Department of Home Science Extension

Home Science College and Research Institute, TNAU, Madurai-625 104.

LOW COST FUEL SAVING TECHNOLOGY HAY BOX

Contents.....
Introduction Fabrication of Hay Box Picture 1 Materials Required Fabrication Method of Cooking Cost Benefit Analysis Maintenance Advantages Study Report

Introduction Resources are means which are available and recognized for their potential and in meeting demands. They are the supply reservoirs. Any resource whether available in abundance or in limited quantity, is to be managed effectively to get the maximum and sustained benefit. Traditional sources of energy have to be supported with alternate supply in order to overcome energy crisis. In addition to finding alternate sources of energy, simple techniques with available resources need to be developed and used. In this context a good house hold equipment is a boon to a home maker resulting in saving enormous amount of time, money and energy, providing satisfaction to her self and family. In this regard a simple low cost fuel saving device- HAY BOX constituting of locally available indigenous agricultural waste like husk and hay is really a boon to people involved in cooking. Experimental studies have also proved the use of HAY Box as a low cost fuel saving technology.

Fabrication of Hay Box

Picture - 1

Materials required Box of following dimension Length Breadth Depth : 45 cm :45 cm : 45 cm

(Box may be of wood, carboard box, bamboo basket or small cement tanks) Hay Jute bag Hay box is a thermally insulated box which resists the flow of heat from the inside to the outside of the box and thereby saves and stores thermal energy for cooking or heating material.

Fabrication Cardboard box is kept ready

Fill the box with Hay

A pillow of jute almost of the box size should be taken and filled with Hay

Method of Cooking Ex. : Rice Take washed rice in a vessel

Add double the amount of water in the vessel

Place it in the fire for 10 minutes

Make a space for it in the centre of the Hay Box

Remove the vessel from fire and place it in the space made in the Hay Box

Place the hay pillow over it

Rice gets cooked with in 45 minutes in its own heat (is kept warm for 5 - 6 hrs.)

It is not that only hay should be used as insulating material. Other materials like paddy husk, woodwool and saw dust can also be used effectively.

Cost Benefit Analysis In Gas stove (Cooking time 2 hrs a day) Fuel charge spent for a day Rs. 5 Fuel charge spent for 2 months Rs. 300/In Hay-Box (Cooking time 1 hr a day) Fuel charge spent for a day Rs. 2.50 Fuel charge spent for 2 months Rs. 150

Therefore approximately 50% of the fuel and fuel charge can be saved.

Maintenance The maintenance of the hay box does not cost much, since all that is required is Keeping the hay clean without getting soiled by soot or cooked foods Drying of hay in the sun for an hour or two every fortnight.

Advantages Safe and simple handling Minimum cooking time Handling of Hay box is again simple and is a very safe device. This method of cooking requires minimum time of boiling and cooking food items.

Keeping temperature

The required temperature of foods cooked using hay box can be retained for 6 hours.

Superior quality foods

Items prepared in this device will have superior quality in flavour, colour, texture, taste when compared to foods cooked by other methods.

Gives satisfaction

This technology is found to reduce physical and mental work load of women and provides a lot of satisfaction with family.

Megre nutrient loss

As the cooking medium is completely absorbed by the food material, the nutrient loss is minimum.

Saves Resources

This technology helps to save fuel, money, labour and time and prevents health hazards.

Report on Recent Study Study was conducted on the fabrication and utilization of Low Cost Fuel Saving Device HAY BOX. Findings of the study as follows Fifty eight per cent of the cooking time and 44 % of the money spent on fuel were found to have saved through the use of the hay box. In palatability, the recipes prepared by using hay box was superior to those prepared without using the hay box. Since this method of cooking requires minimum time of boiling and the cooking medium is completely absorbed by the food material, the nutrient loss will be minimum. The temperature of rice cooked and kept in the hay box for five hours was maintained at 61C while that of rice kept outside was only 35C. Hay box is convenient, labour saving device for good home management. Hay box is a very useful equipment to the job going women, who has to prepare the lunch for the family in the morning before she leaves home for her job. The maintenance of the hay box does not cost much, since all that is required is - Keeping the hay clean without getting soiled by soot or cooked foods - Drying of hay in the sun for an hour or two every fortnight. Hay box is a very inexpensive equipment with great possibilities for saving fuel, money, labour and time.