Review: BioLite Stove and demo Day 1 (also see Day 2 and Day 3)

Review and demonstration of the BioLite stove. Includes introduction and discussion of the design. This video includes footage of testing the BioLite Stove on “day one” using Motorola Droid phones. We also used the BioLite as the heat source to demonstrate the Cup Charger, also knows as the Hatsuden Nabe in Japan. The Cup Charger is a thermoelectric generator that boils water and outputs USB power at the same time for charging USB devices. Testing on “day one” was frustrating to say the least. We started with two Motorola Droid A855 phones each having only 5% power left. There were times when the BioLite would output power for anywhere from 3 to 5 minutes, then it would shut off and recharge its internal battery for anywhere from 8 minutes to over than 30 minutes. The “off time” seemed to increase as the day progressed. One of the main issues was had is that according to the user manual you need to run the fan at full speed for maximum power, and it makes sense since it has an air cooled thermoelectric generator built in. Doing this causes the fuel to burn out very quickly, and it needed to be re-fueled about every 5-8 minutes. Then it takes some time for the fuel to catch fire again. During this time, the temperature drops and so there is no power production. To make matters worse, the cup charger needs heat to produce power, and during the time when the cup charger had to be removed to refuel the BioLite and while the BioLite was getting the fire going again, no heat …