John Fagan’s stove uses a technology which, he says, has been around since World War Two when it was used to fuel cars during petrol-rationing.

Fagan, who spent 26 years teaching in Germany, and is now a vegetable grower in Ballydehob, spent nearly four years researching and developing the ‘Eireco Eco-Stove.’ He set out to develop a highly cost-effective wood-burning stove after hearing an item on the Joe Duffy show about recession-hit families picking sticks for fuel in the Phoenix Park.

“I thought that was terrible, so I started doing a lot of research and came across a technology called Rocket Stove Technology, which has been used as an alternative to normal stoves.”

Fagan, who has a patent pending on his stove, has used the Rocket Stove technique, which is also called Wood Gasification:

“When you light a normal fire, most of the gases produced by the fuel go up the chimney and you lose up to 50% of the heat.”

However, says Fagan, who received mentoring and a €6,000 grant from the Local Enterprise Office in Clonakilty to help develop his product, the Wood Gasification technique burns all of these gases and turns them into heat.

“I took the technology and designed a stove around it,” he says, adding that his stove, which stands 110 centimetres high and 40cm deep, tested to possessing a 7.4kw output, an efficiency rate of 89.5% and carbon emissions of 0.16%.

‘Eireco Eco’ stoves have been tested and certified in the Britain and meet British and EU standards, are priced between €1,100 and €1,400, and are being manufactured at a facility near Schull.

He has had inquiries from all over the country, says Fagan, who adds he has no engineering background.

The founder of the original Ballydehob Jazz Festival, he describes himself as “just an inventor who has come up with something that is very cost-efficient.”

“People are very interested in it — I even got an email from England.

“Orders are starting to come in and I am hoping to build up the business and eventually employ between five and 10 people.”

ljjmfagan@gmail.com or phone 087-2771113.