UL fuel efficient cook system

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Feb 2, 2020
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I sure did. It just makes the original burner useless now. It offered very little to no benefit of blocking wind. I figured if I am going to butcher it I might as well go all out.
That makes sense. I also noticed it doesn't do much for the wind . Did you see any difference in fuel usage? I was kinda wanting to take mine off because it seems that it might just be drawing more heat away than it would be conducting to the pot.
 

CB4

WKR
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Oct 10, 2018
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Iowa
That makes sense. I also noticed it doesn't do much for the wind . Did you see any difference in fuel usage? I was kinda wanting to take mine off because it seems that it might just be drawing more heat away than it would be conducting to the pot.
I never tested it with it on so I dont know. I cant imagine it would increase fuel efficiency having it on
 
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I never tested it with it on so I dont know. I cant imagine it would increase fuel efficiency having it on
You wouldn't think so, but some of the little things that are counterintuitive seem to make a difference for the better. For example, I did have my brs stove supports sitting between the fins on my jetboil pot and was getting about about 5.2g fuel usage for water going from 45F to 198F. Then I put a little flat ring of thin aluminum (think donut shape) between the hx fins and my stove supports in order to move the burner head a little further away from the bottom of the pot. This upped my efficiency to be 4.7g fuel usage for the same conditions and gave me a minute faster boil time. The reason for this is that having the burner too close to the pot was causing incomplete combustion of the fuel which was noticeable due to the smell it made when running it. Weird isn't it?
 

TheAri

Lil-Rokslider
Joined
Aug 15, 2021
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You wouldn't think so, but some of the little things that are counterintuitive seem to make a difference for the better. For example, I did have my brs stove supports sitting between the fins on my jetboil pot and was getting about about 5.2g fuel usage for water going from 45F to 198F. Then I put a little flat ring of thin aluminum (think donut shape) between the hx fins and my stove supports in order to move the burner head a little further away from the bottom of the pot. This upped my efficiency to be 4.7g fuel usage for the same conditions and gave me a minute faster boil time. The reason for this is that having the burner too close to the pot was causing incomplete combustion of the fuel which was noticeable due to the smell it made when running it. Weird isn't it?
Flat cat gear has done a lot of testing around this and offers quite a few different options you can buy
 

CB4

WKR
Joined
Oct 10, 2018
Messages
513
Location
Iowa
You wouldn't think so, but some of the little things that are counterintuitive seem to make a difference for the better. For example, I did have my brs stove supports sitting between the fins on my jetboil pot and was getting about about 5.2g fuel usage for water going from 45F to 198F. Then I put a little flat ring of thin aluminum (think donut shape) between the hx fins and my stove supports in order to move the burner head a little further away from the bottom of the pot. This upped my efficiency to be 4.7g fuel usage for the same conditions and gave me a minute faster boil time. The reason for this is that having the burner too close to the pot was causing incomplete combustion of the fuel which was noticeable due to the smell it made when running it. Weird isn't it?
I only did one test run with it but thought the flame seemed a little off. I might have to try that and see if the flame is a little more stable.
 
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I tested my cooking system efficiency this evening.

First, here's some weights with various parts. I found a plastic Tupperware lid in my kitchen that fits pretty well... About 6.5g!

The whole deal. A new olicamp 100g canister inside, with a large box and the brs stove in the bag. 13.9oz. without the rubber band, a small size bic, and no stove bag, I'd probably save a half ounce and would be around 13.4oz. not bad considering the jetboil flash I was using was over 14oz for just tue pot and stove whose igniter didn't work and wasn't replaceable due to being melted into the plastic stove housing.
View attachment 750608

I cut it down to hold 2 cups most of the time, but could fit 2.5 or so in there if needed.

View attachment 750613

Pot, burner, and lighter: 6.73oz. it might be 6.5oz or less with a small bic. That's not too far off a sterno stove!

View attachment 750614


Now for the testing.

For test 1, I put cold water in up to the 2cup line and put it, the fuel and stove in the fridge for a few hours. I didn't think to measure the temp on the first test, but I'm fairly certain the water temp was around 38ish. I had the burner on very low. A setting I figured would get it to boil but might take awhile.

For test 2, I cooled off the pot, filled cold water to 2 cup line, put in a couple ice cubes and stirred to melt, then made sure the water was at 2 cups. 41F. Put it and the fuel and stove in the fridge for a couple hours. Starting temp was 39F. I put the burner on a setting a bit below max output.

These tests were done in my kitchen, at 4400ft asl.

