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Testing of the EverythingNice in Cambodia 30.04.2010
Sarah Carter and Vichida Tan, UK Biochar Research Centre

See http://www.bioenergylists.org/content/testing-andersons-tl for a similar test on Anderson's TLUD and http://www.bioenergylists.org/content/testing-anila-stove for tests on the Anila stove.

Testing of the Anderson TLUD in Cambodia 27.04.2010
Sarah Carter and Vichida Tan, UK Biochar Research Centre

Similar tests have been carried out on the Anila http://www.bioenergylists.org/content/testing-anila-stove and EverythingNice stoves http://www.bioenergylists.org/content/testing-everythingni.

Paul Olivier, April 2010

Today we put in operation for the first time the 250 gasifier with a stove top.
This gasifier has a single 2-inch pipe that vents housing air to a warmer grate.
This pipe had no butterfly valve or other restriction.
We used the same small 80x80 mm fan as in the 150 gasifier.
This fan had no problem at all supplying air to the reactor and to the 2-inch pipe.
The burn lasted almost an hour on rice hulls, even though the height of the reactor was no more than 70 cm, the same height as in the case of the 150 stove.
The warmer grate had sufficient heat from the housing to fry an egg, as indicated in picture 855.
We obtained a bright blue flame, as shown in picture 865,
although the camera did not have the right lighting to display it properly.
The stove top was not properly reinforced when a large pot filled with water was placed on top.
There was a deflection of a few mm's.
However this can be easily remedied with two more lateral braces underneath the stove top.
In conclusion, the 250 gasifier works well and delivers an enormous amount of heat.

Crispin Pemberton-Pigott, April 6, 2010

This is a stove seen by Dulguun Basaandavaa at Suhkbaatar Square which is a huge plaza in downtown Ulaanbaatar. There was a demonstration of stoves in yurts (gers) a few days ago.

This one is particularly interesting for the reason that it is the first small scale Mongolian coal gasifier spotted in the wild. It has a fan so it may be modelled on a much larger device. I have no idea at all how it works. Perhaps someone far more knowledgeable about gasifiers can spot and name the components.

In all more than 10 new stoves were shown nearly all of which are downdraft stoves, or which can be started in updraft mode and switched to downdraft.
One of them was the previously reported BLUD stove from Inner Mongolia that rotates and becomes a TLUD during the ignition cycle.


[MAGH OPEN STOVE](http://e-maghopenstove.blogspot.com/) is an institutional fixed woodgas stove. This stove is useful for cooking needs of up to 100. With primary and secondary air controls it is easy to operate and highly efficient. For making this stove, "Magh CM" stoves are used inside. This stove is installed at "Open House", Hyderabad, a place for destitute youth for cooking their own food, shelter, studies, etc. Implemented under the "Good Stoves and Biochar Communities" Project, Implemented by GEO with support of GoodPlanet.org France. Stove design by Dr. N. Sai Bhaskar Reddy. For more details visit http://e-maghopenstove.blogspot.com/

[MAGH 3G]( http://e-magh3g.blogspot.com/ ) is an adaptation stove. All types of biomass, briquettes and charcoal can be used for cooking. This is an all in one stove.

It was found that many families have at least two or three types of stoves in rural areas for using types of biomass as fuel. Now with just one stove they have the freedom to use all types of Biomass as fuel.

There is an option to control primary air, to control air from the fuel feed side opening, and secondary air (while using TLUD adopter). Weighs less than 2 kgs, 9 inches in height and 7 inches diameter. Most convenient for regular use, travel, relief, refugees, etc. Reusing metal sheet, these stoves are completely hand made. The cost of each stove piece is $5 (USD).

This stove is being facilitated under the "Good Stoves and Biochar Communities" Project, implemented by GEO with the support of GoodPlanet.org This is one of the 40 stoves designed by Dr. N. Sai Bhaskar Reddy, GEO http://www.e-geo.org http://www.goodstove.com/ . For more details visit http://e-magh3g.blogspot.com/

Andrew Ma, March 11, 2010

Minimalist, most accessible and, lightest wood gas stove I've seen or built so far. (But got a few more ideas). Credit goes to WorldStove and its Everything Nice Stove design.

