[pct-l] Soot - Stoves

[Bighummel@aol.com]

I'm no engineer, but work in a company that specializes in combustion design 
and engineering.  For all of you stove designers I offer the following 
insights.  If soot is being formed from your stove, it is due to one or both 
of the following problems:

1.  The air-fuel mixture (stoichiometric ratio (SR)) isn't optimized for the 
particular fuel being used.  Each fuel has a different optimal SR at which it 
produces maximum heat and fully combusts.  If the SR is off, i.e.: too little 
air, you will get incomplete combustion and instead of producing CO2, you 
will produce free carbon (read soot).

or 

2. Incomplete or inefficient air-fuel mixing.  If the air and fuel aren't 
mixed well as they feed the flame you will get part of the combustion 
occurring too rich and part too lean (and the temperature wont be the maximum 
it could be) resulting in soot also.

So adjust the flow of air and insure excellent mixing to avoid soot.  If you 
are using a multi-fuel stove, be sure it can vary the air flow to adjust for 
optimum combustion from each fuel.

Greg "Strider" Hummel
* From the Pacific Crest Trail Email List |  http://www.backcountry.net   *

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