Re: Coal cooking summary

["John Davies" <jmdavies@xsinet.co.za>]

Greetings,

Tami Wrote,

> 4. People light coal, prefer hi-volatile [Me too!], bring it into house
> after volatiles are extinguished and cook over the coke. (John) (Note--
> if I get my own lab setup someday, I would love to test your improved
> coal stove)

I hope that I can turn my ideas into practice, but may take some time.
which is rather scarce at the moment.

> So far I haven't used more than 0.6 kg of coal per test, figuring that
> you can finish the water boiling test with ~0.6 kg of wood, and coal has
> a higher heating value. Nor have I used more than 0.3 kg of wood to try
> and start the coal, again thinking that if you were going to use 0.5 kg
> of wood as kindling, you might as well cook over it and forget the coal.

I think that this is a good starting point, I tend to agree that one must
use equipment which will absorb the minimum heat,  The pit method might be
absorbing more heat than the tincanium looses ? I used rock wool insulation
on the outside of the tin cans in my tests, but the cans have a very short
life this way. Maybe stainless steel will have a better life, but may make
the stove unaffordable to those that need it most.

I will be doing refractory tests in the planned miniature locomotive, but
this could be a few years away.


> John, how much coal do people typically burn for a meal? And what do
> they do if they cannot get the high-volatile stuff?

Sorry for the delay, I have been consulting people who use the system.
There are no definite answers. But it appears to be between 8 & 15 Li of
coal depending on the required heat, duration of the fire, and the quality
of the coal. Sometimes the tin of coke is taken outside for a smaller second
addition of coal.   The local coal is high volatile content. The harder less
volatile coal comes from further afield and tends to be more expensive. I am
informed that about a 1 1/2" layer of wood is placed below the coal for
lighting with plenty of voids. Less volatile coal requires a deeper wood
layer. Remember that this is a dual purpose "stove".  In the summer the coal
is volume is greatly reduced ( no volume given ), and the cooking may be
done outside.

I am also told that a crude chimney of about 2 to 3 ft in length is often
placed over the fire at start up to reduce the coking time, but that it does
not reduce pollution.

It would appear that the wastage and pollution is accepted as a necessary
part of life, and that proof of a better system by demonstration would be
needed to make change acceptable. ( I was told that reduced coal requirement
would carry more weight than anything else, as it can be directly equated to
money savings )

Regards,
John Davies.







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