[Stoves] Improving three stone stoves and finding out where wild jatropha grows

[Joshua Guinto]

Dear Joyce

Have you seen the website of Jon and Flip on the Recho Rocket stoves. i
thought it will be very simple to make and that even women could make them.
http://www.rechoroket.com/%22How_to%22_Albums/%22How_to%22_Albums.html

Clay is a very versatile material to work with. It is very cheap and can be
built on site even without electricity or welding machine and by women.

I am now trying to make grills as fuel grates using clay. It would be a
simple flat disc and then you punch holes through the wet clay while it is
still soft. I think 2.5 cm thick is best. I mix clay with temper which
could be carbonized rice hull or fine saw dust in a ratio of 2 parts clay
to 1 part of temper. The website of Jon and Flip will tell you more about
better recipes. But if your intention is to use it as a fuel grate, i would
advice you to make a higher ratio of clay because you need durability than
insulability for this function.

 As soon as the disc is dried, you can use it to elevate the fuel to allow
air to come beneath. The disc will :"self fire" meaning it will harden in
fire as you use it intensely. I observe that intense use can "cook" the
clay to as much as 1.5 cm deep.

Still with clay, you can use it to make a skirt around the three stone
stove. In fact you can use the same clay to make a three piece platform and
make a sturdy and stable platform instead of the three stones which are
irregular in shape. The same clay will self fire through time.

But my wise guess is that this will be very smoky. You will need to create
a higher coloumn of the fire box to create enough draft to pull in enough
air so there will be enough to burn the gases, tars and oils. There is a
certain ratio of fuel to air to attain the right combustion, 1 part fuel to
five parts air (if im not mistaken).

Just like nut shells, firing it from the top as in TLUD will give you
better results. Dr. Paul Anderson has a lot of experience and materials on
this. However, with the TLUD mechanism, you will have to raise the coloumn
of the stove to create stronger draft and to create higher temperature so
the oils, tars, particulate matters and other gases may be burned.
Otherwise, with the basic three stone stove, it will produce a lot of smoke.

If you can be successful with this, why not try the next level - the recho
rocket or maybe the holey roket by Rok Oblak?  www.holeyroket.wordpress.com.
I undertook skills training with fisherfolks in a village of Sorsogon here
in the Philippines. The participants were composed of men and women. I
observe that the men are good in mashing the clay and cutting things but
the women are better in design and the detailed plastering and finishing
the stove body. The combination of men and women is best.

Finally, with such stoves, you there is less worry about the fuel because
the options will be expanded. Such stoves can be used with  a lot of fuel
combinations  - wood sticks, palm fronds, grasses if you twist them tight
and of course holey briquettes. Jathropa is  among the good options. I
understand jatropha seeds would be a great fuel to bring along in camping
and picnics because they contain a lot of energy. It would also be good to
keep them in storage in anticipation of natural disasters.

We have here jathropa in my neighborhood, here in the Philippines. People
commonly use it as fencing material and the leaves to cure simple
ailments.   However, i am still comfortable with the pili shell and green
coconut shells around here that are more accessible.

All the best Joyce and good luck.

Jed






2012/7/8 Joyce Lockard <rj.lockard at frontier.com>

> I wonder if it would help to fill in two of the spaces between three of
> the stones with curving walls of clay, leaving one open for the fuel.  Clay
> would reduce heat loss due to any horizontal air currents so help keep it
> hotter under the pot. The clay walls could come up to within an inch or so
> of the bottom of the pot, which would still be supported by sitting on the
> three stones, so that emissions and hot air would be deflected up the pot
> sides. And, very important, it is something that a woman could do herself
> without any expense.  ****
>
> ** **
>
> I am trying to find out where (in what countries) jatropha is growing
> wild, so women could scavenge for the seeds.  Another question is whether
> there is a way to make a simple grate for three stone stoves to hold up the
> jatropha seeds.  I suppose they would burn if they were on the ground under
> wood. Would there be an advantage in lifting them above the wood, up
> close to the pot bottom?****
>
> ** **
>
> I have read that half of the people who burn wood/charcoal for cooking are
> using three stone stoves. Trying to help the poorest of women with
> simple, cheap or no-cost improvements in their three stone stoves is in
> line with the first Millennium Development Goal of relieving extreme
> poverty.  I would like to find colleagues to try this idea of adding clay
> walls. It is not something I can do at my home. Any suggestions of where
> I can find people to try it?  If it appears feasible to add the mud walls,
> then the challenge will be to make the idea known to those who need it.  *
> ***
>
> ** **
>
> ** **
>
> *Joyce M Lockard*
>
> ** **
>
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