Mud

New Lorena Stove Design in Mexico

29 April 2006 - 9:31pm

New Lorena Stove Design in Mexico
Dean Still and Jeremy Foster, Aprovecho Research, ETHOS March 2003

Dean Still and Jeremy Foster, ETHOS March 2003

Jeremy Foster is working on a new Lorena type stove in Mexico. Here are a few details:

Jeremy Foster:

I am located in and around Lake Patzcuaro, about a 4 hr. drive west of Mexico City. The closest airport, 1 hr. away, is Morelia, which has many flights from Mexico City. However, coming from the western US it is better and cheaper to fly to Guadalajara, 3 1/2 hr. drive in the other direction.

Total population in the region is some 600,000 of which about a quarter are pure Tarascan. The main features of the most popular Lorena model are: A 50 cm. dia. clay comal in front over a single firebox. Two smaller holes (18-25 cm.) are side by side behind, with separate tunnels leading from the comal hornilla. These holes are sized to a particular family's need and due to shape of ollas are sunk in no more than 5 cm. below the surface. All ollas and cazuelas are ceramic and round-bottomed. Clay comals are used pretty exclusively. Metal comals have been very unpopular.

I had thought at first I would build a plancha stove with cutouts for comal, etc. On reflection, it seems to me it might be better to modify one of these Lorena stoves using rocket stove principles in order to more directly compare the two. I have been experimenting with the local baldosas which appear very suitable. The most useful size is 30cm. which actually
measures a little under 11" square X 1 1/8". I have gotten an elbow as hot as I could then doused it with cold water with no ill effect. The drawback is that the interior size is only 4" square. They also make one measuring 14"square. By also using this one to make a 7" wide back, I have made one with interior size 4 3/4" X 4 3/4" which seems about right but involves a lot of cutting and wastage.

Am amazed and grateful for all the great advice pouring in. Certainly a lot to think about.

The baldosa cutting sequence is just great and my hacksaw just can't through a 14" baldosa anyway, although I wonder if a 14" chimney with 6" square opening might not be good power for a nixtamal stove.

Mexico

Lorena

Mud

Low Cost Wood Gas Stove

26 April 2006 - 10:34pm

Sai Bhaskar Reddy

Low Cost Wood Gas Stove
Dr. N. Sai Bhaskar Reddy, Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh, India April 2006

Look at this blog of a wood gas stove developed with community participation.
A low-cost portable Woodgas stove has been developed based on the Garlington’s downdraft gasifier model stove. A small tin can of 3.5 inches diameter and 5 inches height (“Lactogen” tin can) is used for making the Wood-gas stove. For grate an aluminum wire is used at the bottom. Primary and secondary air slits are puctured into the tin to make the stove. A tin sheet or bricks or mud and stone can be used for the skirt and fire place.

For fuel one inch length small pencil size sticks (pruned twigs) or shavings and chips of wood from a carpenter’s workshop can be used. This stove burns for about 8 minutes with the wood gas generated and later on the resultant charcoal burns for next 5 to 8 minutes giving sufficient heat for boiling one liter of milk or one person can take bath with the boiled water.

Price : Rs. 2/- (Rupees two only)
Time for making it : 20 to 30 minutes
Efficiency : Highly efficient as compared to rocket stove.

This stove has the following advantages:
Requires only small wood pieces – saves trees
Batch feeding – lit and forget
Low cost any one can make it and use
Light weight - highly portable

Note: Preferably should be used in good ventilation conditions.

India

Gasifier (microgasification)

WoodGas

Metal

Mud

Five Stove Projects 2004

2 April 2006 - 4:37pm

Goyer

Five Stove Projects 2004, Ken Goyer, Aprovecho, October 2004

Teosinte, El Salvador Vol 1
Salina Cruz, Mexico Vol 2
Torreon, Mexico Vol 3
Ghana Vol 4
Uganda Vol 5

Mud Stoves

2 April 2006 - 2:54pm

Mud Stoves, Aprovecho/PCIA April 2005

Mud Stove

Mud

Tanzanian Hayboxes, Stoves, and Wonderbaskets

2 April 2006 - 12:13pm

Arenberg

Tanzanian Hayboxes, Stoves, and Wonderbaskets, Meg Arenberg, Sunseed Tanzania Trust, August 2005

MALAWI: Mdula (Modular Mbaula) Mud Stove

2 April 2006 - 10:48am

Oblak

MALAWI: Mdula (Modular Mbaula) Mud Stove, Rok Oblak, Chembe, Malawi, October 2005

Mdula stove

Stove Mold

BIO19 Gold Medal Winner

BIO19 Biennial of Industrial Design Ljubljana, Slovenia

I want to inform you, that the WWF Finland and UIAH (University of arts and design Helsinki) project: Mdula - biomass briquette stove intervention in Malawi has won the Gold Medal Award on BIO19, represented by international jury of: Aldo Cibic (ITA), Robin Edman, ICSID (SWE), Czeslawa Frejlich (POL), Stephen Hitchins, BEDA (GB), Ruth Klotzel, ICOGRADA (BRA).

The project was set in Helsinki in January 2003 and realised in Malawi (Chembe Village) in January 2004 and finished in Ljubljana in September 2004. The concept is based on the local people material knowlege, upgraded with technological aspects and design skills of us, students, working together in the same environment to improve the situation in the LMNP (Lake Malawi National Park). It is a two-year multidisciplinary based international students effort, how to gain as much improvements possible with the least intervention done in the environment, social and cultural lifestyle of the local people.

The result is a concept of production of a no-cost biomass briquette stove Mdula (modular Mbaula), made with a simple wooden mold and clay as a construction material.

The final model is based on 8 study models, many field testings and interaction with the local people. It uses biomass briquettes combined with woodfuel to make the stove as effective as possible with the same manipulating procedure as burning and using three-stone cooking formation. The project has intention only to gain a long-term result.

Nada Stove, Escorts Foundation

25 March 2006 - 6:26pm

Zamir

Bashir

Escorts "Nada" Stove, Escorts Foundation, Changa Manga, (near Lahore) Pakistan, Maisoon Zamir, Maryam Bashir, 2004 Energy Globe (Austria) Winner, 56 villages, 11728 stoves, January 2006

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