[Stoves] Usage of TLUD stoves

[Paul S. Anderson]

Stovers,

A significant challenge to the TLUD stove development is obtaining
user-experience with cooking on TLUDs.  There is no TLUD project with a
sponsor/donor other than the personal finances of the stove developers, with
the possible exception of the Shenzhou Daxu stove in China (that is not even
recognized as a TLUD) but has company support and some sales to government
projects.  As such, data about long-term usage is mostly lacking.

Of course there are the outdoor campers with the Woodgas Campstove (the only
TLUD commercially available) and the Midge (DIY = Do-It-Yourself) and some
lesser-known TLUDs for personal use.  But those are for camp cooking which is
quite different from the every-meal cooking of people in developing countries.

With few exceptions, the "developers" of the TLUD models are in the affluent
countries.  We (I am in that group) have tested our TLUDs with different
cooking, but nobody has done every-meal continual daily cooking on their
stoves.  Most (all?) are males and we cannot prevail upon our spouses 
to do all
their cooking on the TLUDs.

Including the TLUD developers in the Third World countries, I doubt that there
are even 20 of us who have seriously designed and made TLUDs (excluding those
who have made one or two copies of someone else's designs).

Reed, Larson, English, Heggie, Puncibanda, Anderson, Belonio, Thompson,
Gallmeier, Carr, van der Slius (led to Philips non-TLUD), Shenzhou Daxu in
China,  Mukunda at IISc (with TLUDs for several ARECOP projects), any 
others at
IISc (?), maybe one at TERI (?), and Reddy, [that is maybe 16 so far].  Maybe
others should be nominated to the "brotherhood of TLUD designers."  There are
others who have a lot of knowledge about TLUDs (including Miles, Andreatta,
Wever,) but who to my knowledge are not now or have not been seriously making
TLUDs.

Of the several who live in developing societies, almost all of the 
developers do
NOT use TLUDs for their daily cooking.  For example, I have met and 
talked with
Alexis Belonio (Philippines) and Prof. Mukunda in India.  I have not visited
their home, but I believe (they can correct me) that in their households their
cooking is not done on their excellent TLUDs.  The convenience of LPG or
electric or microwave or whatever is preferred and is affordable.

The one exception is Sai Bhaskar Reddy, one of the most recent inductees into
the brotherhood.  He wrote:

Quoting Saibhaskar Nakka <saibhaskarnakka at gmail.com>:

> To bring out my limitations, I would like to say few words, I am designing
> the stoves with my own resources and converted our kitchen into makeshift
> lab.
    ...
> I am using "Magh Smoke burner stove" for all our cooking needs since last
> two months, now I am more confident about its functioning and utility and
> also tested with different types of biomass. I don't get it tested
> scientifically yet.

Two months cooking all meals for a family on a TLUD is probably a record.  I
encourage him (and especially his wife/cook) to continue.  This would 
be Indian
cooking, and maybe he could describe it at his blogsite.  Lots of 
photos.  What
types of food.  Chapati, dal, rice, frying, vegetables, etc etc.  What is
better and what is not as good when cooking on a TLUD, both in eating and in
food preparation.

This information on usage is as important as the scientific measurements.

By the way, I am intending to do a community-based TLUD project in 
2007, but no
details for release yet.  The stove will probably be much like what I will
bring to Stove Camp 2007 in July.  Ahhhhh.  The challenges and excitement are
wonderful.

Paul



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