Functionality

Easy and fast - open the base, push the cylinder in and turn the gas valve to light - thats it you have instant heat and instant charging - no sticks and no waiting for the sun to appear.

Charge your tech on then move - The internal battery stores energy for use when you need it and begins recharging as soon as you light it, you don’t even have to cook anything for the internal charging system to work - if you need power just light it up, when you are cooking the pan reflects heat toward the heat cage increasing its temperature and increasing the output of the TEG.

Real Meals - Cook meals not just boil water - heat is distributed over a wide cooking area so you won't just burn everything in the middle!

Virtually anywhere – Gas stoves struggle in cold temperatures and still have issues when its hot, we tested a number of stoves in an ambient air temperature of 30 degrees centigrade and the butane cylinder temperature still dropped below 5 degrees centigrade and the gas pressure reduced – our system allows reliable butane gas cooking in a wider range of temperatures hot and cold.

Easy carry – The Tegstove is easy to carry and you don’t need to carry a solar panel, battery pack or a separate stove and to make it even more space saving you can keep a cylinder inside the Tegstove all the time – many gas stoves require the gas cylinder to be removed during transit as you could accidentally turn it on. The Tegstove has a clever storage system - remove the cylinder after use (when the stove has cooled down) replace the cap that comes with all P220 Butane cylinders and put it back in the stove the tripod legs then hold it in place.

Power Generation

Tegstove uses a Thermoelectric Generator (TEG) to produce electrical current, this technology has been around since 1821, however its low power output rendered it relatively unusable at the time as technology was too inefficient to take advantage of this really cool solution, over the years electrical devices have become more and more efficient and we are now ready to take full advantage of the Thermoelectric Generator and the brilliant work carried out by Thomas Johann Seebeck close to 200 years later.

Design

The first priority that we considered in the design of the Tegstove was safety, the Tegstove will be certified by the CSA and will fully comply to appropriate ANSI and CE standards.

Gas – We have designed our own safety release mechanism this (patent pending) design is completely mechanical no electrical parts at all – P220 Butane gas cylinders are rated to 50 degrees centigrade, this temperature restriction is in place because as the gas gets hotter it creates more pressure. We have designed our system to eject the cylinder should the temperature exceed a low predetermined level. The cylinder temperature is controlled by both the Tegstove chassis and is fine tuned further by the use of a small internal fan. The fan can increase or decrease the cylinder temperature by alternating the direction of the air flow. In the very unlikely event that the cylinder becomes too hot; the mechanical release mechanism ejects the cylinder and the flame is automatically extinguished.

Stability – Tegstove's base provides a very stable platform covering over 300mm, twice the average area covered by many existing stoves.

Charging - If the internal battery has any energy you can use it - the internal battery is there for your charging needs, you can use all the energy in the battery with nothing saved at all for internal workings, Tegstove requires no battery power to work - none, if the internal battery is depleted; the gas safety system will still work, it will still light, still cook and start recharging itself straightaway, all you need is gas. Charging devices can be done at anytime you don’t need to have the stove opened up and lit to charge stuff – but if you do want to charge when your cooking, you can - we have put USB port for charging at the bottom of the tripod, keeping your tech away from the heat.

Looks - We worked through loads of different ways to set out our tech, you can see some of the designs here.

We decided to go with the "Tripod" design as this got everything off the ground, created great stability it also works really well with the layout we need for the TEG and the heating/cooling system.

Tekkie stuff 

TEG's need heat to be applied to the “hot side" the heat then needs to be removed from the “cold side" as efficiently as possible, it's the difference in temperature between the two sides that creates an electrical current. The greater the temperature difference the more power it produces. Many products using TEG's have concentrated on the supply of heat to the hot side and rely on water, heat sinks and fans to cool the cold side, this solution works and uses little or no energy for cooling, however it is limited and output can fluctuate dramatically.

When water is used for cooling the water heats up and the cooling effect is reduced, when a fan is used the TEG output increases however the fan uses some of the  energy it helps to produce.

Cooling things down is really quite difficult and uses a lot of energy to achieve.

This is where Tegstove’s (patent pending) design makes a real difference, we have used the thermo-reaction created when liquid gas atomises to our advantage (please see - Efficiency section for more details), this reaction creates a constant and stable source of “cold” and we use this to cool the cold side of the TEG, using this method - we create a much greater temperature difference resulting in more electrical energy production. 

The cold created at the cylinder is as constant as the heat from the burner – this results in a stable, constant and controlled source of heat and cooling for the TEG, this in-turn provides a stable flow of electrical energy. 

Tegstove will produce heat and charge in wind, rain, day and night without the need to collect endless amounts of small dry sticks or waiting for the sun to come out.  

“Probably the most efficient gas stove in the world” a bold statement but justifiable as we are using more than just the gas.

Turning gas vapour into a liquid uses vast amounts of energy during the manufacturing process, you can see this energy being released every time you use a portable gas stove, the cylinder gets really cold and you can often see ice form on the outside, this happens even when its nice and warm outside. 

These images show how ice can form in just a few minutes of use.

This thermo reaction is a by-product created when the liquid in the cylinder turns back into a vapour - this is a real problem - the liquid in the cylinder cannot turn into a vapour if it gets too cold, the vapour pressure drops as the cylinder gets colder and the liquid struggles to atomize and gas pressure drops. 

To battle against this challenge manufacturers often use a “mix gas” solution

Mixing Butane, Propane and Isobutane together to creates a gas that works better in cold climates, this solution is not perfect, the propane is more volatile than butane and requires a stronger heavier cylinder to hold the pressure and in cold conditions the propane burns off first, leaving the liquid butane behind. There's gas in the can but none will come out, frustrating when you want a hot drink! The cost of these mix gases is also an issue - they cost around three times the price of the same amount of butane! 

Propane will ensure you get gas pressure at lower temperatures but the cost of Propane is higher and the cylinder needs to be really strong because propane is so volatile and the cylinder is much heavier as it needs to hold higher pressures.

Butane is the better gas - lighter cylinders, more cost effective, less volatile and available the world over in a standard P220 cylinder - but it gets cold fast and the pressure reduces making it unreliable and unusable in colder climates.

The solution

We have looked at the cold produced as a benefit rather than a problem. Firstly we are transferring the cold produced in the cylinder and using it to cool the cold side of the TEG, this makes the cold side of the TEG colder than a fan or water could achieve alone and this increases the electrical output - win! Secondly the heat emanating from the cold side of the TEG is used to warm the cylinder, keeping the gas pressure at a level that produces a strong, reliable and stable flame - win win!

We are taking back some of the energy that is used in the manufacturing process of the cylinder and recycling it, this is why we can say the Tegstove is more energy efficient than any other.

Note : Mobile Phone, Lights and other accessories shown in video and pictures are for illustration only and are not included in any perks - This is obvious to most people but not all!