Instructions

Qpre, India March, 2010

More information on their web site : http://www.navagni.com/

Nathaniel Mulcahy, March 2010

Over the past weeks several NGOs and individuals have written to ask how it is that we determined how much a family spends each day on charcoal. This is the initial survey we did for IOM over a month ago (pdf). We have since continued each week to do updates but the numbers are unchanging. The three camps I have chosen to include in the excel are good examples of the variation. One is a semi permanent camp that, in part, was there prior to the quake, one is an organized camp that was established through collaboration between the local government and various local and international NGOs, and the third is a spontaneous camp that sprang up post quake in the hopes that aid would arrive. On a happy note, since we did this original survey I am happy to report that the spontaneous camp has received showers and sanitation facilities and a great number of tarps and tents.

It should be noted that there are also ghost camps. These are camps that have no cooking facilities. They are created in the hopes of receiving aid or by people who still worry about sleeping in their houses. In the latter case, the people spend the day at home and sleep in the camps. There is a very nice one in Delmas with about 400 families and a small clinic.

I hope this helps answer the charcoal cost questions that many have been asking.

All the best,

Nat of WorldStove

Lifeline to Haiti is a joint project between International Lifeline Fund (ILF) www.lifelinefund.org , WorldStove(WS) http;//www.worldstove.com , and local partners. The short term goals are to provide high-efficiency low-emission cook stoves to families affected by the recent earthquake. The long term goals are to establish a permanent locally owned and operated stove factory and distribution network in Haiti.

Our recent survey work in the IDP camps has indicated that fuel prices have undergone a 50% price hike since the earthquake. The inefficiency of local stoves, the increased cost of fuel and simultaneous decrease in earning options following the quake make the rapid implementation for the stoves a pressing concern.

International Life Line Fund is a Washington D.C. based nonprofit NGO. With years of experience in the implementation of stove programs in areas where fuel is a critical concern such as Darfur, Uganda, Kenya, and Tanzania. It is vital to have a keen understanding of how critical stoves are to health, economy, and the environment.

WorldStove is an expert in high efficiency cook stoves with projects in numerous countries around the world. . The stove selected for the Lifeline to Haiti Project is the LuciaStove. It specifically designed to eliminate the need of charcoal or wood. It ships flat to keep shipping costs at a minimum (1000 stoves can fit in a little more than a cubic meter) and can be easily assembled b y local skilled and unskilled collaborators creating desperately needed local jobs.

The LuciaStove boasts long life low emissions and the ability to use any waste plant, paper or cardboard as fuel. It does not burn the fuel but instead turns it into a clean (blue flame) burning gas with an energy content comparable to propane.

Local Partners are fundamental to both the short and long term success of the project for they help can identify the places of greatest need and assure that training, distribution and continual evaluation allows the stove program to have the greatest positive impact possible.

We have and continue to conduct survey both formal and in formal in new camps everyday. From Carefour Feuilles, Carefour, Petion Ville, Delmas, Plas Mai Gattes, and the informal camp Terren Aerport, it is clear that increased fuel costs, decreased earning options, a heavy dependence on charcoal and inefficient stoves are creating a severe burden on local households.

Local daily income, for the households that have income, varies between USD 3.12 and USD 5. Charcoal is most often sold by the “Marmit” (a large coffee can) and not by weight. Cost decreases with larger purchases further disadvantaging those with the lowest income. In general the cost of a Marmit is around 25 Goude (0.625 USD assuming an exchange rate of 40 Goude/USD). The increase in fuel cost has forced many families to go from three to one meal per day and a daily fuel expenditure of 62.33 Goude (1.56 USD). Considering that many households have lost all earning options and that this fuel cost is the equivalent of 31% - 50% of the daily income of those fortunate enough to have work, the current situation is clearly unsustainable and is forcing households to make the difficult decision between food and fuel.

Nathaniel.

