And here is the reason for the power failure at SAWXREP and MSBWX this morning in Heiderand, Mossel Bay. (18 November 2014)

MOSSELBAAI NUUS - ‘n Man (40) van Die Strand, mnr Sandi Dyalaza, is vanoggend omstreeks 08:00 dood toe hy aan ‘n 66 000 volt elektriese kabel blootgestel is. Die voorval het plaasgevind by die Total-vulstasie op die N2. Die man was besig met opknapwerk by die petrolpompe toe hy die steier van een punt na ‘n ander geskuif het toe dit aan oorhoofse elektriese kabels geraak het. Nog ‘n werknemer, mnr Gladstone Vermeulen, is geskok en met brandwonde in die Mosselbaai Provinsiale Hospitaal opgeneem. Die krag was tydelik af in Heiderand, Danabaai en KwaNonqaba as gevolg van die fratsongeluk.

ARTIKEL: LOUISE KARSTEN, MOSSEL BAY ADVERTISER-JOERNALIS

Notice: Severe lighting cause power outage in the Uniondale area (3 November 2014)

Severe lightning damage to George Municipal equipment has led to a power outage in Uniondale since last night. The power outage has affected cell phone reception as well. George Electro-technical teams are working on assessing the damage and repairs will be affected as soon as possible. George Municipality would like to apologize for the inconvenience to consumers. - George Municipality

Mosselbaai - Kragonderbreking hierdie Donderdag (19 Junie 2014)

MOSSELBAAI NUUS - Die krag sal af wees in die volgende areas op Donderdag, 19 Junie: Klein-Brakrivier, Reebok, Tergniet, Fraaiuitsig, Riverside en omliggende plase.

Die kragonderbreking sal, indien die weer gunstig is, vanaf 08:00 tot 17:30 duur.

- Mossel Bay Advertiser

Mosselbaai: Kragonderbreking hierdie Sondag (8 Junie 2014)

MOSSELBAAI NUUS - Verskeie areas in Mosselbaai sal Sondag, 8 Junie, sonder elektrisiteit wees.

Die areas is: Mosselbaai Punt-gebied, Mosselbaai Sentraal, Gholflandgoed, Santos Haven, Santos-gebied, De Bakke, Tarka, D'Almeida, Uitbreidings 6,7, 8 en 22, en Joe Slovo.

Die kragonderbreking sal vanaf 08:00 tot 18:00 duur.

Indien die weer ongunstig is, sal die onderbreking op Sondag, 15 Junie plaasvind.

- Mosselbaai Advertiser

Update 1: Power Outages - Blackouts in Mossel Bay. No problem at all? Just be prepaired!

A little birdie whispered in my ear that we must be prepared for power outages in the future the first possibly as early as May 2014. Be as it may I believe to be prepared and decided to build a self feeding rocket stove to be used when we experience blackouts.  However this gem of a stove can be used anytime and nearly anywhere. Examples: When going camping, in emergency situations, when power outages occur or just for the fun thereof.  The aim of the project was to build a small mobile stove for not more than R20.00 or if possible for mahala (free).

The following information from Wikipedia: A rocket stove is an efficient cooking stove using small diameter wood fuel which is burned in a simple high-temperature combustion chamber containing a vertical chimney and a secondary air supply which ensures almost complete combustion prior to the flames reaching the cooking surface.

A rocket stove achieves efficient combustion of the fuel at a high temperature by ensuring a good air draft into the fire, controlled use of fuel, complete combustion of volatiles, and efficient use of the resultant heat. It has been used for cooking purposes in many energy poor locales (notably Rwandan refugee camps) as well as for space and water heating.

A rocket stove's main components are:

• Fuel magazine: Into which the unburned fuel is placed and from which it feeds into the combustion chamber 
• Combustion chamber: At the end of the fuel magazine, where the fuel burns 
• Chimney: A vertical chimney above the combustion chamber to provide the updraft needed to maintain combustion 
• Heat exchanger: To transfer the heat to where it is needed (cooking pot or other load).

