StoveTec GreenFire

I am not exactly sure how it came to be, but Alex and I were given a StoveTec GreenFire 1-door wood burning stove. They call it a biomass cook stove. It's has these thick walls that keep the heat from dissipating. Along with directing all the heat directly to the cooking pot, the extra heat helps the firewood burn hotter and thus cleaner.

The thing is absolutely amazing.

We're using well less than a quarter of the wood we were using with open fires; and because the fire is always burning hot, we rarely get smokey fires, (only when we push our luck - thinking the fire is so hot that it can handle wet wood).

The manufacturer's write, "Efficient cook stoves increase heat transfer to the the pot, saving fuel. The stove top and the pot skirt force the hot gases closer to the bottom and sides of the pot. More heat enters the pot so less fuel is used for cooking. The insulative combustion chamber both increases the temperature and aids the mixing of gases, air and fire in the combustion zone. The GreenFire stove increases both heat transfer and combustion efficiency, resulting in cleaner and more efficient cooking".

We were given the stoves to take them to the island and show them off. I wasn't keen at first (dealing with the logistics of getting anything from Port Vila to our house is enough to make one not keen on pretty much most things), but there is such a dramatic difference from an open fire, we are both completely sold on the thing.

We'll get one for our summer kitchen in the states.

Alex informs me the rotary club and a RPCV named Charlie played major roles in the stove's appearance.

www.stovetec.net