quoted message said:

Akshally, the site has had a major overhaul since I was last there; it
has, among other things, a wicked excel spreadsheet packing list... [...]

Droool..... I must go and look at that right now - thanks again 🙂

Best wishes,
--
Peewiglet

On 26 Jul 2004 08:40:24 -0700, [email hidden] (Se?n Hennessy)
wrote:

<snip helpful stuff>

Quoted message said:

Otherwise I recommend it highly, and Aaron is good to deal with.

Many thanks for the v. helpful explanation of exactly how to use it.
On balance I'll probably settle for a Pocket Rocket, but this does
sound like an interesting stove.

Best wishes,
--
Peewiglet

On Mon, 26 Jul 2004 19:41:17 +0100, Chris Townsend
<[email hidden]> wrote:

[...]

Quoted message said:

The Turbo IID weighs 70 grams, the Pocket Rocket 85 grams. I use twice
as much meths per day as gas. The lightest gas cartridge weighs 88grams
empty and holds 110g of fuel, easily enough for 2 days for me, making a
total of 275 grams for the Pocket Rocket plus fuel. With the Turbo II-D
I would need at least 120 grams of fuel for two days. The Brasslite fuel
bottle weighs 40 grams, making a total of 230 grams. However for four
days I would take a 250 size cartridge weighing 255 grams full making a
total of 340 grams for the Pocket Rocket. With the Brasslite I would
take 240 grams of fuel, making a total with bottle and stove of 350
grams. Overall I've found that the weight difference greater the longer
the trip with the Pocket Rocket (or equivalent) increasingly lighter.

Very helpful stuff - many thanks.

Best wishes,
--
Peewiglet

In message <[email hidden]>, Peewiglet
<[email hidden]> writes

Quoted message said:

Has anyone got any experience of this, please?

http://www.brasslite.com/

By the way, Brasslite are available in the UK from
http://www.endurancekit.co.uk

[email hidden] said...

Quoted message said:

In message <[email hidden]>, Peewiglet
<[email hidden]> writes

Quoted message said:

Has anyone got any experience of this, please?

http://www.brasslite.com/

By the way, Brasslite are available in the UK from
http://www.endurancekit.co.uk

What an amazing website! It tells you absolutely... nothing.
--
Fran
If you need my email address please ask.

[email hidden] said...

Quoted message said:

[email hidden] said...

Quoted message said:

In message <[email hidden]>, Peewiglet
<[email hidden]> writes

Quoted message said:

Has anyone got any experience of this, please?

http://www.brasslite.com/

By the way, Brasslite are available in the UK from
http://www.endurancekit.co.uk

What an amazing website! It tells you absolutely... nothing.

Oops, sorry, I take it all back. Brain not in gear this evening.
--
Fran
If you need my email address please ask.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Most Americans seem to
report considerably better cooking times and fuel consumption, I think
because they can get much better quality meths (denatured alcohol)
over there.

Are you sure it isn't because of their better climate? Less wind and
rain? ;-)

There are different varieties of alcohol suitable for stoves in the USA.
Some burn hotter than UK meths, some cooler.

Apparently there's stuff called HEET, which is a very pure anhydrous
methanol sold for cleaning the fuel lines in cars, and it's THE
BUSINESS as a stove fuel. I'm going to see if there's an equivalent
over here.

Quoted message said:

When using the Brasslite Turbo II-D I've found a foil windscreen makes a
huge difference to the boil time and fuel consumption.

Definitely. Never use mine without it.

Quoted message said:

I find it boils
water about twice as fast as a Trangia 27.

Interesting. I did some tests with a mini-trangia, the brasslite and a
pepsi can stove, all using the same .9 litre pot and the same amount
of water. I found bugger all difference between the three. I also
tried several brands of meths (from camping shops, pharmacies and
hardware shops), and again found bugger all difference.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

So how does this stove plus the necessary liquid fuel compare in weight
to say, a pocket rocket with a gas cartridge?

The Turbo IID weighs 70 grams, the Pocket Rocket 85 grams. I use twice
as much meths per day as gas. The lightest gas cartridge weighs 88grams
empty and holds 110g of fuel, easily enough for 2 days for me, making a
total of 275 grams for the Pocket Rocket plus fuel.

Wow, you use a lot of fuel. I use 30g meths a day - 10 for breakfast
and 20 for dinner. The way I cook it would take a long time to use up
any of the standard canisters, so meths works out better, at least for
outings up to a week. At what point a butane stove would work out
better I don't know, I haven't done the maths. Anyway, I prefer
alcohol stoves because you always know how much fuel you have left.

