[Stoves] RE Retted Switchgrass Fireball Test

[Crispin]

Dear Jeff

I thought about this for a while and I think you need more draft for this to
work.

Everything about the characteristics of the fuel and fire points to an
insufficient burn rate, not an excess of carbon or even a moisture problem.

My view is that when you can get a fire eventually, and it is smokey, and it
works well for a short time if you blow on it, it will work with a modified
air supply.

When you are facing moisture, preheating with recycled heat is needed, and
when blowing on it makes things better, you need more draft.  If that camp
stove is fan driven, you may have to fiddle the primery/secondary ration but
the principle remains.

In my limited experience burning low density briquettes cleanly requires
preheated promary and secondary air, plus more frequent feeding due to the
low total mass inside the fuel chamber.

As fireball are easy to make, perhaps you should 'rate' the stove not the
product!

Regards
Crispin

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Jeff Davis" <jeff0124 at velocity.net>
Sent: Saturday, September 02, 2006 6:27 AM


Dear List,

[snip]
I had this evening to burn some of my small switchgrass fireballs. Big
disaster. They just made smoke. I oven dried them and all my burn tests are
in the Woodgas Camp Stove. All I could think of was, I sent this stuff to
Stove Camp! But then I told myself that I also sent some paper fireballs and
they burn good.

Desperate I loaded up the tools of my demise and rushed off to the place
where
the larger switchgrass fireballs are (Lanny's sample). I'm now hoping that
this compost like agglomerations are to high in carbon and the larger
particle size will help (stronger bed). Also, like charcoal, this could be a
poor fuel for the inverted down draft gasifier.

I loaded the stove up with my somewhat damp larger fireballs and fired up
the
propane torch to start the stove. Still mainly just smoke! I put a few paper
fireballs on top and for a short time some nice flame. Then I added some
peat
fireballs on top, I'm still desperate at this point. Well, the peat did not
seem to help.

After somemore time went by the smoke started to clear!

[snip]