Crispin Pemberton-Pigott (New Dawn Engineering) with Prof Sereeter Lodoysamba (National University of Mongolia),
Sod Dulam (Energy consultant, Ulaanbaatar) and Altangadas Tsegmid (Heat and Power Systems consultant, MonEnergy)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-6sGCyNHvQ4

This stove was seen in operation in 6 and 8th March 2010 by in the home of Demberel in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia.

It is a form of top lit updraft (TLUD) stove part of the time. The combustion chamber is a (ceramic?) lined square box with a grate enclosing the top and the bottom. It is mounted in a fairly standard brick-lined steel box with a heat exchanger at the back. The overall dimensions are approximately 500 W x 600 L x 500 H.

The unusual burning sequence is:

  1. Open the stove, push the top grate out of the way (towards the back).
  2. Build a wood fire in the combustion chamber and wait until it has burned to the point of being substantially charred.
  3. Load coal on top of the burning wood. At this point it becomes a bottom lit, updraft (BLUD) burner.
  4. The coal is left to be heated on top of the burning/smouldering wood. The top grate is pulled over the coal closing the box. It is now a square box with a grate on the top and bottom.
  5. When flames emerge through the coal and appear above the top grate, the box is flipped over using the handle on the front of the stove. At this point it becomes a TLULD burner because the charcoal has been moved to the top. The smoke arising from the hot coal below has to pass through the charcoaled wood on top and is ignited.
  6. The charcoal finishes burning during which time the coal gets fully ignited, de-volatilised and coked. After that it is an ordinary coke fire.

The coke fire burns until it expires. During the first visit it was tested with a combustion analyser during the later portion of a burn. There was nothing unusual about the fire. On the second visit gas samples were taken during ignition and for a period of one hour afterwards. The sample point was where the gases leave the mass wall and enter the bottom of the short chimney passing through the roof. Gases were analysed with a certified TSI CA-6203 combustion analyser.

Initially the CO/CO2 ratio was 20% to 40% as the fire got going. The ratio after one hour was just over 4% and 12 % late in the fire. At all times there was a high excess air ratio, 900% on high power and 1500% on low. This is higher than a traditional stove which runs 400-1000%.

The system efficiency was negatively affected by the high excess air level: from 40 to 50%. The system efficiency of a traditional stove is about 70%. The major portion of the particulates are emitted during the first 45 minutes in both stoves.

The 'heating wall' is a heat storing brick structure that condenses the combustion and fuel moisture thereby retaining the latent heat of condensation. They are gaining popularity. In spite of condensing the moisture and the low gas exit temperature (70-90 Deg C) the system efficiency is not high because of the great quantity of warmed air passing through the system. The openings are large and the stove is generally leaky, for example the cast iron top on the one we tested is not bolted onto the body (see the picture near the end of the video).

A moveable flat plate with a few holes in it is provided over the top grate that limits the rate of combustion. The burn rate is quite high for a domestic stove (because of the large area of the grate). It is probably able to reach 40 kW thermal output. The flat plate is pulled over the top grate and interferes with the airflow, extending the burn. A full charge of coal will reportedly burn for 8 hours in that condition and still have some hot coals left with which the next fire can be started. That is a major consumer demand - burning through the night.

Observations
: It is likely that this system will reduce start-up emissions from the point that the hot coal is under the burning wood/charcoal fire (the TLUD stage), for approximately 1/2 of the ignition cycle.

: The system efficiency is low compared with a traditional stove which means that although the rate of particulate production may be less per kg burned during part of the ignition cycle, more coal might have to be burned to provide adequate heat, possibly increasing the overall production of smoke.

The contact information for one of the local (Mongolian) promoters is:
Prof Adiyasuren Borjigdkhan ozoff@magicnet.mn

He reports that they wish to install 80 in homes around Ulaanbaatar to gather user opinions.

Submitted by
Crispin Pemberton-Pigott (New Dawn Engineering)
with Prof Sereeter Lodoysamba (National University of Mongolia)
and Sod Dulam (Energy consultant, Ulaanbaatar)
and Altangadas Tsegmid (Heat and Power Systems consultant, MonEnergy)

12 March 2010

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