UL fuel efficient cook system

ScottP

WKR
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Apr 30, 2013
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Thanks for posting this. I have both a JB and a PocketRocket + Ti pot kit that i use on backpack hunts. I definitely notice the better efficiency of the JB, but love the size and space savings of the PR+Ti. So I mentally battled between these hoping to find a better setup...

So I ordered the BR stove and Sterno pot. I figure, at minimum this will be a great little kit to carry when you want to produce a cup of coffee on the glassing point.
 

wingmaster

Lil-Rokslider
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Mar 16, 2021
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California
Great thread.. I'm in the market for a new stove system and I may just copy this. It would be a cheap experiment since the MSR stove systems I'm also considering are well over $100.

I don't have a Jetboil but there's plenty of neoprene sleeves online, one of them should fill the bill.
 
Joined
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Los Anchorage, AK
Been doing some tests comparing the BRS and MSR PR Deluxe. Been getting basically the same performace out of both stoves. A caveat is that I've been using a JB pot (32 oz and same diameter as the sterno pot) and the BRS feet sit inside the cage on the fins while the MSR feet sit on the cage. So, the flames from the MSR are a little further from the bottom of the pot. That said, I wouldn't anticipate substantial gains getting the MSR closer to the bottom of the pot. I have the sterno pot and plan to bend the feet of my BRS like trout to get them seated right up against the bottom, which should get me some performance (as is, I was getting slightly lower performance than trout reported).

One thing I tried was comparing boiling 32oz in one go vs two 16oz boils. I found that boiling 32oz all at once is only 0.5-1.0g more efficient than two boils of 16oz. Considering that you can bring a smaller pot to boil 16oz at a time, it would take quite a few boils to make up for the extra weight of a larger pot when you need to boil more water, say for two people.

I conducted my tests by weighing before screwing the stove on and after unscrewing and found that you lose 0.5-1.0g of fuel in screwing on/off.

Last thing I might try is putting the fuel canister in the freezer. The PR Deluxe is supposedly a regulated stove and should perform better in colder conditions. That said, you can always put the fuel in your jacket or bag to warm it up, so the results may or may not matter in field situations.

I may take the dremel to the cage on the sterno pot to save some more weight. The fins seem burly enough to take a little abuse, but I plan on being a little more careful with it.
 
OP
AK Troutbum
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Apr 22, 2012
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I conducted my tests by weighing before screwing the stove on and after unscrewing and found that you lose 0.5-1.0g of fuel in screwing on/off.




Good point. Whenever I start a hunt, I always just leave my stove attached to the cannister and only take it off when it's empty.
 
OP
AK Troutbum
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Chugiak, Alaska
Have you checked to see if it leaks fuel slowly? I’ve read that many stoves do but haven’t actually checked.
No, I never have, but I will now that you mention it. I'll just screw the stove on and weigh it, than leave it for a couple weeks and reweigh it. Not exactly like on a hunt with it being jostled around in the pack, and temp. changes, but oh well.
 
OP
AK Troutbum
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Chugiak, Alaska
Have you checked to see if it leaks fuel slowly? I’ve read that many stoves do but haven’t actually checked.

So I left the stove screwed onto a canister and weighed it, then weighed it about 10 days later and it hasn’t lost any fuel. Of course it wasn’t bumping around inside of a pack or experiencing different temperature changes, so not totally real world conditions, but it still didn’t lose any fuel just sitting there.


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PNWGATOR

WKR
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Oct 14, 2014
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Figured as much...lol.

I have the parts for your build, but just need a couple of sacrificial donors from the JB world to commit.
 
Joined
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Los Anchorage, AK
So I left the stove screwed onto a canister and weighed it, then weighed it about 10 days later and it hasn’t lost any fuel. Of course it wasn’t bumping around inside of a pack or experiencing different temperature changes, so not totally real world conditions, but it still didn’t lose any fuel just sitting there.


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I’ve actually had mine attached this whole time too, and it *maybe* lost half a gram. Last time I looked into it, it seemed like the consensus on a lot of the backpacking forums was to separate the fuel and stove each time you use it due to risk of slow leaks and the valve not being totally closed accidentally or it getting jostled.
 
Joined
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Where the heck do you find an extra jetboil lid and neoprene sleeve?

I ordered a roll of 3 inch wide 1/16 inch neoprene from Amazon and made a sleeve with that and a little neoprene cement. The lid off my msr windburner is way lighter than my jb lid, so I plan on using that. Granted, my jb is the original model they released, so I have no doubt that more recent models have lighter lids.
 
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Clarktar

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Too bad ruta locura isn't making those carbon fiber lids anymore!!!

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oenanthe

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Aug 21, 2014
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Fbks, AK
You guys are leaving your canister screwed onto the stove all the time?

I guess it's never really occurred to me to do that. I unscrew mine and store the stove and canister separately every time I pack up camp. Mostly because if they're screwed together they won't fit in my cookpot. But even if they fit, I'd be real nervous about the valve opening accidentally and losing all my fuel.
 

rayporter

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arkansas or ohio
i never weighed mine but long ago i heard that pssst every time it was unscrewed and at least once the canister continued to leak with the stove off of it. that is when i started to leave the stove on the canister most of the time.
 
OP
AK Troutbum
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Chugiak, Alaska
I’ve actually had mine attached this whole time too, and it *maybe* lost half a gram. Last time I looked into it, it seemed like the consensus on a lot of the backpacking forums was to separate the fuel and stove each time you use it due to risk of slow leaks and the valve not being totally closed accidentally or it getting jostled.
And at that rate, you're still way ahead on fuel savings, rather than screwing on/off every time. I've never tried to test how much fuel I lose when taking the stove on and off because I know it varies. Sometimes things seem to go together pretty smooth/quick and I barely get a hiss out of it, and other times not so good. I think I'm better off just leaving it attached and make sure that it is adequately protected in the pack.
 
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