THE BEANER - WorldStoveUSA

[zelph]

Here is some interesting information on the burning of wood for fuel (from wikipedia)

This is because wood/plant biomass is made up of mostly carbon (and water); carbon came from the carbon dioxide absorbed from the atmosphere by the tree or grass while it grew through the process of photosynthesis, and the carbon returns to the atmosphere when the wood is either burned or left to decompose. It is true that in combustion, most of the carbon joins with oxygen and returns to the atmosphere as carbon dioxide, with a GWP100 of 1. But - if the wood is instead left to decompose through natural processes, the carbon still partially returns to the air - but in the form of the gas methane, which has a GWP100 of 21 - thus causing 21 times more damage to the climate over 100 years than the same quantity of CO2 does over 100 years. Only part of the decaying wood is released as methane; other parts stay within the soil and often improve it substantially over time. This criticism of the climate aspect of wood decay does not apply if the wood is used in a process that fixates the carbon, such as in building materials, or, in the case of sawdust, in particle board, as these media sequester carbon unless or until they are allowed to decay or are consumed by fire.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wood_pellet

In the above paragraph they give the numbersGWP100 of 1 and GWP100 of 21 so here is an explanation of what the GWP stands for. (from wikipedia)


Global warming potential (GWP) is a measure of how much a given mass of greenhouse gas is estimated to contribute to global warming. It is a relative scale which compares the gas in question to that of the same mass of carbon dioxide (whose GWP is by convention equal to 1). A GWP is calculated over a specific time interval and the value of this must be stated whenever a GWP is quoted or else the value is meaningless.

[zelph]

I found this article interesting today and thought you might also.

http://www.bioenergylists.org/files/Wendelbo%20TLUD%20Pioneer%20Experiences%202009-01-18.pdf

quoted in part:

[B]Part One: Paal Wendelbo, Pioneer of TLUD Gasifier Stoves In German-occupied Norway (1940-45), small groups of men would slip into the forests for several days at a time as part of the Resistance efforts. Young teenager Paal Wendlebo regularly went with one group. Their cover story was the search for additional food, but they avoided the German patrols as best they could. Their meals were prepared with the smallest of fires and minimal smoke. The men showed Paal how to lay a small pile of very dry small sticks horizontally parallel and with the smallest wood on top. They would light the fires at the top. There were no stove structures or fire containers, just the sticks. The fires did produce a little smoke, but most of the smoke was wonderfully consumed in the steady flames at the top of the fuel pile. The pot was a one-litre tin hanging on a stick extended over the fire. Paal Wendelbo faced more adversities than just the Nazis. He was not a strong student in school, and even lost several years of schooling during World War II. He later worked in a wide variety of interesting jobs, and eventually became an architect and raised a family. But he divorced and in the 1984 headed alone to Africa to do development work for non-governmental organizations, mainly with disabled people and refugees. I first worked four years in Zambia and became aware of cookstove issues. I began my serious work with stoves back in Norway in 1988 before my next employment started. I began utilizing the fire technology I learned during the war. The stove was tested at The Technical High School in Norway and Denmark. I made the stove first and the best way to ignite it was from the top using some kerosene, but also with straw there was no problem to ignite on top. Some others tried to ignite the PP stove from underneath, but that gave a lot of smoke. I did not really understand the process; it just happened and it looked nice and useful. I have no training in thermo-technical matters. Several years later I found a cookstove booklet of P. Visser and it was more of a confirmation that I was on to something. My new contract was with Handicap International in Mozambique dealing with organization and employment for handicap people. I was told before starting “The job has nothing to do with stoves.” Then I had one year in Uganda dealing with stoves, but my friends told me I could join the evening parties only if I did not talk about stoves.
Next came one year in Ghana where his stove work continued only as a personal effort, mainly during

[/B]

I added the emphasis in red:D I can relate to that!!!

[GEOSPUD]

I have used a "Beaner" and I also built my own.
No sugar coating here. PITIFUL.
Easy to start with alchohol. Burn times Grosely exagerated.
WILL NOT FIT SNUGGLY IN A US 12oz soda can. I had to seal it with alluminum foil, flashing etcetera.
DO NOT USE WHILE BACKPACKING!
DO NOT USE WHEN THE WIND IS BLOWING MORE THAN 2 MPH.

Spend the $50 on a couple of cases of pepsi and make pepsi can stoves for yourself and all your friends.

[Ridgerunner]

Welcome aboard geospud! After reading all the negative reviews on this board of the beaner stove, I don't know why anyone would want one let alone pay for one. It sound like the creator of the stove should be ashamed of themselves for taking peoples hard earned money for something deemed a piece of junk!!! There's gold diggers everywhere with no scruples or morals. BEWARE....don't waste your money on the Beaner Stove!!!

[DarenN]

yeah. it's certainly not worth spending money on.
i got ahold of some wood pellets and tried them in the beaner i built.
they're funny things, those wood pellets.
i lit them useing alcohol and as they started to warm up and burn they also swelled up quite a bit.
i did get the desired wood gas effect from them but they just didn't burn hot enough to boil water.

[realityguy]

More than likely you stacked them wrong,Daren...as in "bad fuel"....

[zelph]

Spend the $50 on a couple of cases of pepsi and make pepsi can stoves for yourself and all your friends.

Whoa!!!! that's a lot of stoves Did I ever mention I like making stoves

Thank you for your informative comment. I hope there are many readers out there that will take this information to heart and pass it around.

The Beaner is NOT a backpacking/camping stove.

[ConnieD]

U updATED THIS

Zelph,

If you had said nothing I would never have known about THE BEANER - WorldStoveUSA and been better off.

We're BACK! Thanks for your patience in the past months! Our efforts have been focused on the Haiti relief effort, which has diverted much of our inventory. We have now restocked on Beaners, however, and are back on task! Please, have a look!

Not only is this selling this for $$$, he is doing "Haiti relief".

He must work for the federal government as his "regular job". The pdf specifications and drawings would indicate he is actually a federal employee specifying jobs for the Pentagon, e.g. $100,000 for a hammer.

edit: I have an idea. Maybe MaxiBULL should do Haiti relief.

[realityguy]

Not only is this selling his garbage for $$$, he is doing "Haiti relief".

I guess it pays to read reviews..Apparently some stoves have to be sent to haiti to get rid of excessive inventory of a bad product...

Why..did you buy one?

[ConnieD]

I didn't buy one.

Nah, I have common sense.