David Evitt, ASAT COO, and Sam Bentson, ARC GM, have been adding capacity to the Laboratory Emissions Monitoring System (LEMS). So far, four oxygen sensors, temperature probes in the fire and under the pot, and a velocity sensor give us a clearer picture of what’s going on in a stove. Knowing PM2.5, CO, CO2, and […]
In this video, Dean Still explains why mixing air into flame is important for cleaner combustion. He uses several Rocket Stoves to demonstrate the effects of both natural draft and forced draft secondary air jets. Which style is more effective? Watch to find out! For a simple way to add mixing to a Rocket Stove, […]
An Important Health Intervention When cooking stoves are tested in the field the emissions of PM2.5 and CO are often higher than lab results (Roden et al., 2009). The wood can be wetter, the fire is made with less attention, and many real life variables create higher levels of pollution. It’s hard to imagine that […]
Dean Still and Sam Bentson have started collaborating on a series of videos that explain the basics of how Rocket Stoves work, so that stove designers and stove users can get the best performance out of this popular stove design. In this first installment, “Time and Temperature,” Dean explains the importance of high combustion temperature […]
Aprovecho’s General Manager Sam Benston recently returned from a trip to Rwanda, where he helped to set up a new ISO compliant cookstove lab. Here are some photos and information from Sam about his work there: I was installing the LEMS (Laboratory Emissions Monitoring System) and PEMS (Portable Emissions Monitoring System) and the rest of […]
Here are the TLUD (Top-Lit Up Draft Stove) derived heat transfer principles that ARC designers use when designing and improving stoves. They are just as important for Rocket stoves as TLUDs: T: The temperature of the hot gas contacting the pot or griddle should be as hot as possible. A: Expose as much of the […]
There are three types of heat exchangers generally used to capture the heat produced in a combustion chamber. The hot flue gases can: Heat mass, like heavy stone or masonry Heat water which then warms the house or… The easiest and least expensive route – make the hot stove gases efficiently heat the air inside […]
Dr. Larry Winiarski would remind me to imagine the languid rising of smoke from a cigarette when thinking about the velocity of natural draft gases in the Rocket stove. I remember Larry saying that rising smoke is sexy, contemplative, and slow. Sam Bentson, General Manager of ARC, and Chenkai Wang, Division Business Manager of SSM, […]
The Mimi Moto forced draft TLUD achieves around 1-2mg/min PM2.5 at high power without an appreciable amount of residence time, as seen below. The jets of forced air create a downward flow of flame but there is only 7cm between the top of the fuel bed and the bottom of the pot when starting the […]
The cast iron Jet-Flame sends 30 jets of pre-heated air up into the burning charcoal and wood in an open fire, sand/clay stove, or in a Rocket stove. It is patterned after industrial burners that position jets of primary air underneath the fuel bed to clean up combustion. Both Underfeed Stokers and Fluidized Bed Boilers […]