BRS-3000T stove Spotlite Review

[Brad Clarke]

"It seems that what we really need instead of trying to adapt to the Jetboil cup is a standalone 600mL heat exhanger mug/pot with a base designed to sit directly on regular stove pot supports"

I checked my stash of pots and I have an Outbound Denali hard anodized HE pot that seems to almost fit the spec.

It's almost identical to the Optimus HE pot, but without the pouring spout; probably from the same OEM.

It's listed as a 900 ml pot, has graduated marks to 800 ml.
Probably wouldn't put more than 700 ml or it'll boil over.

The pot supports of the BRS-3000t fit perfectly on the HE base, leaving approx 1 1/4" clearance between the base of the pot and the top of the burner.

[Josh Hattan]

Can someone with this stove answer a question for me? I just received my BRS-300, and it appears to perform correctly. However, when I went to remove the stove from the fuel canister shortly after my first boil, I noticed the base of the stove is blazing hot. That heat also transferred to the threads and lip of the fuel canister. My Pocket Rocket and Micro Rocket don't have that issue. After boiling water, they may be warm, but certainly not too hot to handle. I fired up the 300 again after it cooled to see just how quickly it heated up. After about 30 seconds, the stove base was too hot to touch. Is this common? It really seams like a safety issue.

[Roger Caffin]

the base of the stove is blazing hot. That heat also transferred to
the threads and lip of the fuel canister.

It’s not a problem. Make sure the canister sides do not get too hot to touch, and you are safe. See http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/exploding_gas_canisters_the_hazard_of_overheating.html for techie details. Cheers

[Josh Hattan]

Thanks, Roger!

[David R.]

Does anybody have a suggestion for stabilizing a larger pot (2 Liter) atop the BRS-3000t? I have the little orange legs for the canister but I’m wondering if is there is something to help keep the bot on the little arms.

[Barry Cuthbert]

David,

Here’s my experience with a large heavy pot on a BRS-3000T. The BRS stove seems designed primarily  for smaller pots for 1-2 people.

[Roger Caffin]

Frankly, I suggest that you do NOT put a large pot on the BRS-3000T without any external pot supports. It is not meant for that.

Cheers

 

[David R.]

Thanks Roger and Barry,

Roger, can you suggest an external pot stand that would suit this application? Perhaps a MYOG solution?

[Paul Magnanti]

I imagine by the time you add pot supports, you are at, or even above, the 2 oz range.

May as well “go heavy” (ha!) and get one the many sub-3 oz stove out there that will handle larger pots well without the futz factor.

The BRS is, essentially, an alcohol stove replacement for a canister users. It is not the most fuel efficient stove, it does not simmer well and it really works best for solo use.

It is a good stove to heat up  2-3 cups of water quickly for “boil and cook” type meals….much like how an alcohol stove is generally used. So why this stove over an alcohol stove?  Some people just like canister stoves and want the lightest one possible.  Many people, myself included, use it when a hot meal is desired and there is an open flame ban happening.  A frequent happening in the fire prone American West recent years…

 

[Barry Cuthbert]

“The BRS is, essentially, an alcohol stove replacement for a canister users. It is not the most fuel efficient stove, it does not simmer well and it really works best for solo use.”

Good summary of the stove’s true purpose.

[David R.]

What sub-3oz stove options are there that you would recommend for a 2L pot?

[Barry Cuthbert]

Some that come to mind are the Snow Peak Lite Max and Gigapower stoves or the Fire Maple Hornet FMS-300T.

Roger has reviewed some of these stoves and a lot more about stoves in general and gas canisters over the years. Have a search through the articles.

[Gary Dunckel]

The SP Lite Max stove also has short support arms, whereas the SP Giga arms are longer, and there are 4 of them (better support for a larger pot). The Fire Maple FMS-300T is nearly identical to the BRS-3000T (but not quite), and I think that was the stove that the BRS-3000T was copied from.

David, I could make one of my triangular  titanium pot supports that would perfectly match up with the BRS-3000T stove. I would just need to know the diameter of the bottom of your pot, as well as which size fuel canister you will be using it with. Feel free to contact me at my home e-mail address (and not via PM!), which is drzooz (at) aol (dot) com, and we could discuss the particulars, .

[Roger Caffin]

The BRS is, ….  It is not the most fuel efficient stove, it does not simmer well and it really works best for solo use.

I have to disagree with everything here.And I have used the BRS-3000T quite a lot.

