[Stoves] The Bean Can Stove

[lannych]

Stove Friends,

http://bioenergylists.org/en/hensonbcs 

I have designed a simple and inexpensive stove that most any dumpster-diver can build. This is a stove for someone who can't even afford a pot, so if you are living in a developing area and you have no income or you are a Westerner and you are laden with expenses (like tobacco, drugs, alcohol, cell phone and cable bill.enough self criticism!) and you just don't have the money for a pot, then this is the stove for you. 

All you need is a Homeless Depot (construction site dumpster or land fill) and you should be able to find the used metal containers you need to build this stove for free. 

I did not pay much attention to the cosmetics of this early prototype but who needs looks anyway.

So meet me under the bridge, the pintos will be done about midnight!

 

 

The Bean Can Stove is a $5 or less cooker including the pot.

The Bean Can stove is made totally from used metal containers, (see material list) even the cook pot. 

It is the simplest stove that I have designed requiring only hand tools and no fab parts to build.

It seems to be very efficient using only 152 grams of hardwood charcoal and 5 grams of wood for starter to cook 2 lb/907gr of dry pintos. That is 26 servings of 35gr ¼ cup dry ½ cup cooked, total volume 3.5 liters. 

The combustion air is controlled by elevating the stove with 3 sticks so air can flow underneath. 

 

The soaked beans came to a boil at 33min after striking the match.

Then I removed the spacing sticks to reduce the combustion air for simmering. 

At 1 hour after initial boiling I could hear rapid boiling.

At 1.5 hours I could hear slow boiling.

At 2 hours I could still hear low simmering.

The beans were cooked at this point (2 hours after boiling) so I capped the system to retain the heat.

And at 7 hours after boiling the temp was 150 degF/ 65.6 degC.

 

I am very pleased with the ease of construction, use and the performance of this cooker. It cooks 2 hours with little attention and holds for hours more. That is long enough to be a bean or stew cooker.

Next I plan to change the size of the burner so that the pot can sit lower in the stove.

Also this design could be adapted to use a typical cook pot instead of a paint bucket, so I will test that. 

 

Material list:

3- 5gal metal pails and 2- lids, used $3.

1- one-gallon paint can with lid, used  (the cook pot) $1.

1- 1.13 liter/kg can used (burner)  ¢25

1- coat hanger  ¢10

1- fluffy ash or loose fill insulation. ¢25

4- sheet metal screws  ¢28

 

Thanks for viewing,

Lanny Henson

 

 

See the photos at Tom Miles website, the link above or at later at www.lanny.us 

Photo BC03 

Two pails make the inner and outer shell. There is a hole in the bottom where the burner sits for combustion air.

 

02

A center fire tin can burner holds 170 grams of high quality hardwood charcoal. 5 grams of wood and some candle wax, top lights the burner. 18 gr of char did not burn. A little too much wax created some smoke.

 

04

The lid supports the paint can pot just above the burner

 

06

One half off a pail/bucket shields the cook pot.

 

07

A lid with exhaust hole helps contain the heat.

 

10

Very little heat escaped the system through the exhaust during the cooking process.

 

08 09

At 33 min I skimmed the pot and removed the spacing sticks to reduce the combustion air for simmering.

 

11

At 2 hours after boiling when the charcoal was consumed, I capped the system with ½ of a pail which held the heat to 150 degF for 7 hours.