Destiny Survival

The smell of wood smoke brings back memories of crowded family reunions at my great grandmother’s tiny house with its wood stove in the kitchen. If you’ve got a wood heat stove, you know the everyday ins and outs of what it takes to keep one going.

If you’re living off the grid–or depending on it as little as possible–it would be ideal to have a stove that was energy efficient, didn’t send up a lot of smoke, took up less space, and even made it possible to generate electricity.

There is such a stove. It’s the Kimberly Gasifying wood stove. And I spoke with its inventor, Roger Lehet, yesterday on DestinySurvival Radio. If you’re like me and you don’t have a wood heat stove, this is a show you’ll want to hear because Roger is knowledgeable and well spoken. He’s passionate about what he does and knows how to make things practical.

Roger’s no stranger to hard times. Adversity played a key role in his invention of the Kimberly stove. He sold wood stoves for about 25 years before his business went belly up. He and his wife lost everything. They found themselves living on a boat, cold and hungry.

He decided to try his hand at building his own heat stove. The right people came along at the right time, and a series of miracles happened over five years for making the Kimberly stove a reality. Roger says it’s a story of hope and of following your belief and passion.

Several features separate the Kimberly stove from traditional wood stoves.

Roger explained these features in greater detail in our interview.’

Roger stressed the importance of gathering the best kind of wood for fuel and storing it properly. Don’t put a tarp over your wood pile. Let it dry.

He says a favorite fuel is compressed logs made from recycled wood and sawdust. One log burns for eight hours or more in the Kimberly.

When starting the stove, Roger avoids using a lot of paper. Don’t over feed the fire at first.

Roger’s company has a thermoelectric generator which sits on top of the Kimberly. It creates enough electricity to power LED lighting, run a blower, or charge laptops or batteries for battery banks in the space of a few hours.

We don’t need all the electricity we use. But in an off grid situation, having at least some electricity would be helpful. The Kimberly stove can help provide that coveted power.

Roger’s working on another model of the stove. He’s sensitive to what customers want. The Kimberly is competetively priced compared to other wood stoves when you consider installation costs. But he hopes to bring the price down by a thousand dollars.

Roger has a passion to help others both here and overseas by providing them with the means to have clean burning heat. He feels he’s been chosen by God as a steward. Kimberly was a gift, but it comes with responsibilities. He wants to make a difference in the lives of others in need.

You can expect to hear more about the Kimberly stove in the future. Roger has been invited to attend a couple of notable industry conferences this year. And the company and stove have received honorable mention from the Green Heat Alliance, which you can view here. There’s the promise of further attention by a big name magazine. Things are looking up.

After hearing Roger talk, I’d say things are happening for him and his company because they’re meant to.

The Kimberly stove sounds revolutionary to me. Listen to my interview with Roger Lehet on DestinySurvival Radio for February 7, 2013 and see what you think. You’ll discover how the stove got her name, too. Find out more about the Kimberly stove at www.unforgettablefirellc.com. Watch a series of videos on his company’s YouTube channel here.

Any thoughts about the Kimberly stove or heating with wood in general? Leave a comment below and share what’s on your mind.

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