 | Boiling Point No. 06 - April 1984 |
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A Simple Laboratory Wood Drying Oven
by Bill Stewart
ITDG Stoves Project
To calculate the amount of energy in a woody fuel it is necessary to know the moisture content. Where there is no access to an oven with a thermostat the following oven can be made from a cheap commercial sheet metal oven, three light bulbs and fittings, some wire and wood.
FIGURE
In a small oven (35 x 35 x 40 cm) it is possible to keep time infernal temperature around 100ºC with about, 210 watts of lighting. The internal temperature should be checked with a thermometer because differedt designs of ovens or different ambient temperatures can change the results. The power output can be altered by changing the light bulbs' or lifting the oven off the ground. It is best to keep the fuel to be dried at least 7 cm away from bare light bulbs as the temperatures will be considerably higher right next to them.
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