<html><head><meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"></head><body dir="auto">Kevin, <div>Couldnt agree more: What works best for them is what counts . </div><div>Tulabagane ssebu</div><div>Richard<br><br><div id="AppleMailSignature" dir="ltr">Sent from my iPhone</div><div dir="ltr"><br>On Dec 15, 2018, at 11:41 PM, K McLean <<a href="mailto:info@sun24.solar">info@sun24.solar</a>> wrote:<br><br></div><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div class="gmail_default" style="font-size:small">Richard,</div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-size:small"><br></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-size:small">Thank you for your comments.</div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-size:small"><br></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-size:small">I'm not sure what got to you in the forwarding process. Here is a link to the video of the woman making the grate: <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1PK-ydOdtbUZM_efWWNtkaw1UiFeYINIu/view?usp=sharing">https://drive.google.com/file/d/1PK-ydOdtbUZM_efWWNtkaw1UiFeYINIu/view?usp=sharing</a>. She isn't an "artisan". We give out the metal molds. Any woman can use the metal mold to make the clay grates with a few minutes of instruction. She can then make and sell the clay grates.</div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-size:small"><br></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-size:small">That is the entire production process, all 1:12 of it. The grate dries and is fired in a kiln. It's explained in greater detail in our Cookstoves Overview: <a href="https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ZryS7gQ1q3zKLZPM2KcXdtIHbOYQp4PbloPqMvrlZ5Y/edit?usp=sharing">https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ZryS7gQ1q3zKLZPM2KcXdtIHbOYQp4PbloPqMvrlZ5Y/edit?usp=sharing</a></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-size:small"><br></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-size:small">She can probably make your conical holes by fixing tip of the stick in the ground and swirling the top of the stick in wide circles. We'll test this. We are also testing various hole sizes and number of holes.<br></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-size:small"><br></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-size:small">I agree that a powerful press is unnecessary. </div><div><div dir="ltr" class="gmail_signature"><div dir="ltr"><div><div dir="ltr"><div><div dir="ltr"><div><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div><br></div><div>Thank you,<br></div><div>Kevin</div><div dir="ltr"><i><br></i></div><div dir="ltr"><i>Kevin McLean, President</i></div><div dir="ltr"><div><i>Sun24</i></div><div><i><a href="https://sun24.solar" target="_blank">https://sun24.solar</a><br></i></div><div><i>Tampa, Florida, USA</i></div><div><i><span title="Call with Google Voice"><span title="Call with Google Voice"><span title="Call with Google Voice">+1 (813) 505-3340</span></span></span></i></div><div><br></div><div> <img src="https://docs.google.com/uc?export=download&id=13teZQbnv_6ek6JkEy-4n0yyUVTrl3M2W&revid=0B8zNcWsuiuj3N2RuVFFYL3EvdElxR1lDcm9QQVlaL0F4VnVFPQ" width="200" height="200"> </div><div><br><i><span title="Call with Google Voice"><span title="Call with Google Voice"><span title="Call with Google Voice"><br><br></span></span></span></i></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div><br></div></div></div><br><div class="gmail_quote"><div dir="ltr">On Sat, Dec 15, 2018 at 5:08 PM Richard Stanley <<a href="mailto:rstanley@legacyfound.org">rstanley@legacyfound.org</a>> wrote:<br></div><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0px 0px 0px 0.8ex;border-left:1px solid rgb(204,204,204);padding-left:1ex">Kevin, <br>
<br>
Crispin suggested I look at your video but I could not find any ref. in it to the production process used for the grates, so forgive me if I am completely out of turn in making the following observations. <br>
<br>
Our basic compound lever press would easily work for your needs but I think it would be a bit of over kill. Our "mini bryant" press generates about one ton of force which would seem like much more than you need to punch (??) 1 dozen odd holes thru a (??) 1" thick wet with wet saturated clay. A simple single lever press would be (probably already is sufficient or ??<br>
Again, I do not have any idea about your molding or pressing process so I may be entirely out of turn here.<br>
<br>
My second unsolicited comment is that it will be far easier to make slightly conical holes for your grates ( rather than your existing cylindrical ones) because;<br>
<br>
1) it is far easier to remove a conical piston then a cylindrical one in the molding process, as the piston(s) will tend to break free upon retraction, rather than dragging back thru the clay disk. <br>
and, far more more important to the user; <br>
<br>
2) A grate inserted in a stove three stone or otherwise, with its such tapered holes tapering in towards the top / out towards the bottom, will tend to minimize ash clogging /ease ash clean out. I noticed with Hugh's stoves in Kenya, where he began in the late 70's and again in Mali ten years on, that his cylindrical formed stove holes tended to clog up from time to time / locale to locale Of course the perfectly dry hot burning wood or fuel briquette will leave little solid carbon behind and bridging would be minimised, but this is of course not always the case in reality, eh? The bits that would tend to bridge and clog a cylindrical hole tend to fall through the suggested tapered hole of your grate.<br>
<br>
The idea of making this is ingenious by the way; highly adaptable easily reproduced y local artisans and effective. Congradulations on that !<br>
<br>
Richard Stanley<br>
<a href="http://www.legacyfound.org" rel="noreferrer" target="_blank">www.legacyfound.org</a></blockquote></div>
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