Nohoval

Chris Townsend said:

By the way, Brasslite are available in the UK from
http://www.endurancekit.co.uk

Many thanks 🙂

Best wishes,
--
Peewiglet

"Se?n Hennessy" <[email hidden]> wrote

Quoted message said:

Apparently there's stuff called HEET, which is a very pure anhydrous
methanol sold for cleaning the fuel lines in cars, and it's THE
BUSINESS as a stove fuel. I'm going to see if there's an equivalent
over here.

Do people find it more efficient than meths? From a simple chemistry point
of view meths (mostly ethanol) should give more heat output per gramme and
be more efficient when burnt normally. Is that outbalanced by the way these
stoves work under pressure and methanol vaporises more easily?

In message <[email hidden]>, Se?n
Hennessy <[email hidden]> writes

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

> Most Americans seem to
> report considerably better cooking times and fuel consumption, I think
> because they can get much better quality meths (denatured alcohol)
> over there.

Are you sure it isn't because of their better climate? Less wind and
rain? ;-)

There are different varieties of alcohol suitable for stoves in the USA.
Some burn hotter than UK meths, some cooler.

Apparently there's stuff called HEET, which is a very pure anhydrous
methanol sold for cleaning the fuel lines in cars, and it's THE
BUSINESS as a stove fuel. I'm going to see if there's an equivalent
over here.

Methanol certainly burns hotter and more cleanly than isopropyl alcohol.
In the States it's found in some brands of antifreeze. I haven't checked
if that's the case here.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

When using the Brasslite Turbo II-D I've found a foil windscreen makes a
huge difference to the boil time and fuel consumption.

Definitely. Never use mine without it.

Quoted message said:

I find it boils
water about twice as fast as a Trangia 27.

Interesting. I did some tests with a mini-trangia, the brasslite and a
pepsi can stove, all using the same .9 litre pot and the same amount
of water. I found bugger all difference between the three. I also
tried several brands of meths (from camping shops, pharmacies and
hardware shops), and again found bugger all difference.

My figures for boiling a pint of water were 15" 30' for the Trangia and
8" for both the Brasslite and a Pepsi can stove. I haven't tested a
mini-Trangia. I think one reason for the difference may be the distance
between the burner and the pot, which is much greater with the Trangia
than the other stoves. The fuel does seem to burn hotter in the
Brasslite and Pepsi can stoves too - you can hear it and see it
bubbling, which doesn't happen with the Trangia.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

So how does this stove plus the necessary liquid fuel compare in weight
to say, a pocket rocket with a gas cartridge?

The Turbo IID weighs 70 grams, the Pocket Rocket 85 grams. I use twice
as much meths per day as gas. The lightest gas cartridge weighs 88grams
empty and holds 110g of fuel, easily enough for 2 days for me, making a
total of 275 grams for the Pocket Rocket plus fuel.

Wow, you use a lot of fuel. I use 30g meths a day - 10 for breakfast
and 20 for dinner. The way I cook it would take a long time to use up
any of the standard canisters, so meths works out better, at least for
outings up to a week. At what point a butane stove would work out
better I don't know, I haven't done the maths. Anyway, I prefer
alcohol stoves because you always know how much fuel you have left.

I run a stove for 30-45 minutes a day, boiling 2-4 litres of water and
doing some simmering. With the Brasslite 50-60 grams of fuel burns for
about 20 minutes. A litre of meths lasts me a week. I guess using the
Brasslite bottle and taking care only to use the exact amount of fuel
needed I could probably get better fuel efficiency.

I'm familiar enough with gas cartridges that I can tell by shaking them
roughly how much fuel is left. When I remember I weigh them and mark the
weight on the cartridge when I get home.

Which stove is best does depend on the amount of use per day as well as
the length of trip and the weather. On longer trips fuel availability
matters too. For trips longer than a week the lightest stove I have is
the Sierra Stove. It weighs 500 grams but burns solid fuel like twigs
and bark so no fuel need be carried. Of course it does have limitations,
especially in the UK!

For long trips in subzero conditions when much snow has to be melted I
still use petrol/paraffin stoves, as I find these the most efficient.

In message <[email hidden]>,
SteveOrrell@?.?.invalid writes

Quoted message said:

On 26 Jul 2004 19:13:12 -0700, [email hidden] (Se?n Hennessy)

Quoted message said:

Apparently there's stuff called HEET, which is a very pure anhydrous
methanol sold for cleaning the fuel lines in cars, and it's THE
BUSINESS as a stove fuel. I'm going to see if there's an equivalent
over here.

It would be interesting to know if yu successfully track a source of
this over 'ere.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

When using the Brasslite Turbo II-D I've found a foil windscreen makes a
huge difference to the boil time and fuel consumption.

Definitely. Never use mine without it.

Any of you guys use a "pot cosy" the merkins seem to rave about?

http://www.antigravitygear.com/products/cozys-lnk.html

Yes, though I haven't used an antigravity one. I have a Pot Parka, which
comes as part of the Outback Oven:

http://www.backpackerspantry.com

The Pot Parka weighs 85 grams. In cold weather it does keep a pot warm
quite well. However wrapping the windscreen round closely round the pot
and having a close-fitting lid works almost as well. Insulating the
stove from the ground is important too.

