StoveTec | Lab Testing Cook Stoves

Aprovecho Research Center was the first organization in the world to carefully evaluate hundreds of cook stoves under an emissions hood with standardized testing. The Environmental Protection Agency, the Partnership for Clean Indoor Air, GTZ, The World Bank, Philips, and the Shell Foundation have used output from the ARC tests. The lab tests generate reliable data needed when developing and validating improved cooking technologies. Lab tests are a part of the International Testing Standards which include two in field tests that are used in conjunction with the lab test, the WBT.

Stove Performance - Fuel, CO, CO2, PM and Safety

The StoveTec rocket stoves were extensively tested using the 2003 UCB revised Water Boiling Test (WBT) in the ARC lab. The test is composed of high and low power and hot and cold start. First, five liters of water are brought to a boil in an uncovered seven liter pot. Then the remaining water is simmered for forty five minutes. 3cm by 3cm sticks of Douglas fir sticks near 10 % moisture content are used. Although many data points are analyzed in the testing the amount of wood used (measured in MJ), carbon monoxide (CO), carbon dioxide (CO2) and particulate matter (PM) are most often reported to compare fuel requirements, the GHG potential and the combustion efficiency of the stove.

Field performance of stoves will vary with the interaction of real-world conditions. Laboratory studies are designed to research heat transfer and combustion efficiency under controlled procedures. For information on international in field studies check out the India Field Report, The Uganda Controlled Cooking Test and the Marshall Island Field Report.

The StoveTec wood burning rocket stove and two door wood/charcoal stoves use about the same amount of wood to complete the Water Boiling Test (WBT). The StoveTec stoves saved about one-third of the fuel when compared to the laboratory three-stove fire (without a skirt). The use of a pot skirt saves approximately an additional 25%.

The StoveTec charcoal burning stove saved 40% more charcoal when compared to the traditional charcoal Jiko.

The StoveTec wood burning stoves reduced particulate matter by 50-75% when compared to the three-stone fire. The stoves met the Shell Foundation benchmarks of performance for wood burning stoves with and without a pot skirt.

The wood burning stoves, with and without the pot skirt, produced less than half of the total CO2 and dramatically decreased energy consumption when compared to the three-stove fire. The charcoal burning stove did equally well compared to the Jiko.

The stoves were given a safety score between 33 and 36 out of 40, depending on the size and model of the stove. (This safety analysis is based on the protocol developed as a Master’s Thesis by Nathan Johnson of Iowa State University. The protocol includes an evaluation on a scale of 1-4 with 4 being highly safe in ten different areas.)