ETHOS 2009 Stove Conference

This was my third ETHOS (Engineers in Technical and Humanitarian Opportunities of Service – a long name for people who often just call themselves “stovers”), and the Seattle suburbs are as cold as usual at this time of year. ~100 researchers came from around the world to compare notes on stove projects, stove designs, standards and testing procedures, health impacts, other associated appropriate technologies, and so on. More apparent this year was interest in carbon credit funding and biochar (terra preta) applications, and all year long there has been an increased emphasis on refugee camp stoves (and more testing of stoves in the field, versus in the laboratory) so this was more apparent at the conference. There was a raft of new stoves introduced this year, including the new BioLight thermoelectric-powered-fan one for camping and more, the likewise fan powered LuciaStove from WorldStove (shown with developer Nate Mulcahy), and the souped up Peko Pe natural draft gasifier presented by Paul Anderson (pictured with Crispin Pemberton-Pigott, wielding his ever present combustion analyzer). The dual venerable Dr. Larry Winiarski and Dean Still are also shown here with the upcoming finned pot atop StoveTec’s rocket stove - now 36,000 strong in the field just since last year. The trend toward stove models like all these, designed for mass manufacturing, continues, and this trend was recently discussed below. And yours truly demonstrated in light snow the new biomass gasifier (the big red one) from All Power Labs here in Berkeley. Look soon for Peter Scott’s new rocket stove design and application website. Past stove conference proceedings can be found here.