I've also recently been using the new Jetboil stove
(http://www.jetboil.com), which has a neoprene pot cozy that stays in
place when cooking. There's also an integrated heat exchanger. The
Jetboil is very fuel efficient but you have to set this against the
increased weight compared with a Pocket Rocket type stove and a titanium
pan.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

I find it boils water about twice as fast as a Trangia 27.

Interesting. I did some tests with a mini-trangia, the brasslite and a
pepsi can stove, all using the same .9 litre pot and the same amount
of water. I found bugger all difference between the three.

Shirley its not about speed rather about fuel efficiency; if you want
to boil quickly use a turbo-charged MSR/Coleman multi-doofah...
backpacking means carrying less... increased fuel efficicincy means
less sto carry... less is more... that kind of stuff.

Boiling time in itself certainly isn't that important. It can affect
fuel efficiency however. The most fuel efficient stove I've used is also
the one that boils water fastest. This is the Coleman Xtreme, which uses
the Powermax cartridges. The stove weighs 300 grams however and the
cartridges are hard to find. It's the only cartridge stove that works at
well in temperatures well below freezing. I haven't tried the Jetboil in
freezing weather yet.

In message <[email hidden]>,
SteveOrrell@?.?.invalid writes

Quoted message said:

Paul Saunders said:

So how does this stove plus the necessary liquid fuel compare in weight
to say, a pocket rocket with a gas cartridge?

The site I listed gives exactly this comparison (if only some folk
would look ;-) Irrespective of the potency (sic.) of British Meths
-v- Merkin Meths this guys findings comprehensively confirm the
findings Chris mentions in his post.

http://hikinghq.net/stoves/weight_time_compare.html

NB. the comparison offered is for 11 types of stove, each over a
14-day period on a day by day basis... hardly your usual trip to your
UK venue of choice ;-)

Interestingly the Brasslite Duo polls better than the Pocket Rocket
;-)

Interesting indeed! My figures don't agree! Over 12 days my figures are
36oz for the Pocket Rocket and 54oz for the Turbo II-D. I didn't simply
multiply one day by 12 with the Pocket Rocket however. For one day's use
I assumed the smallest 110 cartridge, which is of course the heaviest
for the amount of fuel held. For 12 days I assumed a 250 and a 450
cartridge.

The Pocket Rocket isn't the most fuel efficient ultralight gas stove in
my experience anyway. The Primus Micron is much better. With the Micron
a 250 cartridge lasts 6 days.

In message <[email hidden]>,
SteveOrrell@?.?.invalid writes

Quoted message said:

Chris Townsend said:

Quoted message said:

Any of you guys use a "pot cosy" the merkins seem to rave about?

http://www.antigravitygear.com/products/cozys-lnk.html

Yes, though I haven't used an antigravity one. I have a Pot Parka, which
comes as part of the Outback Oven:

http://www.backpackerspantry.com

The Pot Parka weighs 85 grams. In cold weather it does keep a pot warm
quite well.

Some of the comments I've read are from folk who use it as part of the
cooking process; AFAIR taking pot off stove, using cosy complete
process... obviously will depend on what' you're heating/eating... but
could be factored in to "fuel efficiency" in an overall sense.

I'm not convinced using it during while cooking would make much
difference if you use a close fitting windscreen and a tight fitting
lid. I reckon these are the most important items for fuel efficiency.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

I've also recently been using the new Jetboil stove
(http://www.jetboil.com), which has a neoprene pot cozy that stays in
place when cooking.

The Jetboil looks interesting, but like it might have a tendency to be
top heavy. Have you found this?

Yes. It is tall and narrow so needs to be stood on flat ground. It's
only big enough for one and you can't use other pans with it. Unscrewing
the pan from the stove when it's full of hot liquid can be awkward too.
The principle is good though. Hopefully there will be lighter, more
stable versions in the future.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

>Interesting. I did some tests with a mini-trangia, the brasslite and a

<snip>

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Shirley its not about speed rather about fuel efficiency; if you want

<snip>

Quoted message said:

Boiling time in itself certainly isn't that important. It can affect
fuel efficiency however.

agreed

In message <[email hidden]>,
SteveOrrell@?.?.invalid writes

Quoted message said:

On Tue, 27 Jul 2004 12:22:57 +0100, Chris Townsend
<[email hidden]> wrote:

snip

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

The Pocket Rocket isn't the most fuel efficient ultralight gas stove in
my experience anyway. The Primus Micron is much better. With the Micron
a 250 cartridge lasts 6 days.

