Charcoal is a Widely Used and Sold Fuel in Java

7/31/2019 Charcoal is a Widely Used and Sold Fuel in Java

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Charcoal is a widely used and sold fuel in Java, the most

populous island of Indonesia. It is usually made in the

mountainous forest areas and then brought down to the main

markets in the cities and towns. It is rarely used in rural areas.

Most charcoal is sold by the kilogram, often packed in 1 kg

plastic bags. The price in Yogyakarta in February 1983 was0.10/kg (1 = Rp1000). Kerosene, on the other hand, was

only 0.075/kg in 1982, increasing to 0.125/kg in January

1983. The higher energy content of kerosene (44 MJ/kg vs 29

MJ/kg) and the higher efficiency of kerosene wick and

pressure stoves, compared to charcoal stoves, make it

cheaper to use than charcoal. For use in cooking however the

bad smell of kerosene, the after taste it leaves, the heavier

and more expensive stove it requires, and the inability to use it

for grilling, means that there still is a large market for charcoal.

There are a few metal charcoal stoves produced but the vast

majority are made of pottery. Charcoal pottery stoves 'anglos'

are one of the major products of potters near Yogyakarta. The

one piece anglos (Figure 1) sell for 0.075 in the potter's

village and for up to 0.15 in a store, for the medium size

stove. Under heavy daily use (eg. food vendors, and

restaurants) they last less than two months.

In 1980 and 1981 Dian Desa made a number of new prototype

charcoal stoves, but whilst they were faster than the traditional

anglo they could not be made easily or cheaply by local

artisans so no further work was done.

.In 1983 Aryanto Soedjarwo and Bill Stewart began some new

experiments with charcoal stoves. A simple prototype was

made by lining a traditional anglo with cut pumice stone - the

most easily available refractory insulation. m e pumice is

mined in East Java and is widely available in hardware stores

across Java. Its main use is for scrubbing stones, so thepumice available is in the form of 6-10 cm diameter balls. It

costs 0.30/kg when purchased in small quantities. The balls

were cut with a hacksaw and wedged into the stove to form a

layer of insulation -about 5cm thick. The pieces were held in

place by a cement mortar. The cement will crack under

prolonged heat and a new production procedure is necessary

to produce long lasting stoves. For the purpose of the testing

this was not a problem. About 300 gm of pumice were used in

the stove. Initial tests showed that there was not enough air

flow through the grate because the insulation had blocked

some of the holes. These holes were bored out to increase the

air flow. The following table shows the grate areas for the

three stoves tested.


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Test ProcedureThe stoves were filled to capacity - 300 gm for the traditional

anglo and Thai bucket, and 250 gm for the pumice lined anglo.

A few pieces of charcoal were immersed in 10 gm of kerosene

and placed back on the bed of charcoal and lit. Aluminium

pots, 25 cm diameter, with lids were filled with 2 litres of water,

brought to the boil, and boiled for 30 minutes (BP S30). None

of the stoves had doors and all. The stoves were fanned to

increase burning rates. Four tests were done on each stove.

Results previously reported in Boiling Point No 4, for a

traditional Kenyan charcoal stove and a Kenyan charcoal

cement-vermiculite stove are shown for comparison.

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There are manycharcoal grillmakes and models out

there as there are uses for them. You would not want to

lug around something that is meant to stay fixed in your

backyard. So, with your intended purpose in mind, lets

look at your options in the combination gas charcoal grill.

Backyard Barbecue

Many charcoal grills are made to be housed in a

permanent structure. These are the most elaborate and

expensive of the bunch. You would have to plan for aplace where you will put a fixed charcoal grill. Meant for

parties, the typical charcoal barbecue grill is big and can

cook food for dozens of people at once. Weight is never

an issue because you will not be moving it around. Look

for stainless steel construction if you plan on leaving

yours outdoors uncovered so that you will get years of

enjoyment out of it.

Camping

Portability is the name of the game. A good portable

charcoal grill offers easy setup and teardown. Made of

substantial materials, it should feel sturdy and stable

once assembled. Efficiency is a quality to look out for.

Since your supply of grill charcoal will be limited, you

would want your charcoal bbq grill to be as thrifty as

possible. You dont want to burn through your whole

supply just grilling a few burgers. Those that can perform

multiple functions are the best to bring outdoors. You

save on space and weight if your charcoal grill can also

double as a stove, smoker, and rotisserie.

TailgatingSupporting your favorite team seems to be more

enjoyable with a few hotdogs and burgers. What better

way to wait for the kickoff than to fire up a charcoal grill

as you pass the time with your diehard buddies. As with

thecampingvariety, you would want your portable

charcoal grill to be as light and as compact as possible.

Also, since nobody likes to clean up when the game is

about to start, your grill has to be low maintenance as

well. Design is also important. Consider a round model

as opposed to a rectangular one. This way, you can

gather around it everybody cooks their own food. This

adds a nice twist and makes for great storytelling about

how your team is going all the way this season.
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Gas Grilling

Gas-fired grilling has the clear benefit of being extremely

convenient. Simply turn a knob, and say hello to your

highly adjustable heat source. Gas grills are fueled by

liquid propane stored in refillable tanks.

Gas grilling is clean and quick. There's no messing with

briquettes, no stacking, no lighting, no smelly starter

fluid and no waiting around for the coals to glow. And

once dinner is over, there's no ashy mess to clean up.

Return the switch to off, rub a metal brush over the

grate and clean-up time is over.

On the technical side, gas burns clean, but it doesn't

impart much flavor to grilled foods.

Charcoal Grilling

Charcoal grilling might not offer the same level of

convenience as gas, but it does boast one benefit that

stands out above all others: smoke flavor. The dry,

white-hot heat of charcoal sears meat quickly, creating a

crusty, caramelized exterior and smoky flavor.

Of course, charcoal grilling requires more time and

attention than gas, from building and lighting thebriquettes to waiting for the coals to get hot to managing

the flame. Since you can't dial down the heat of white-

hot coals, it's a good strategy to leave empty spaces on

the lower grill grate (areas without briquettes). These

cool spaces allow for better control, letting you sear food

first over the hot spots before transferring it to cooler

parts to finish cooking.

Charcoal grills are also less expensive than gas grills,

though the cost of charcoal will add up over the years.

Charcoal is also more portable than gas grills. A bag of

charcoal can easily be chucked into the car and taken to

the park or beach.

And let's face it--charcoal also involves an enticingelement of danger. Playing with fire is fun. (Of course,

this can be a plus or minus, depending on who's behind

the flame.)

The Verdict

Ultimately, any determination of what's best comes down

to considerations of convenience, cost, flavor and

practicality. If you have a tiny patio, a massive gas grilljust won't work. Great grilling can be had over either gas

or charcoal flames.

So now that we've settled that, what's the barbeque

capital of the world? We break it down inDueling

Barbeques.
http://allrecipes.com/HowTo/Dueling-Barbeques/Detail.aspxhttp://allrecipes.com/HowTo/Dueling-Barbeques/Detail.aspxhttp://allrecipes.com/HowTo/Dueling-Barbeques/Detail.aspxhttp://allrecipes.com/HowTo/Dueling-Barbeques/Detail.aspxhttp://allrecipes.com/HowTo/Dueling-Barbeques/Detail.aspxhttp://allrecipes.com/HowTo/Dueling-Barbeques/Detail.aspx

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Charcoal is a Widely Used and Sold Fuel in Java