Aprovecho Research Center

FUELS OF THE FUTURE

Many thoughtful researchers in the stove movement have commented that the search for cleaner cooking begins with the fuel. Obviously, a car will not run with too much water in the gas. Using appropriate fuels is an integral part of cleaner burning. Even wooden sticks need to be dried below 25% moisture content to burn well. 15% moisture content is within the optimal range for reducing fuel use and emissions.

SUNSHINE!

There are fuels, most notably sunshine, that do not need preparation before use. One of two "intellectual villages" at Stove Camp will spend the week testing and evolving solar solutions that most effectively cook food. There are now solar cookers that can cook at night! There are inexpensive solar cookers that can cook beans with little muss or fuss. Solar cooking does not increase entropy. Cooking with sunshine doesn't cause the harmful emissions that kill about 1.6 million women and children per year. Perhaps a great commercially viable solar solution can be found that will help replace the burning of biomass? Let's spend a week and see what happens! The best stove wins the coveted "Cat Piss" Award.

FOUND FUELS!

The second goal this year is to test all kinds of natural fuels under the emission hood in various clean burning stoves. Maybe rabbit or goat pellets can be burned very cleanly in a TLUD? Sticks of grasses did pretty well last year in a earthen Rocket stove. We are now making briquettes for the institutional stoves. Teams are invited to create the most effective, lowest emission fuel/stove combinations. Win the $250 prize! Our hope is that a catalog of fuels and stoves will be started at Stove Camp and then expanded by Aprovecho staff. (In the same way, the staff continued testing charcoal stoves after Stove Camp 2010 and will soon publish "Comparing Charcoal Cook Stoves".)

We are looking forward to burning all kinds of ...stuff.

Summer Stove Camp is July 25-29 and costs $300 for the week. You can camp out here at the lab, on a beautiful Oregon river, or sleep at local hotels. We are located in the small rural town of Cottage Grove, Oregon. Dean loves to take Stove Campers sailing on his English yawl. Aprovecho staff also teach introductory classes and make sure that we learn as much as possible. We've been in the New Yorker and an Italian film. Who will come to document this year's activities?

Contact Mike at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it or call the lab at 541 767 0287 to reserve a spot.

Schedule Summer Stove Camp 2011