Veterinarian develops peso-saving stove.

Asia Africa Intelligence Wire

 | January 05, 2003 | Copyright

(From Philippine Daily Inquirer)

Byline: Mei Magsino

SAN JOSE, Batangas-As local oil companies have either implemented or planned to implement another round of price increases, households using liquefied petroleum gas have found an ally in a 47-year-old veterinarian who has invented an alternative cooking equipment.

From one failed invention, Thomas Anceno has developed a stove that combines the economy of a charcoal stove and the fast-cooking capacity of a gas stove.

"I was about to burn the raw materials of my failed invention when suddenly the idea of furnace fire flashed into my mind and then I started working on the furnace principle," Anceno said. "What I invented is a stove, which I call the Fantastic Kalan, that cooks fast and saves more time and money."

His invention has already traveled throughout the country and is being used by many farm-based households and city dwellers.

Accidental

Born and raised in General Santos City, Anceno came to Lipa City in 1998. A veterinary graduate of the University of the Philippines in Diliman, Quezon City, he had worked in big poultry and piggery farms before deciding to stay in Lipa City where his family now lives.

The city abounds with poultry and piggery farms that seek his veterinary expertise.

Anceno has been inventing gadgets the past years. His company, now registered at the Securities and Exchange Commission under First Pacific Winds, has for its first invention a roof ventilator, which he uses in his own home and sells until now.

The Fantastic Kalan started in August this year, according to Anceno. But he did not intend to make a stove.

"My intention was to discover a simple method to manufacture activated carbon used in filtering tap water," Anceno said. "I just followed the instructions I downloaded from the Internet. The result was clean water but it tastes like burned charcoal and smells like burned rice. It was a complete failure."

Then Anceno called his friend from the Philippine Science High School and asked him why the procedure he used had failed.

"Instead of inspiring me, he advised me just to buy the finished product because the machine that makes activated carbon costs millions," Anceno says, adding that he felt so frustrated then.

Disappointed, Anceno was contemplating on burning the charcoal he thought was useless.

"Then the flame from the furnace used by blacksmiths in making knives and garden tools flashed into my mind. That simple principle of furnace burning gave me the idea. I started to make a prototype using my five-year-old son's remote-controlled toy," Anceno says.

He got the motor of his son's remote-controlled car and put the small plastic propeller inside an empty can of evaporated milk.

He then fit the can into an empty square biscuit can with a hole on the side and had the top off to make the stove and installed the fan side and the small can in the biscuit can.

For the propeller to work, he had to use electricity.

The propeller then blew air that got into the air chamber and fanned the ignited charcoal, burning the fuel fast.

The continuous supply of air (oxygen) boosts the combustion of the charcoal further.

"When we tested the stove using charcoal, the fire exploded to almost two feet," Anceno says. From the prototype, he improved the design into three models. And from there, he started to sell the Fantastic Kalan.

"I called it Fantastic Kalan because it is the only stove that uses a fan," Anceno says.

Difficulty

One thing that Anceno found hard in marketing his invention is the difficulty to explain and make sure that the people could understand the principle used in his invention.

"Later I found a good strategy to make the people understand what this stove is all about. I did an actual demonstration that one cup of charcoal can cook a kilo of rice," Anceno says. "Now, some of my clients say they can even cook two kilos of rice."

Anceno had the Fantastic Kalan patented on Sept. 3. He has since sold more than a hundred units of Fantastic Kalan all over the country.

With concentrated heat of more than 500 degrees Celsius, Fantastic Kalan combines the inexpensive cooking capability of a charcoal stove with the fast cooking capability of a gas stove.

Its charcoal container is made of firebricks that can stand up to 1,300 degrees Celsius of heat.

With the improved version, Fantastic Kalan now has three models.

The one with 90-percent stainless steel costs P1,500, while the double burner costs P2,900.

The low-cost version with 20-percent stainless steel costs P1,000.

"Fantastic Kalan is the only stove with a fan and, at the same time saves fuel, cooks fast, and is very hot. That's why it's really fantastic," Anceno said.

"It's the only stove where you can use fresh firewood and coconut shell as fuel. And it is not even messy."

Fantastic Kalan has been featured on television before. The only problem is that the host called it Superkalan.

Anceno has a regular radio-guesting every Saturday and Sunday as a veterinarian in Kabukiran, an afternoon radio program of dzMM.

"One time, while I was there, I aired to my clients to meet me at the gate of the broadcast studio at 7 p.m.," Anceno says, "I didn't know that more people who heard that became interested. When I went out to meet my clients, there were more people who wanted me to demonstrate what the Fantastic Kalan can do. So, I did the demonstration right outside the ABS-CBN gate."

That time, a production assistant of Knowledge Power saw Anceno's demonstration and immediately featured Fantastic Kalan and Anceno in the television program.

"But my excitement faded when Ernie Baron mentioned Superkalan not Fantastic Kalan," Anseno says. "Fantastic Kalan is different from Superkalan because it has a fan."

Anseno says there have been many people who still mistake his stove for Superkalan.

Advantages

"The advantages of Fantastic Kalan is that you can save a lot of fuel because you can use wood chips, fresh coconut shells, charcoal, or any hard combustible material," Anseno says.

He claimed that his product is even recommended in households, restaurants, blacksmith shops, jewelry shops, fiestas and special occasions.

For those who live in farms where dried wood and coconut shells abound, they could save a lot if they use Fantastic Kalan, Anseno adds.

"I think the biggest success of my stove is that you can use cheap fuel with fast cooking time. Ordinary charcoal stove takes time to ignite and cook. With Fantastic Kalan, igniting and cooking is fast," Anseno says.

In Lipa city, one of his biggest clients is Bahay Bibingka. The bibingka (rice cakes) makers have reduced the cooking time for their product to 80 percent and saved more on the fuel consumption.

Anceno also has plans of expansion.

"Given the chance, I plan to saturate Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao to save on liquified petroleum gas consumption that will eventually help Filipinos to save dollars on LPG."