In our newsletter “Making It Real,” we described how feedback from the field in Rwanda suggested that the Jet-Flame’s power cord would last longer if the whole device was inserted from the side of the combustion chamber. (It was originally designed to go through the door, with the sticks placed on top.) So of course […]
When I went to UC Berkeley, studying psychology as an undergrad, lots of people made fun of Freud, Jung, and Adler who wrote (a lot) about divergent theories of what makes people tick. UCB liked to think of itself as a scientific institution, and facts are proven by statistical validity. Why should we believe speculation from the dear departed? I eventually agreed and I was […]
A door was added to the CQC stove to block some of the air entering the combustion chamber. Last week we shared some thoughts about the importance of gathering detailed data and making direct observations when testing stoves. Here’s a question we recently considered. Did a partial cover over the sticks entering the combustion chamber […]
Kirk Harris tests his newest TLUD design under the Laboratory Emissions Monitoring System (LEMS) hood. Having an emissions hood allows ARC to make more detailed observations. We try to do one ISO 19867 test every day, establishing an in-house culture of data driven inquiry. Now, having a hood isn’t necessary for creating amazing stoves. Larry […]
The Jet-Flame in the CQC high mass brick Rocket stove I ask for help when moving the CQC stove. We built it on a piece of plywood and two folks can, with care, move it around the lab but it is heavy. The sand/clay/cement bricks are dense at 1.4 grams per cubic centimeter after being […]
Firewood is stored between a pair of CQC’s TLC Rocket Stoves. C-Quest Capital recently announced a collaboration with Macquarie Group Ltd., a financial services company with A$550 billion in assets under management and 16,000 employees in 35 countries. The two firms will fund and deploy efficient cook stoves with pot skirts to one million rural households […]
Sam Bentson and a Winiarski designed down-feed downdraft Rocket stove with added cooling fins. We used to have problems with the upper portion of the sticks catching fire in Dr. Winiarski’s down-feed downdraft Rocket stoves. The draft had to be strong, and the sticks at the right moisture content and size/weight to burn up completely […]
In 2013, C-Quest Capital (CQC) began distributing and installing the TLC Rocket Stove (TLCRS), a high-efficiency, long-life metal and brick improved cookstove, to the rural poor of Malawi. Early learning has resulting in many upgrades to the stove to improve sustained use and a long life. Over the past two years, CQC has installed the TLCRS in […]
CQC stove set up for testing under the LEMS hood ARC is investigating how to optimize the performance of the SSM Jet-Flame in the CQC earthen brick stove. Forty six thirty-minute ISO 19867 Water Heating Tests were completed under the LEMS hood at seven fan speeds. Two 4 cm x 4 cm douglas fir sticks […]
Kabanyana Murabukirwa Domina and Jean Marie Vianney Kayonga in Rwanda One of the roles of the ARC engineer is to give accurate technical information to the in-field decision makers who are directing the stove project. The folks on the ground have to make sure that cooks really like the stove, that the price is market […]