Frank and all,
Very nice thoughts about starting fires in different ways. Glad you
will be at ETHOS and at the Aprovecho Open House after ETHOS.
One comment now: The special starter needs to be in some appropriate
contact with the fuel. Under piles of sticks (tinder, etc) in a
stick-fire could work fine. On top of a pile of fuel in a TLUD can be
great, but needs some additional comments.
Probably should have a small amount of the raw fuel mixed in or on top
of the starter? This works well with pellet fuels and other fuels
that have sufficiently small size to fill in any voids between the fuel
pieces. However.......
Be careful of gaps between pieces of larger fuel such as vertical sticks
or corn cobs, because the starter could fall down and the ignite the raw
fuel too far down in the fuel bed.
Note: Presented months ago, but not widely discussed, is the use of
Regular char (not the starter stuff) to fill in the gaps when using
larger pieces of fuel. I have tried that several times, always with
reasonable success. The char-as-filler is essentially "inert" as the
pyrolysis front of the TLUD passes downward, creating more char (and
leaving the filler char re-heated but probably not modified). (no char
is lost in this re-use of the previously created char.).
Frank, see you at ETHOS and after !!!!!!!!
Paul
Doc / Dr TLUD / Prof. Paul S. Anderson, PhD
Email: [email protected]
Skype: paultlud Phone: +1-309-452-7072
Website: www.drtlud.com
On 1/2/2014 3:56 PM, Frank Shields wrote:
**
*Dear All,*
**
*It seems most stoves work very cleanly once started. It's the
starting that produces the most particular matter and poor combustion
and the part of the process that needs improving upon. *
*I think that means when we light the match we need a fast, hot flame
produced from a well-mixed gas in the exact ratio for combustion and
next to a material that burns hot. *
**
*I do not understand this process (cannot visualize it) but activated
carbon has a butane activity of ~30 g per 100 grams carbon. A good
Biochar has around 10g/100grams. 30g butane = ~12 liters gas and 10g =
~4 liters gas all 'packed' into a cup of char. And char burns very
hot. So wondering if loaded char could be used as a fire starter? So
one can squeeze 12 liters butane gas into a cup of Biochar (?!?!!)
using no pressure etc. *
**
*Char having high activation (> 10) I have loaded with gasoline and
have a tank of methane ready for testing when I get the time. *
**
*The next improvement might be a better way to light the stove. I was
thinking a Wile E. Coyote mechanical detonator where one pushes a
plunger that creates a spark within the packed fuel to ignite
something (loaded char?). *
**
*http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_wpcJX2WqAXo/S06hLGzpHgI/AAAAAAAAAJY/t-fip6bv-nI/s400/coyote-6.jpg*
**
http://brassgoggles.co.uk/forum/index.php?action=printpage;topic=780.0
*//*
I plan to bring some high activity biochar loaded with a couple things
to Aprovacho (after Ethos) and hope we have the time to experiment
with using it for igniting fuel.
**
Regards
Frank
**
*Frank Shields*
*Control Laboratories; Inc.*
*42 Hangar Way*
*Watsonville, CA 95076*
*(831) 724-5422 tel*
*(831) 724-3188 fax*
*[email protected] <mailto:[email protected]>*
*www.controllabs.com <http://www.controllabs.com>*
**
**
**
**
**
**
**
**
**
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