The fuel magazine can be horizontal, with additional fuel added manually, or vertical, with fuel automatically fed. As the fuel burns in the combustion chamber, convection draws new air into the combustion chamber from below, ensuring that any smoke from smoldering wood near the fire is also drawn into the fire and up the chimney.

The chimney can be insulated to increase the temperature and improve combustion; according to studies this can increase efficiency by up to two percent. In a rocket mass heater, the heat is passed to a heat exchanger to ensure the efficient use of the generated heat. For cooking purposes, the design keeps the cooking vessel in contact with the fire over the largest possible surface area. A pot skirt can be used to create a narrow channel that forces hot air and gas to flow along the bottom and sides of the cooking vessel. Optional baffles guide hot air and flame up the sides of the pot.

For space heating purposes, the heat is transferred to a heat store which can, in some cases, be part of the structure of the house itself. The exhaust gases then pass out of the building via the chimney. The design of the rocket stove allows it to operate on about half as much fuel as a traditional open fire, and it can use smaller-diameter wood. If the stove is insulated and raised from the floor, the danger of children burning themselves is reduced. Some more recently designed rocket stoves are self-feeding, using gravity to add fuel to the fire as required.

I am not going to go into detail here how I constructed this stove as the Internet literally have hundreds of ideas on how to build a rocket stove.  The images of the stove that I build in a few hours is published hereunder.   Total cost comes to R15.00 as I used some of the scrap metal that I had in the workshop.

Finally:  I test fired the stove this past Saturday.  It worked flawlessly but as per usual the camera was not on hand to take images.  Lookout for the video on how this stove performs.  It is furthermore a clean burning stove that is easy to carry around.  I say bring on power outages anytime.  It is great to be prepared and to enjoy a cup-e coffee anywhere/anytime.

I am currently building another stove design and will post the results/images and videos soon.

 - MSBWX 

Power Outages - Blackouts in Mossel Bay. No problem at all? Just be prepaired!

During the recent power outage in Mossel Bay I used a gas cooker, a wood fire, and my rocket stove to make a nice cup of coffee, breakfast, lunch or supper.  With a power inverter I could run my internet, laptop or any other electrical appliance in the house at the same time.  However I was looking for a cheap alternative method to cook food or water.   I hear you say big deal so what is your point?

Yes, we can setup alternative means of power sources to cope with power outages but while having a nice cup-e the thought came to mind to construct the most cheapest, economical and environmental means to cook water or food.

It was time to go back to my childhood days.  When I was a youngster I was given a small alcohol stove by my aunt who was at the time already deep in her 80's.  I would then lite this little stove and enjoy watching it burn.  We would many a time make a cup of coffee on the "stoep" with this little genie stove.  I preserved this little stove for many years and I still have the stove. The sad part is that rust moved in on this stove.  Herewith photos of the genie stove now over a 100 years old.

(Click on images for larger view.)

I pondered on the idea and decided to build a little alcohol stove to use when going camping, in emergency situations, when power outages occur or just for the fun thereof.  The aim of the project was to build a small mobile stove for not more than R10.00 or if possible for mahala (free).

I am not going to go into detail here how I constructed this stove as the Internet literally have hundreds of ideas on how to build an alcohol stove.  Here are a few photos of the stove and accessories that I build in about 3 hours.

Finally:  I already made coffee, scrambled eggs, bacon and sausage in a pan on this little marvel at a fraction of the cost that a gas stove would cost. It is furthermore a clean burning stove that is easy to carry around and I can literally use it anywhere at any time of day.  I say bring on power outages anytime.  It is great to be prepared and to enjoy a cup-e coffee anywhere/anytime.

I am currently experimenting with other alcohol stove designs and will post the results images and videos as I construct them and test their effectiveness.

- MSBWX