Test 1: 9.5 min boil time, 5.4g fuel consumed
Test 2: 4.5 min boil time, 6g fuel consumed

Looking at the numbers, either my system is really inefficient compared to a couple others using the brs and sterno pot, or I'm skewing the number with putting everything in the fridge for a couple of hours and having it all cold. I can't fathom a test with this system where everything is cold and I get a 3.5-4min boil time with only 3.5-4g fuel consumed.

So....

Is it the pot?
Is it the stove distance from bottom of pot?
Or is it the temperature of the system when testing?

How do I make this more efficient?

View attachment 750619View attachment 750620View attachment 750622

I did some more testing and researching on ways to make this more efficient and thought I'd share it below.

Tightened up my testing parameters:

- 484g water (measured 2 cups) at measured 45F start temp
- heated until thermometer just hit 198F
- tried to have same gas flow for each test as long as I wasn't testing the fuel usage at a faster heat rate

I found comments that the jetboil flash pot combined with the brs stove will not work so well if the supports are bent so that they fit between the exchanger fins. The burner head is too close to the bottom of the pot and causes incomplete combustion... The smell is obvious. And easy solution is making an aluminum or other thin metal donut that can be placed between the fins and the stove supports so that the burner head is lowered and prevents incomplete fuel combustion. This would of course decrease wind efficiency with the head slightly lower than the pot shroud, but the shroud doesn't seem to do much anyway for this stove. I always try to block the wind anyway, so I'm not worried about it. I might make a lightweight windshield for it.

SetupStart temp (F)water weight (g)fuel usage (g)total timenotes
Flash stove454844.84:30
Brs, no ring454845.27:25
Brs, w/ ring43~4844.77:00measured 2 cups but didn't weigh
Brs, w/ ring454844.76:20
Brs, w/ ring, no cozy454844.96:15
Brs w/ ring724844.15:20
Brs w/ ring45~4845.63:352 cups didn't weigh. Fast heat
 

TheAri

Lil-Rokslider
Joined
Aug 15, 2021
Messages
270
I’ll sell the Sterno inferno for $50 TYD if anyone is interested, just pm me
 

Harvey_NW

WKR
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Feb 13, 2019
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Location
WA
Took some measurements and ran a few tests on my UL kit yesterday. Sorry I'm not fancy and didn't make a spreadsheet, but I thought it would be useful. My kit consists of the Fire-Maple G3 Petrel 600ML pot w/ lid and handle, the BRS 3000T stove with feet bent to fit fully into the slots in the heat exchange ring, and JetBoil MicroMo cozy sleeve with a notch cut to go around the handle hinge.

In my garage (1410' elevation), no wind. Using cold tap water filled to the 16oz mark on a level surface, I set the pot on the burner and cracked the valve just enough to light the flame (the handle is perfectly horizontal at this point so I judged from there), then quickly opened the valve and started the timer. Lid on peeking as it got hot, as soon as it reached a rolling boil I stopped the timer and shut fuel off as fast as possible. Then weighed the cannister/stove combo. Repeat.
  • 1/2 revolution - 2 min 33 sec, 4g of fuel used.
  • 1 full revolution - 1 min 53 sec, 8g of fuel used.
  • -7.6oz from JetBoil Flash kit (using same full 100g cannister, lighter, and JetBoil silverware).
I will try to find a decent lid that seals tight and probably ditch the handle, but as is it was well worth sub $50 to shave almost 1/2lb and a little overall volume on this system!
 
Last edited:
Joined
Aug 17, 2015
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2,121
Location
Iowa
I will try to find a decent lid that seals tight and probably ditch the handle, but as is it was well worth sub $50 to shave almost 1/2lb and a little overall volume on this system!

I called Jetboil to complain about the lid on my MicroMo, and they sent me a new Zip lid. It fits the MicroMo MUCH better and also fits the FM Petrel nicely as well. It weighs 0.7oz.
 
Joined
Mar 8, 2014
Messages
878
I called Jetboil to complain about the lid on my MicroMo, and they sent me a new Zip lid. It fits the MicroMo MUCH better and also fits the FM Petrel nicely as well. It weighs 0.7oz.

I foresee JB getting a bunch of phone calls now hahaha, I better hurry up and do it before the rest of you guys do.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

Harvey_NW

WKR
Joined
Feb 13, 2019
Messages
1,916
Location
WA
I called Jetboil to complain about the lid on my MicroMo, and they sent me a new Zip lid. It fits the MicroMo MUCH better and also fits the FM Petrel nicely as well. It weighs 0.7oz.
For $5.95 I just ordered one to try out, I do like those style lids. Thanks for the heads up!
 
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