RE: Stove testing? need help.

["Kevin Chisholm" <kchishol@fox.nstn.ca>]

Dear Jn-Gilles

Given that you already have the three kerosene heaters, the "efficiency"
that you want to measure is, presumably, the combustion efficiency. That is
best done with a stack gas analysis.

You don't say if the kerosene heaters are cooking stoves or space heaters.
If they are space heaters, with the products of combustion venting into the
occupied space, then the factor of importance is whether or not there is any
sooting, indicating incompleteness of combustion. If there is any sooting,
then there may also be a potential for the presence of CO.

If they are cooking stoves, with the products of combustion vented outside
the living space, a stack gas temperature and gas analysis would give you an
overall "furnace efficiency". However, if you don't have access to gas
analysis equipment, the simplest crude measure of efficiency would be to run
each stove on a measured quantity of fuel, and note the stack temperature;
if they were of approximately the same capacity, then the stove with the
lowest stack temperature would have the best efficiency.


> -----Original Message-----
> From: owner-stoves@crest.org [mailto:owner-stoves@crest.org]On Behalf Of
> Jn-Gilles, Emile
> Sent: Thursday, January 18, 2001 4:44 PM
> To: stoves@crest.org
> Subject: Stove testing? need help.
>
>
> Hi stovers,
> I am wondering what type of answers Adam Sebitt has received from his mail
> on Stove testing. They would be really helpful to me.  I have
> just bought 3
> different size of kerosene stoves (made in Haiti, where I am living) and I
> would like to do some testing by myself. They are gravity models,
> noisy but
> 2 with good flame and good heat.
>
> How can I test the efficiency ? What are the procedures ? Do I
> need a water
> boiling test or another type of test?

If you could get an identical "boiling water test apparatus" for each stove,
then you could use this as a comparison. However, this would tell you what
stove worked best with your "boiling water test apparatus", moreso than what
stove was most efficient.

Unless you are very careful and unless you have a proper test set-up, I
don't think you will be able to get anything other than a qualitative
indication of the efficiencies of the three stoves.

Please let us know what you find.

Kevin Chisholm
>
> Thanks in advance for any help from anyone.
>
> Emile J. Gilles
>
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The Stoves List is Sponsored by
Pyromid Inc. http://www.pyromid.net
Stoves Webpage, Charcoal, Activated Carbon
http://www.ikweb.com/enuff/public_html/Stoves.html
http://www.crest.org/renewables/biomass-info/carbon.shtml
Other Sponsors, Archive and Information
http://www.nrel.gov/bioam/
http://solstice.crest.org/renewables/stoves-list-archive/
http://www.crest.org/renewables/biomass-info/
For information about CHAMBERS STOVES
http://www.ikweb.com/enuff/public_html/Chamber.htm