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Sunday, March 5, 2017

BRS-3000T – Failure #3

Since the pot supports failed on my BRS-3000T, a number of people have come forward saying that they have experienced the same thing.  I thought I'd post a couple more photos, below; the photos are from John H.  John reports that he had good results with the stove at first but that over time the pot supports deformed.

Links:
Note how the pot supports have twisted out and away from the stove.
Notice that these photos are pretty much the same as the first set and also the second set.  In other words, the same thing appears to be happening repeatedly.
It's not a gross failure, but the pot clearly cants off to one side.
BUT there are plenty of people who are experiencing no problems at all.  Matt S. recently ran a 15 minute test on his (after seeing my post).  No problems.  Gary D. reports doing up to 20 minute runs while melting snow.  That's a long run. No problems.

Some people have a failure with only one cup of water on; others melt snow for 20 minutes and have no failure.  It’s a hit or miss stove.  You might get lucky and get one that’s fine.  You might not.

I’m going to revise my original post to recommend a test run.  Run the stove  for 15 minutes on high with 2 cups of water on before taking it out on the trail for the first time.  If your stove can handle a 15 minute run on high at home, then it's probably going to be OK out on the trail.  If it fails at home, just buy another one.  They're cheap enough.  Eventually you should be able to get a good one.  Of course you could just get a quality stove in the first place and be done with it, but each to his or her own.

Some people have advocated carrying more than one BRS-3000T at a time.  They're so light and so cheap, why not?  If one stove fails, just swap it out for the one in your pack.  If you decide to go the multiple stove route, maybe you should space out the purchases so that you get a stoves from different manufacturing lots.  Hopefully the chances of getting two duds is minimized.

HJ

Another failure, this one reported by Terry S. who reports that the metal had become so soft with use that he could no longer depend on the stove.
A stress fracture has developed on the pot support arm of this BRS-3000T


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8 comments:

  1. UnknownMarch 10, 2017 at 11:46 AM

    Another data point here. 30min burn on high, full (at the start) 750ml toaks pot, minimal wind (4mph, wind-shield used). No deformation. I must have a good one. I will monitor the stove for stress fractures over the season.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hikin' JimMarch 10, 2017 at 2:15 PM

      Excellent. I've had multiple reports of failures... but I've had multiple stories of success just like yours. Congrats on getting one of the good ones. I guess I got a lemon. Sucks to be me, lol.

      HJ

      Delete
    2. UnknownMarch 10, 2017 at 3:30 PM

      Yeah, now I've got some Al flashing incoming via amazon. I need to figure out wind-shield that fits in my toaks 750ml pot. The 6' x 4' plexiglass sheet that I used for the test is not very packable.

      Delete
    3. Hikin' JimMarch 12, 2017 at 8:51 PM

      Dan,

      Check into 36 gauge aluminum "tooling foil" which is also called "crafter's foil." It's lighter than flashing, and easier I think to work with.

      HJ

      Delete
  2. UnknownMarch 22, 2017 at 9:02 AM

    I must have gotten a good one from early on (like early last year)because I've had no issues with mine, but then, I do actually use it to cook with. I.e. I regulate it to a simmer flame,and don't just use it to boil water. That may e where the issues are originating from. Not saying user error, but rather a design downside. To get it so light, the Ti has to be thin and it may be that the supports are not Ti, but rather the main body is and the supports are either aluminum or a bad Ti alloy. I am of the multiple carry approach since two of them is still under 2 ounces. But, I do draw the line at carrying 3, since a Kovea Supalite weighs the same as 3 of the BRS3000T's and logic dictates why carry 3 for the same weight penalty as a more reliable 1?

    Always enjoy reading your blog.

    ReplyDelete
  3. UnknownMarch 22, 2017 at 9:07 AM

    One thing I forgot to mention....I got mine from Ebay and am not 100% sure they are all BRS3000T. I bought from 3 different stores (which are all in China, so may be just one seller, 3 stores), but all 3 stoves seem to be OK. At any rate, since you can get them on Ebay for anywhere from as low as $8 to as high as $12, I would recommend buying from more than one seller. That might increase your chances of getting a "good" one each time.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hikin' JimMarch 22, 2017 at 9:03 PM

      Hi, Don,

      Yeah, patent and copyright violations are something that China is well known for, so it's quite possible that there are some fake BRS-3000T's out there, although I don't know how one would go about identifying them.

      I agree though that the Ti supports, if they're a little off on their alloy, are going to have problems, in fact, I'm pretty sure that's precisely what happened in my particular case.

      HJ

      Delete
  4. UnknownAugust 19, 2018 at 6:27 AM

    This may be late but, One other thing I'm curious about. I bought this stove for its size, weight and cost. I have not had the issue with the supports, but the base where the valve is and where it attaches to the canister gets extremely hot. Is that normal? Purchased a couple of months ago so maybe they have made some changes to the supports. Maybe I just have a lemon.

    ReplyDelete

My apologies to real people, but due to Spammers I have to moderate comments. I'll get to this as rapidly as possible but do understand that I like to hike and there's no internet in the wilderness. Take care and stove on!