At risk of offending ;-) how many stoves you got!!??? ;-)

I've got 31 currently available stoves and maybe 15 discontinued models
(I've lost track of some of those). I've got more than one of some
models too - probably 60 stoves in all! However it is part of my job.
I've just finished revising one of my books, which has a long section on
stoves, so I've been testing new models, checking boil times etc.

Quoted message said:

More interestingly; what's your opinion of those that you have used
(made)?

They're all pretty good! I mean that. There seem to be few poor models
out there, at least in the brand name ones.

My current favourite overall is the Optimus Nova, which I think is the
best petrol/paraffin stove. I use it on long trips in cold weather or
where I don't know what fuel I'll be able to buy. It primes more quickly
than other liquid fuel stoves and you can release the pressure and bleed
the fuel line without removing the pump from the fuel bottle. It simmers
reasonably well for a liquid fuel stove too.

The stove I use most though is the Primus Micron, because most of my
trips aren't in very cold weather and I can usually get cartridges. It's
the most efficient of the ultralight gas stoves I've tested.

On short cold weather trips I like the Coleman Xtreme. I would use it
more often if I could get cartridges more easily.

In wooded country and dry weather the Sierra Stove is fun and efficient.
I haven't risked taking it on a long trip yet, though I might somewhere
like the High Sierra.

My two latest stoves, the Jetboil and the Brasslite Turbo II-D, are
ones I will probably use more often, instead of the Micron.

If I'm not testing anything else I use the Trangia 27 with gas burner
for car camping because it's stable, windproof and efficient.

Quoted message said:

RE.: the Jetboil. I've come across a review that might be useful to
others;

http://hikinghq.net/forum/showthread.php?t=887

There's another less laudatory review at
http://www.backpackinglight.com though you have to be a paid up member
to access it.

Quoted message said:

Interesting points to note; the usability of other, non-proprietary,
fuel canisters

Every company says this for legal reasons. I've used Snowpeak and
Coleman cartridges with the Jetboil and both worked fine.

Quoted message said:

and the amount of work it could be put to: 14 litres of
boliing water from a 100g cartirdge (lab/test conditions).

That accords with my figures. However a titanium pot and an ultralight
stove (Primus Micron) will stay weigh less on trips of a week or more
despite needing twice the amount of fuel.

Quoted message said:

He also has
a reasonable wish list/comment list at end.

I would like to see a low profile version with a hose attached
cartridge. This would be stable and could be used with larger pans.

The pot cozy is essential as the pot has no other handle. It needs to be
twisted quite firmly to remove it from the stove. Doing this using a
potgrab when the stove was full would be very difficult.

The message <[email hidden]>
from Chris Townsend <[email hidden]> contains these words:

Quoted message said:

My current favourite overall is the Optimus Nova, which I think is the
best petrol/paraffin stove.

How much better is it than the paraffin stoves of 40 years ago? I still
have a couple of half pint ones (one Optimus, one Primus No 96) but both
leak. Toying with the idea of repairing at least one but if the modern
equivalent is so much better I might just polish them up to use as
ornaments and buy a new one instead.

--
Roger Chapman so far this year 39 summits
New - 22 (Marilyns 8, Sweats 5, Outlying Fells 11)
Repeats - 17( Marilyns 6, Sweats 12, Wainwrights 11)
Knackered knee - 4 times

In message <[email hidden]>, Roger
<[email hidden]> writes

Quoted message said:

The message <[email hidden]>
from Chris Townsend <[email hidden]> contains these words:

Quoted message said:

My current favourite overall is the Optimus Nova, which I think is the
best petrol/paraffin stove.

How much better is it than the paraffin stoves of 40 years ago? I still
have a couple of half pint ones (one Optimus, one Primus No 96) but both
leak. Toying with the idea of repairing at least one but if the modern
equivalent is so much better I might just polish them up to use as
ornaments and buy a new one instead.

I reckon it's much better. It's cleaner, easier to light and more
stable. I used the old Optimus and Primus 1 pint (OO model) paraffin
stoves a fair bit when leading groups and they worked well once lit. I
remember having to fiddle with lighting bits of paraffin soaked paper,
meths or priming paste and then pumping like mad to get them going.

I used the Nova with paraffin for cooking for three on a ten day ski
trip in Lapland and it worked fine (usually I use white gas/Coleman
Fuel). It takes slightly longer to prime with paraffin than with white
gas but it's still much quicker than the old stoves. You don't need any
special priming fuel either as there's a priming pad onto which you
dribble a tiny bit of paraffin and then light. Flame control is good for
a pressure stove and although I wouldn't call it quiet it's not as noisy
as the old stoves. To turn it off you flip the fuel bottle over, which
depressurises the bottle once the last fuel has burnt off.

I have an old Svea 123R on a shelf as an ornament. Aesthetically the old
stoves are definitely better.

The site for information about old camp stoves is Classic Camp Stoves -
http://www.spiritburner.com