[Stoves] RE Using a differential windlass as motive power for stove

[Crispin Pemberton-Pigott]

Dear Friends

>Ignoring electrical loss seems like misrepresentation to me, as did your
>2 hour figure...

It is my observation that there is a great deal of high quality consultation 
taking place on this list and I caution everyone not to assume baser motives 
in what is written.  Email is not the best form of communication but it 
serves us well when we are so spread out.

A good consultation is one in which the output (conclusions of decisions) 
are not what anyone thought was going to be the outcome when they started. 
There are many, many ways to do and calculate things (which I strongly 
favour and I am glad to see more of it) so it is best to have a few options 
in the messages before deciding on a direction.

I spend a lot of my time choosing directions to take something and I have 
become very tolerant of what appear to be pointless 'possibilities' jsut to 
keep a balance or to confirm that my chosen path is the best one for the 
moment.

It looks like mechanical power from a descending weight is not all that 
attractive when coupled to a small blower because the power mechanism will 
cost more than the stove which is a Big Problem.  Mechanical power is often 
underrated, however and I would like to see this explored in more depth.  A 
manual blower is the mainstay of small forging and has been for years.  All 
the metal workshops in the Sahel have one and they are locally made so it is 
a workable technology.  Perhaps it will not work for stoves, maybe it will.

Regards
Crispin