[Stoves] two new cooking efficiency articles from Low-Tech Magazine

[Charlie Sellers]

I subscribe to an innovative and irreverent (and somewhat irregular) online journal that describes itself thus:

Low-tech Magazine refuses to assume that every problem has a high-tech solution. A simple, sensible, but nevertheless controversial message; high-tech has become the idol of our society.  Instead, Low-tech Magazine talks about the potential of past and often forgotten knowledge and technologies when it comes to designing a sustainable society. Sometimes, these low-tech solutions could be copied without any changes. More often, interesting possibilities arise when you combine old technology with new knowledge and new materials, or when you apply old concepts and traditional knowledge to modern technology. We also keep an eye on what is happening in the developing world, where resource constraints often lead to inventive, low-tech solutions.
This last week they have published two articles that will be of interest to many of you:

If We Insulate Our Houses, Why Not Our Cooking Pots?
http://www.lowtechmagazine.com/2014/07/cooking-pot-insulation-key-to-sustainable-cooking.html

where they examine some of the history of fireless cookers (such as hayboxes) in the somewhat developed world, and touch on other improved cooking methods that you will be familiar with (solar cooking, pressure cookers, pot skirts, and combinations of these).

Well-Tended Fires Outperform Modern Cooking Stoves
http://www.lowtechmagazine.com/2014/06/thermal-efficiency-cooking-stoves.html

A thought provoking discussion of improved biomass stoves and a variety of modern (and so supposedly extra efficient) cooking appliances.  I won't give away all the details, but I am always glad to see it mentioned that three stone fires can be surprisingly efficient (and are amazingly under discussed) - I have measured them as approaching 40% when using the frequent tending method we employ for testing improved stoves, with there being a very strong dependence on firepower.  Maybe we shouldn't bash traditional stoves quite so much, and spend the energy instead examining and promoting best practices for them in those areas where name brand improved stoves cannot be considered an immediate realistic goal.

Charlie Sellers
now based in Geneva
  
p.s. the curious among you will find a wealth of other information of interest in their accumulated files shown in the sidebar, particularly those relating to energy - they have covered woodgas vehicles, human powered machines, water motors and direct hydropower, solar and wind powered factories, and more with their unique blend of careful historical research and vintage illustrations.
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