CHINESE GASIFIER STOVE
Kirk Smith, January 2003

	The target price for the household-scale gasifier stove using CRA is about $90 -- not more than 50% higher than the standard non-gasifier CR stoves in wide-scale use.
	The institutional CR gasifier stove sold by the second company -- owner at my far left.

Comments by Ron Larson

Here, I believe CR is “crop residue”. I am not sure what the “A” in “CRA” stands for.

This photo is important to me because

A) The stove is reputed to have 60 % efficiency (we rarely hear such a high number) – and we need to spread the word on how this was achieved. An average efficiency number around the world for CR stoves is probably 3 or 4 times lower.

B) It probably is burning very cleanly – and Kirk probably has some data on emissions. We need to have these targets and better understand and improve methodologies for testing.

C) The $90 cost is affordable (but higher than we would like). This stove appears to be something that can be made worldwide.

D) The manufacturer would probably like to expand sales and license his technology – and he will have a tough time doing so. We need to get such persons active in dialog (and maybe we have to solve the translation problem)

E) Using crop residues can be very important in many places – where it is now often burned in the fields.

F) Because the Chinese seem to have done the best national stove work and because we know very little of what has gone on there (including their information and marketing subsidy programs).

G) Because more credit and recognition needs to be given to the work of Kirk in his testing and epidemiological studies. (This stove probably pays for itself in less than a year in reduced health costs and worker productivity – without considering fuel cost savings).

H) Because it is not easy now to find such photos and the design information and ideas on them - anywhere. The few pictures are rarely coupled with test data taken in a known manner.