Dear Friends
Dean has a good point here The WBT published by VITA was patterned after actual cooking tasks for good reasons. The determination of what is a reasonably proxy for local cooking habits is the foundation of making a successful prediction of the future performance of a candidate stove. If the test performed is not representative of actual use, then it is likely make misleading predictions. The purpose of an engineering formula is to make a prediction about performance (or failure). Stoves are not in a special branch of engineering - testes and evaluations must be predictive. Cooking patterns, established by observation, are key to making predictions about emissions and fuel consumption, durability and safety issues can also be addressed. As many stove inventers have found out, having a 'better stove' does not mean people will want to buy or use it even if given it free. That means we need social science as well as engineering science to help us make decisions. VITA, which may yet again rise from the shadows, was an organisation of engineering people offering their time to assist enthusiasts working overseas. They would appreciate the efforts made to produce evaluation methods that are as predictive as possible. Regards Crispin
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