

Innovative Campstove Generates Electricity - J3L2404
http://www.gizmag.com/biolite-low-emission-eco-camping-stove/14952/

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crux_
Utility for camping: I know I would never use it.

Utility for home use in low/zero-infrastructure countries, refugee camps, etc:
Humongous. Wood gasification is very, very efficient and low-emissions
compared to an open fire (which is still the only way to cook in many places
around the world).

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hugh3
_Since the BioLite will burn almost any biomass fuel; from wood, pine cones,
leaves, pellets, rice husks, even dung, it means fuel need not be carried_

Personally I'd rather not cook my food on burning dung.

Still, kids these days with their fancy stoves. In _my_ day we'd build a fire
out of sticks and cook our dinner in a billy can, and we didn't get excited
that we "didn't need to carry fuel". Probably weighed a fifth of a pound, too.

Seriously though, it seems like a good design if you're going somewhere that
firewood isn't abundant or building open fires isn't allowed. The fan sucks in
air for efficient combustion and the thermoelectrics generate energy to power
the fan using waste heat. Neato!

~~~
atomical
There are quite a few places (i.e. Grand Canyon) where fires are not allowed.
Too heavy for lightweight backpacking.

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JoeAltmaier
Battery-operated stoves have been available for years: smaller than this
stove; the batteries are definitely lighter than that 'power generator'.

This stove is neither small nor light, and doesn't solve the fuel problem any
better than existing stoves. At least for short-term (week or less) camping.
Batteries for a fan will last for hours.

In addition the demo video cut away when lighting the dang thing- I wanted to
know how fast it came up to speed! I guess I'll never know.

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J3L2404
More info and video:

<http://www.biolitestove.com/CampStove.html>