It is about as efficient as any other upright canister stove I have used – noting that efficiency depends on so many other factors like windshield, pot size, burn rate etc.

Mine simmers most excellently, right down to a feeble little flicker. But for this you will need a windshield of course.

I use mine for the two of us all the time in hot weather, for both boiling water and for cooking dinner.

Pot supports for large pots – I have some ideas and there will be an article in the not too distant future, when we get the web site sorted out. Perhaps Gary can help in the meantime.

Cheers

 

[Gary Dunckel]

I’d like to see your article on supports for large pots, Roger. I just did some quick math and realized that my pot supports would only work with 110 gm. canisters (David knows this, as we are in contact about his dilemma). The 220 gm. canisters would require a very  wide pot support to ensure proper stability, because they are so much taller.

Regarding the BRS-3000T, I am quite the fan boy. When using it with a Jetboil pot (any of them), and a pot riser disk that I came up with, I am able to mimic the fuel efficiency of the stock JB stove. This is, of course, due to the “Flux Ring” that makes JB pots so efficient.

Many of you know that Bob Moulder and I have been cahoots regarding the fine tuning of his “Moulder Strip” heat exchange technique for warming up a canister in frigid conditions. We both have independently settled on using a JB MiniMo pot (with a 4Dog aftermarket pot lid) in conjunction with a BRS-3000T stove, a pot riser disk, and an insulating canister cozy. This combination is the lightest and most fuel efficient setup either of us could come up with. I should also note that I had to come up with a slightly larger JB pot riser disk to work with the MiniMo and Sumo cups, which have a larger diameter flux ring.

Maybe the best solution to David’s problem is to forget the BRS-3000T for this application, and just go with the Snow Peak Giga stove (without piezo). It should work for his wide 2-L pot.

[Bob Moulder]

I’ve done a fair amount of testing with the BRS-3000T.

Re: BRS-3000T efficiency… using it with a JB MiniMo pot fitted with Gary Dunckel’s ‘pot riser disk’ Thingy (which properly positions the stove’s pot supports at the bottom of the HX fins) I boiled 3 cups of fairly cold water with the burner at a moderate flame setting using only 6.3g of fuel (which was straight n-butane, BTW).

I was so surprised I did it again and got exactly the same results. It is not a wild extrapolation to project 8.6g per liter, which is absolutely outstanding fuel economy. Best I’ve ever seen with a Reactor (the erstwhile champ) is about 9.6g/liter.

As Roger mentioned, there are lots of variables, and they can have a huge effect on fuel consumption with canister stoves, as with all other stoves as well.

[edit: well obviously Gary and I were typing around the same time! Anyway, this setup is schweet!! lol]

[Paul Magnanti]

 

I have to disagree with everything here.And I have used the BRS-3000T quite a lot.

Cool, because I disagee with you said, too. Or at least looking at it from a KISS principle.

Sure if you modify it, add pot supports, a “disk riser thingy” (or what ever Bob said) etc it is more efficient and works better for than what I said for merely solo use. But if you are modifying and adding things to a stove..why not just forgo the tinkering and get a slightly heavier stove that works out of the box and better? (Assuming you are the NOT the type of person who enjoys tinkering. Some do..and that’s cool. I don’t when backpacking).

And, just for clarification, when I say “simmer” I don’t merely a low flame..I mean the actual simmering part. The concentrated head of the flame makes for poor cooking.   For a cook (and I am pretty good one) a concentrated flame like that makes a truly poor cooking simmer.

For those of those who aren’t a tinkerer and use it “out of the box”, it is what I said in my experience: A good solo stove..   Add ons can make a better stove. No doubt a lift kit would make a Toyota Prius an off-road vehicle too.

 

Feel free to disagree..but you already have. :)

[Paul Magnanti]

As an aside, my old Coleman F1 does well in the wind without a windscreen for moderate conditions, and I use less fuel WHEN USING IT FOR MORE THAN BOIL AND COOK MEALS  versus the BRS in addition to holding larger pots. The Coleman F1 does a true simmer better versus “I have a low flame…it does a great simmer” due to the larger head I find.

 

 

[Roger Caffin]

Hi Bob

No, I do not add anything to the stove. I ALWAYS use a windshield, no matter what stove. And I use a Ti pot too.
Works for me (when i am not using my Winter Stove).

Cheers

 

[James Marco]

If I do any mods to a stove, I rarely do add-on pieces. Spreader disks, inserts into a JetBoil pot, etc, are not used. (I bent the fins on a Caffin stove to accept a JetBoil pot for example.)

