[Stoves] Biomass Fired Appliance Characteristics, Features, Qualities, Attributes and or Considerations

[Crispin Pemberton-Pigott]

Dear Lanny

You have been doing the 'right thing' with your copious free time.

Cecil Cook is in transit right now and these are exactly the sort of
questions he has been trying to categorise the questions you ask into
groups. In other words he is taking a systems approach that asks 'the right
question' each of which leads to a group of related questions that provide
facts or numbers of responses as a set.

Perhaps you can stir him to reply.

Regards
Crispin


++++++
 I have had some down time with a pilon fracture and I have been working on
a list of stove characteristics, features, qualities, attributes and or
considerations.

I need the input from the stove community to extend, expand, adjust,
reorder, critique, correct, alter, improve, tweak, amend, modify, rearrange,
fine-tune and or merge this list with an existing list.

For your contributions, input, criticisms, comments efforts, participation,
involvement, and or feedback,

I would be appreciative, grateful, thankful, beholding, obliged and or
pleased.

Thanks in advance,

Lanny Henson

Biomass Fired Appliance Characteristics, Features, Qualities, Attributes and
or Considerations.

1.      Type of cooking appliance and type of cooking task, like cooking 
with woks, pots, pans, griddles, ovens, and or grills.

2.      Volume to be cooked- Is the stove sized to cook the right quantity, 
for individual, household, commercial, institutional, or industrial size.

3.      Cost and payoff period, how much work will the stove do, how much 
fuel will it save, how much labor will it save.

4.      Overall functionality, how well does the stove do the job?

5.      Durability and ruggedness, longevity, will it last? will it burn 
out? or will it break, what is the lifespan.

6.      Ease of use, How easy is it to fire the stove up from cold start, 
what is the skill level necessary to operate, and the attention period
necessary to keep it going.

7.      User appeal, pride of ownership, does the appliance look good, have 
the wow factor? Does the stove make you say yes!

8.      Safety, does it burn people, children, or tip over, bump spill, 
smoke, set walls, floor, ceiling or woods on fire.

9.      Fuel efficiency, cost to operate, and cost to fire up the stove. 
Cost of fuel in area to be used.

10.  Fuel type and fuel flexibility, does it burn raw wood? What size? or
processed wood like pellets, briquettes, how about  grass/straw faggots or
bundles? Doe's it burn charcoal or dung?

11.  Time to fire up the stove from a cold start.

12.  The ease to which you can fire the stove up from a cold start.

13.  Time needed to operate the stove continuously, Fire and forget or need
constant attention,

14.  Skills level needed to use the stove.

15.  Learning curve, or how difficult is it to learn the skills to operate
the stove.

16.  Attention Period to maintain, how often to check stove for the initial
batch burn, if one, and then for extended continuous cooking, like every 10
mi, 20 mi or 30 mi.

17.  The ability to add fuel to boost the heat or extend cooking time
without creating smoke.

18.  How forgiving of mistakes by unskilled, unmotivated cook, like adding
too much fuel, or letting the fire go out.

19.  Ability to recover from loss of flaming combustion, when burning wood,
can you relight stove by increasing combustion air, or by adding more wood.

20.  Consistency, does it cook the same way, and uses the same amount of
fuel, every time, for the same cooking task? Is fuel use predictable?

21.  How well does it functions in bad weather? Wind rain, storm?

22.  Does it need electricity or gas (petroleum gas) to operate?

23.  Cook space air pollution. Does it cause smoke or carbon monoxide in the
cook space? Indoor or outdoor.

24.  Cooking flexibility, how well does it cook different types of food in
different volumes at different rates?

25.  How long will it hold food safe, hot?

26.  Power/heat level control, can you turn the heat down, or turn it up.

27.  Cooling down control to reduce temps, can you cool the pan to prevent
scorching when the oil starts to smoke?

28.  Serviceability and reparability can you get spare parts, can you build
spare parts locally? Are there consumable parts? If so are they replaceable?

29.  Ease of clean up.

30.  Sanitary construction, Are there any places for bacteria to hide like
cracks or dry laps or inside corners. Does the stove smell bad? like putrid
grease?

31.  Portability, Is it easy to load, transport, easy to set up?

32.  Does the stove make charcoal?  for biochar?  for cooking fuel?

33.  Can you submersible the stove in sea water and it still function?

34.  Shipping cost crate charge, logistic, can assembly be done on site?

35.  Environmental impact, soil erosion or depletion, deforestation, air
pollution,

36.  Does it have entertainment value, is it fun to use, conversation
starter, common topic of conversation for people with diverse backgrounds
and cultures. Everyone has something to say about food and cooking.

37.  How well does it work for emergency and disaster response? and for
short and long term survival situations?

38.  Does the stove have the potential to create local commerce?  Local
manufacturing/ assembly of the stove or sales of stoves, and street vending.

39.  Ash management. How easy to empty and can you do it while the stove is
in use.

40.  Will the stove help process or dry its own fuel?