Living off grid or less on the grid. Doing more with less. Being prepared for further economic downturn. Nomadic lifestyles. Living small or smaller. Enjoying life without money or with less money. Reading books and e-books. Alternative energy. Some of the topics this blog will cover.
Ken Ilgunas lives in 15,000 dollar Ford Econoline Van at Duke University.
'Living on the cheap wasn't merely a way to save money and stave off debt; I wanted to live adventurously. I wanted to test my limits. I wanted to find the line between my wants and my needs. I wanted, as Thoreau put it, "to live so sturdily and Spartan-like as to put to rout all that was not life … to drive life into a corner, and reduce it to its lowest terms."' http://www.salon.com/news/pinched/2009/12/06/living_in_a_van?source=newsletter
Very good read. You'll have to close the popup add that opens before you can enjoy his well written story.
Rocket stoves are highly efficient, easy to construct, and can be easily made from many materials. All the basic principles, and the design of the rocket stove are illustrated in the diagram above. A well built rocket stove produces very little smoke due to complete combustion of the fuel. This more complete combustion means that less fuel is needed to produce more heat.
The rocket stove was designed by Dr. Larry Winiarski of the Aprovecho Research Institute. Many rocket stoves are made from 5 gal steel cans with sections of 4 inch stove pipe used to create the combustion chamber and chimney. The remaining interior of the stove is usually filled with ash or vermiculite for insulation.
Here is a video of Dr. Winiarski making a rocket stove from 16 adobe bricks in Mexico.
Commercially produced rocket stoves are available in two versions, a one door for sticks or a two door for sticks or charcoal, from StoveTec. StoveTec is a division of Aprovecho Research Institute so these stoves conform to the designs principles laid out by the Institute. I prefer the two door stove. The increased functionality is well worth the few dollar extra in retail cost.
A video ,from StoveTec, of the two door stove in operation is included below.
The design principles incorporated into the rocket stove can be utilized in more complex cooking or heating designs. A good overview of the principles can be found in the booklet referenced below.
"This document was developed by Aprovecho Research Center under a grant from the Shell Foundation to provide technical support to household energy and health projects to ensure that their designs represent technical best practice. The principle authors of this booklet include: Dr. Mark Bryden, Dean Still, Peter Scott, Geoff Hoffa, Damon Ogle, Rob Balis, and Ken Goyer."
Photo by Ken Ilgunas
