[Gasification] Qualitative vs Quantitative testing of stoves and gasifiers

[Ken Boak]

Hi Tom & Lists,

I agree that a lot of good science can be done with a minimum of cheap 
equipment.  Return to some of the simple experimental techniques we learned 
in High School, with the benefit of low cost, precision digital equipment.

I recently bought a postal scales, for about $80 that weighs up to 2kg in 1g 
increments, and I use these extensively for measuring the rate of fuel 
consumption.

I also bought a dual thermocouple thermometer wuith RS232 output that will 
do T2-T1 differencing - useful for measuring power levels heating water in a 
heat exchanger.

I was in China last week where I picked up a cheap multimeter that now has a 
USB connection so that you can datalog the readings to a PC   - about $100.

I have a boxroom  at my house that measures 8' x 9' and I have set this up 
as an experimental laboratory. It has the benefit of a brick built flue of 
height 4m so I can test various stoves with a natural draught.

At the moment I am testing a cheap Chiminea, a globe shaped cast iron stove 
that could easily be converted toa Rocket type stove and available in the 
high street for around $100.


Seasons Greetings and  Prosperous New Year



Ken Boak


London




----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Thomas Reed" <tombreed at comcast.net>
To: <STOVES at LISTSERV.REPP.ORG>; "GASIFICATION" 
<GASIFICATION at listserv.repp.org>; "Robert Flanagan" <saffebiz at gmail.com>; 
"Jim Fournier" <jim at planetwork.net>; "James Becker" 
<JamesBecker at peakpeak.com>; "Shivayam Ellis" <shivayam.ellis at comcast.net>; 
"Agua Das" <aguadas at onebox.com>; "Pravina Parikh" <parikh at somaiya.edu>
Sent: Wednesday, December 27, 2006 1:39 PM
Subject: [Gasification] Qualitative vs Quantitative testing of stoves 
andgasifiers


> Dear Stovers and Gassers:
>
> We can learn a lot by good observation with our five senses:  sight;
> smell; sound; taste; heat.  This is as far as early Humans could go as
> we progressed.
>
> We can learn a lot more by correct deduction from the evidence of our
> senses.  The Greeks moved our understanding of the world forward a great
> deal by thinking about the evidence from our senses.
>
> However, modern science has extended all these senses 10^80 orders of
> magnitude (from 10^-20 m) to 10^20 m) with microscopes, telescopes,
> super accurate time measurement and control etc. so that our current
> understanding of our universe has been made quantitative to an
> inconceivable degree beyond our five sense with accurate measurement.
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
> Often this accurate measurement comes at great cost with Hubble
> telescopes and electron microscopes and is far beyond the reach of the
> average citizen.  However, the cost of accuracy rapidly declines so that
> the average citizen can measure is geographical coordinates with an
> accuracy of 10 meters using a GPS for a few hundred dollars!  Still,
> most citizens are satisfied with qualitative measurements most of the
> time.  Are we thus limited?
>
> In developing stoves and gasifiers it is very important to make accurate
> measurements of weight, time, air flow etc.  On a very modest domestic
> budget I have been making accurate measurements in my stove and gasifier
> work in my modest garage-lab.  I have
>
>    * a top loading digital scale which weighs up to 50 kg with an
>      accuracy of 5 g for testing fuel consumption of small gasifiers
>      and stoves - ~$500
>    * In our gasification lab another digital scale with an accuracy of
>      0.5 g for better testing
>    * a top loading balance which weighs up to 1 kg with an accuracy of
>      1 mg.  Bought used for ~ $200
>    * digital kitchen timer from local hardware store measuring up to 24
>      hours with an accuracy of 1 sec ~ $10
>      ------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> One part of my thinking regrets that China (and to some degree other
> countries) has become the major producer of good instruments for the
> world at affordable prices.  Another part however cheers their progress
> and my wallet certainly takes advantage of China shopping.  Harbor
> Freight (http://www.harborfreight.com/)is a constant source of wonder to
> me and tools for my lab.
>
> Recently I have purchased
>
>    * A pocket scale which measures to 500 g with an accuracy of 0.1 g
>      (or many other useful units and a weighing function) $12.99
>    * A radiation thermometer that tells me the temperature of the
>      various walls of my house with an accuracy of > 1 degree F - ~ $15
>    * Another radiation thermometer that tells me the temperature of a
>      small laser spot up to 500C ~$30
>    * A number of solar lights that can run my stoves for hours on a
>      day's charge
>    * A number of Ni metal hydride batteries that hold 2.5 times as much
>      charge as the Ni-Cds ~$1 each
>    * A wrist sphygmomanometer
>      <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sphygmomanometer> (blood pressure
>      measure) that I'm dubious about $20
>      ------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> So I guess that the US loss of business is the world's gain.  As a
> citizen of both I am left cheering for accurate measurement and science.
>
> Yours truly,
>
> TOM REED                    THE BEF STOVEWORKS         THE BEC GASWORKS
>
>
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