Quote:
Originally Posted by Daox
Have you measured total energy usage with and without the modifications? That would be very interesting to see.
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I noticed that the rice was well-cooked after the eco-hack, maybe too well...
As previously explained, the mechanism of timing the rice cooker's cook cycle relies on boiling off the cooking water. When the water has been absorbed by the rice and the rest boiled off, the temperature rises and the cycle is ended.
For brown rice, the normal water-to-rice ratio is about 2.5 to 1.
The Eco-Hack added insulation which reduced heat loss, and it reduced the power being used by half by using a diode. After this has been done, the time for the cooker to reach cooking temperature is longer than an unmodified cooker. Once the temperature is reached, the cooker simmers the rice & water at a slightly less vigorous level, but 212F is still 212F.
So, cooking took longer, and the rice was over-cooked, not burned, but too soft almost mushy.
Finally, it dawned on me that I could reduce the cooking time by reducing the amount of water being used. After several trials, I settled on a water-to-rice ratio of about 1.8 to 1.
So, to summarize, an unmodified cooker uses enough power to cause the absorbtion and boiling off of 2.5 cups of water per cup of rice. While a modified cooker uses enough power to cause the absorbtion and boiling off of 1.8 cups of water per cup of rice. This would imply a reduction in power used by at least 30%. And, since I have not yet tried a before and after power reading, the actual efficiency due to the retaining of heat by the insulation will surely be higher.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Daox
Also, how did you disable the warming feature?
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If you look at
this post, in the second photo you will see a pointer bearing the labeled "remove warm wire". When you remove that wire, put heat shrink tube over the wire and tuck it out of harm's and heat's way. That's all it takes.
Regards,
-AC_Hacker