But I disagree with heat exchangers. They really only expand the heat absorption surface to capture more heat. A low flame, wider pot, and a good windscreen, will perform about the same, 6-12gm fuel/liter. It doesn’t much matter what fuel you use (butane, isobutane, blends or WG/kero.) They all produce roughly the same heat on low. “Heat transferred” to the pot/water is important, so lowering the flame velocity so it can hang around longer, is the trick: on low, windscreen use and size of pot net the highest gains, overall.

The old Coleman F1 is very inefficient in any sort of wind. I had trouble getting a 1.5L pot to boil with less than 3oz of fuel on high in a mild wind(around 10-12mph.) I added a wind screen and turned it down to low and consumption dropped to about a 3/4oz for the same water… A HUGE difference. But, you are correct, it is fairly easy to cook on because you CAN put it on low, not all stoves accept a low setting efficiently.

[Paul Magnanti]

Hmm..where did I read that he Coleman F1 is one of the better canister stoves in moderate winds?

Oh yes..on this website. ;)

https://backpackinglight.com/coleman_outlander_f1_ultralight_canister_stove_review/

https://backpackinglight.com/lightweight_canister_stoves_review_summary/

“The Coleman Ultralight and Jetboil were the only two stoves to bring water to a boil in a 12 mph direct wind during lab testing (the Crux came close).”

I would argue that Will R is perhaps one of the most capable gear testers out there.

But, there are many tinkerers out there who enjoy the gear aspect of backpacking… And that’s cool. I’m admittedly not one of them.

In any case, the BRS is what many people find to a be very capable water boiler for 2-3 cups. Anything else? You are starting to get into bigger pots and having a much less efficient stove IMO.

There are other, more versatile stoves that work better without a heat exchanger, riser disks, post supports etc if your needs are not along the tinkering mindset of backpacking.

[James Marco]

Paul, I can only impart my experience with it. Blocking the wind with a wind screen worked well in the 8-15mph winds we had. Without, it was painful.

 

[Nick Gatel]

But, there are many tinkerers out there who enjoy the gear aspect of backpacking… And that’s cool. I’m admittedly not one of them.

I think it is all about your allocation of resources, in this case time. Where do you want to spend your inventory of time? I know where you spend your time.

I’m a tinkerer. I modify my campers beyond the point or capability of most people. I make them much more useful for my needs. The biggest need is to make my wife happy and comfortable so she will go camping with me often. That’s my time ROI. So it’s not optional to use an “off the shelf” camper – it would just sit in storage.

But for me, tinkering with backpacking stoves or other gear has little ROI for time invested. Out of the box stuff gets me on the trail quicker and more often. There is nothing wrong with tinkering with stoves, it’s just not for me. I will admit, Moulder has done some creative stuff with that itty bitty stove. But my GigaPower has served me well for nearly ten years, but won’t do the job in winter. I solved that problem with a 10 second Amazon transaction and had a new WindPro II in a couple of days, which does what I need it to do and it does it better, IMO, with a better windscreen and large pot supports for melting snow. What works for me doesn’t necessarily mean it’s better or what others should do, but it works for me, which is the most important thing.

[David Franzen]

I received a BRS-3000T stove a few days ago.

When I light it up, a large part of the flame is yellow, not blue like my other stoves. This occurs at all settings, from simmering to full power.

This is not a really good picture, but you can see that the lower part of the flame is blue and the (much greater) upper part is yellow.

I learned that this is a sign of an incomplete combustion.

I already took the stove apart as Stephen Parks described earlier in this thread. With my stove all threads etc. seem to be fine and I could not find any metal splinters in the stove.

Is there a way to fix this?

[Roger Caffin]

Hi David

The primary problem here is that the gas coming out the jet does not have enough mass&velocity to suck in enough air. That always causes a yellow flame.

That’s a very old Primus canister you have there. Must have been in the cupboard for years!

At a guess, I would say the jet in your stove was partly blocked.
If the jet seems entirely clear, then other possibilities are:
* you have not screwed the stove down quite far enough, so the Lindal valve in the canister is barely open* the needle valve is filthy and needs cleaning – to get the needle valve out you need to remove the metal pin blocking it in
* The canister has lost all its propane and the temperature of the canister is close to 0 C
* there is something else the matter with the canister (RARE) like a gummed up valve.

Cheers

[Author]

Posts