[Stoves] Blow-suggestions without electricity

[Crispin Pemberton-Pigott]

Dear Tom

OK, I'll bite

>How about a handcrank vacuum cleaner?

That was the original.

>Dish washer?

I have a two legged one who comes Tuesdays and Fridays.

>Clothes washer?

South African invention marketed on TV.  Very popular with people living in 
flats.

>I understand that battery power is much more expensive

Dry cell batteries are $50 a kilowatt hour and have been for 30 years.

>However, my local Home Depot, Wallmart, Lowes, ... all sell garden
>lights for about $6 retail which include
>
>    * A solar charger
>    * Two rechargable AA batteries
>    * A light activated switch
>    * An LED light

I came home to Waterloo in August and found one blinking in the dark next to 
the driveway.  Trailer park chic I was told.  Huh.  I also observed that 
they are very popular installations at cemeteries which now pulse like a 
Shanghai casino.

I got a second hand laptop fan today: 6 volts and 3 watts.  Not really a low 
power device.  It has, however, a radial impeller which gives less air and 
higher pressure - exactly what I want for a stove.

I suspect that 'dead' cell phone batteries will be the easiest way to get 
power in many area, though obviously not places where cell phones are rare 
and recharging power absent. That still leaves a lot of the planet rated 
'useful'. Our discussion of Lemon Light two years ago was an eye opener to 
these disposed of batteries.

Pellet stoves are not going to be purchased by people who are utterly poor. 
There are billions of people above that level in income.  Thus it may not be 
the cheapest device on earth, but it might be quite acceptable to a very 
large number of people.

It is a surprise to me that once the stove is going, there is no simple 
cheap device to make a couple of watts of electricity.

Regards
Crispin