Djilemo Oven

Target SDGs

Market Suggested Retail Price

$2,667.63

Target Users (Target Impact Group)

Household, Community

Distributors / Implementing Organizations

Louis Djilemo

Competitive Landscape

Direct competitors include Solar Dryer - Model SD 22-3 and SunWorks Solar Food Dryer.

Regions

West Africa

Countries

Cameroon, Ghana

Manufacturing/Building Method

Made-to-order. A medium technical level is required to build the Djilemo oven. It is built on-site with local parts.

Intellectural Property Type

Patent

User Provision Model

Users can order product from the manufacturer.

Distributions to Date Status

Ten Djilemo ovens have been constructed in Cameroon and another ten in Ghana.

Design Specifications

The combustion chamber is made up of bricks like a house, a metal sheet, and a chimney. It has an opening on the back, perpendicular to the entrance of the chimney, where the fresh air is preheated. A grill separates the combustion chamber from the drying chamber.

The drying chamber is made from a three layer wall: the exterior layer is made of plywood, the middle layer has insulation, and the inside has an aluminum sheet. Inside the chamber there are 10 racks distributed in two columns. Each rack is 10 cm apart from the other. The chamber has two doors to place the drying trays in the racks. On the top the chamber has an outlet for water-saturated air that is produce during the drying process.

The wood-burning fireplace heats the iron sheath which radiates and emits heat. Trapped in the air heating cell, this energy will be used to heat the very humid fresh air. This air then passes through the products stored on the racks where it is charged again with water before exiting through the discharge outlet. As the hot air passes through the product it dehydrates it progressively. The trays should be interchanged during the drying process to allow homogenization of quality of the product.

The oven can be built in different sizes, often following these characteristics: Surface of racks: 1.26 m2 Floor area: 4m2 Materials: bricks, wood, metal sheet, plywood, iron, aluminium sheets, insulation, joints, T-irons, grill, pipe.

Technical Support

User must clean the racks and combustion chamber.

Replacement Components

Materials are locally available.

Lifecycle

Lifetime of approximately 5 years

Manufacturer Specified Performance Parameters

The air temperature for drying is said to reach about 80°C with low humidity. It can dry between 200 to 1000 kg in 24 to 48 hours. It consumes between 10 to 20 kg of wood in 24 hours.

Vetted Performance Status

Unknown

Safety

Handling hot trays poses minor burning risks.

Complementary Technical Systems

Users can opt for extra instruments like a thermometer and fan.

Academic Research and References

Compliance with regulations

Unknown

Other Information

The Djilemo Oven was awarded the Technological Innovations category at the regional workshop and fair on the Identification and Sharing of Innovations in West and Central Africa organized by IFAD from 23 to 27 June 2008 in Ouagadougou in Burkina Faso.