Dear Crispin, the Government of India started in 1984 a programme called National Programme on Improved Cookstoves. At that time, the emphasis was on saving wood through high efficiency. One ensured clean indoor air by providing a chimney to the stove. In fact all the stove models approved under this programme had a chimney. The world-wide emphasis on cleaner burning of the fuel came after the year 2000, but by that time, the programme started by the Government of India was no longer in existence. The agencies created for stove testing and stove approval died a natural death after the end of this programme. However, there are still some Government programmes, such as free housing for the rural poor, clean village programme etc. in which it is mandatory to install the so called improved cookstoves in every house. But the implementing agencies only install models that were approved under the National Programme on Improved Cookstoves, and even in the case of privately funded stoves programmes, the funding agencies insist on certified models (i.e.older models with chimney). The more mordern stoves based on the principle of Rocket stove, TLUD stove and fan stove get neither sponsors nor government's approval. As a result, the modern stoves, do not get widely propagated. In the case of a typical rural householder, a cleanly burning, modern stove is the last item he would spend his money on. He would rather spend it on a mobile phone, television or a motor cycle. Yours A.D.Karve
On Tue, Feb 7, 2012 at 1:14 PM, Crispin Pemberton-Pigott < [email protected]> wrote: > Dear AD**** > > ** ** > > Your story is not very unusual. It is unfortunate that people produce > stoves that have chimneys, but are not actually clean-burning. My point is > that just because one produces a chimney stove is no excuse not to use that > additional expense to create the draft needed to completely burn the fuel. > Astonishing really. **** > > ** ** > > I wonder if there is too much emphasis on ‘clean indoor air’ without > enough emphasis on ‘not needing to worry about clean indoor air’ in the > first place. **** > > ** ** > > That level of deposition is depressing. I heard about a stove being > produced in the tea country high in Kenya which is used for space heating > and cooking, According to the designer the 3 inch chimney would clog after > three months. That is ridiculous! What kind of crummy combustion is that?* > *** > > ** ** > > A chimney is as good as a fan – especially 3.5 metres. Fan stoves are > supposed to be really clean or you have not done a good job. Shoving bad > combustion outside does not solve much. The situation in Ulaanbaatar is > exactly like that. No one has a stove without a chimney. The air outside is > so polluted that it is contaminating the air drawn into the homes. So the > chimney solved nothing – the problem is the stove.**** > > ** ** > > Your grate price is good! I think we should be jealous! It would be so > nice to be able to get good parts in cast iron.**** > > ** ** > > Thanks**** > > Crispin**** > > ** ** > > ** ** > > Dear Crispin,**** > > the grate costs about a dollar each, whereas a 3.5 m long chimney having a > diameter of about 8 cm costs about US$6. Formerly, these chimneys were mass > produced as water pipes, but nowadays people use plastic pipes for water. > There is only one manufacturer in our state who makes the cement chimneys, > and about 15% of them are found to be broken on arrival. Fixing the > chimneys is a tricky business, because one has to make a hole into the > ceiling or the roof of the house. If this hole is not properly sealed, > rainwater drips through it. After using it for about 3 months, the chimney > generally gets choked with tar, which is very difficult to remove. Once > that happens, the stove produces more smoke than the traditional stove used > to produce, and disgusted, the housewife removes the improved stove along > with the chimney. We have recently installed our chimneyless stoves in > about 1000 households under a special programme funded by Cummins (India) > Ltd. These stoves are now in operation for almost a year and there are no > complaints.**** > > Yours**** > > A.D.Karve**** > > _______________________________________________ > Stoves mailing list > > to Send a Message to the list, use the email address > [email protected] > > to UNSUBSCRIBE or Change your List Settings use the web page > > http://lists.bioenergylists.org/mailman/listinfo/stoves_lists.bioenergylists.org > > for more Biomass Cooking Stoves, News and Information see our web site: > http://www.bioenergylists.org/ > > > -- *** Dr. A.D. Karve Trustee & Founder President, Appropriate Rural Technology Institute (ARTI)
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