Wood stove. Image credit quadrafire.com

ZIMSEC O Level Geography Notes: Natural Resources: Energy:Small scale energy sources and plants:Wood stove

  • A wood stove is a heating appliance capable of burning wood fuel and wood-derived biomass fuel, such as wood pellets.
  • Wood stove are usually made using a combination of metal(iron) and bricks
  • Most stoves are connected or have some type of ventilation system
  • Popular wood stoves include:
  • Boilers, Chimenea, Pot-bellied stoves and fire places
  • The traditional stove makes use of stones (mapfihwa) to elevate pots
  • In the early nineties the ‘tsotso’ stove was introduced and became popular

Tsotso stove

  • Tsotso are dry twigs of trees which are hanging onto live trees or have dropped to the ground surface.
  • These are collected and burnt in a specially designed stove to give heat energy used for cooking or boiling water.
  • The stove can be made from mud or clay or from scraps of metal to a structure that will act as a kiln or furnace.
  • When the twigs are put into these stoves and are lit, the stoves are closed at the mouth and the heat is trapped inside.
  • Smoke escapes through an opening to which a pipe acting as a chimney is attached.
  • Dried cow dung can be used in place of the twigs in such stoves as is happening in India.

To access more topics go to the O Level Geography Notes page