Indian rocket stove

I am involved with Engineers for Change
In India there was a competition for products to help the comunity.
Many are suitable for homesteading
Himilyan Rocket Stoves

The 25,000 rupees model converts to 358 American dollars. Not bad at all , but I doubt that the price would stay anywhere near that if the unit were made available outside of India . They would have to jump through many hoops to make that happen.

A very nice compact unit indeed. Just wondering about how long the stainless steel heat riser wrapped in ceramic fiber will last. Wonder why they didn't make a 5 minute riser with the ceramic fiber on the inside and use much cheaper steel too?

What a great idea!

Like most things that are run on a volunteer basis, the design will change over time as ‘customers’ provide valuable feedback. I can see this spreading across Asia to displace the less economical traditional ‘stoves’, though there will always be those that can’t afford or prefer them, so local artisans who make the old clay versions will probably still keep busy.

Is there a Tandoor add-on?

If the Foundation ever thought of selling them overseas, I’m sure they would be popular – even here in Australia where they’d suit bush living (particularly in the snowy cold climates), a holiday home, etc. Quality of workmanship would always be a concern with mass production though. Regardless, I’d buy one just to trial it – glass door, hot water tank and all. Reminds me of my Grandmothers fuel stove – very good memories.

That stove is very handy. Great work!

F Agricola wrote:
Is there a Tandoor add-on?

There's a video of one of the users cooking in the riser

There are many add-ons, hot water jacket, bread oven and many others look at the whole site

I'm charmed to see this thread! Those guys are good friends of mine. Yes, that tandoori paneer was delicious, and the tandoori chicken was even better!!! That room was like 30C when I had the tandoori chicken, an uninsulated concrete shell of a house, while the temperature outside was -20C or -25C. Very impressive!

F Agricola wrote:If the Foundation ever thought of selling them overseas, I’m sure they would be popular – even here in Australia where they’d suit bush living (particularly in the snowy cold climates), a holiday home, etc. Quality of workmanship would always be a concern with mass production though. Regardless, I’d buy one just to trial it – glass door, hot water tank and all. Reminds me of my Grandmothers fuel stove – very good memories.

The founder, Russell Collins, is Australian, and I think he told me that he's going to start making and selling them in Australia this year. Click through their website and you'll probably find it. They're also on facebook and might have more links there.

I asked Russell about why he had the steel on the inside and the insulation outside, and won't the steel corrode, etc. He says the steel is rated for very high temperatures, and look, the stove you see in that tandoori video has gone through three winters of continuous heavy use for at least 4 months per winter, and there's no corrosion yet. And they have had others going strong for 2 or 3 seasons with no corrosion problem.

Edited to add: Hey Russell, if you see this, you KNOW when Himalayan Rocket Stoves makes the bread oven available, I'll fight to be your first customer and tester!!

Do they ship internationally?  I'm in the market currently for a wood stove/RMH/etc, and conventional stoves are not cheap!

Russell's email is on their website, so you can ask him. Shipping from India to the US might be prohibitively expensive, I don't know.

Rebecca Norman wrote:I asked Russell about why he had the steel on the inside and the insulation outside, and won't the steel corrode, etc. He says the steel is rated for very high temperatures, and look, the stove you see in that tandoori video has gone through three winters of continuous heavy use for at least 4 months per winter, and there's no corrosion yet. And they have had others going strong for 2 or 3 seasons with no corrosion problem.

Thank you for the reply Rebecca. I'm guessing that the metal doesn't corrode that quickly because (from what I can see) there is no insulation around the firebox so it may shed enough heat not to get as hot in the heat riser as an insulated rmh can get. Such has been the topic of many conversations here.... like Satamax's famous line "Metal is doomed!"
Either way, I'm glad its working for them and hope they make a really good difference to the lives of many people in India and even worldwide someday.