4-24
October 2012
4.6
Wok Stoves
Figure 4-4. Water-CooledWok Stove
Waterless wok stoves, a relatively new technology, are cooled with air, and thus do
not require the use of cooling water. One such type of wok stove functions by creat-
ing an air gap between the burner chimney and ring and the top of the stove, so
that the heat can be released directly from beneath the cooktop and vented to the
kitchen exhaust (see Figure 4-5). This eliminates the need for cooling water entirely.
Waterless wok stoves can further reduce water use if they are outfitted with a rinsing
spout that shuts off the water supply when it is not needed for wok cleaning. In ad-
dition, waterless wok stoves may have a mechanism such as a knee-operated timer
reservoir tap that limits both the flow rate and duration of flow of the reservoir tap.
37
Another new wok stove technology connects to a built-in recirculation loop origina-
ting from under the wok stove cooktop to recirculate cooling water via an external
point-of-use chiller. This type of wok stove has an internal backup water-using system
in the event that the recirculated chilled water is not available. A study of this type
of wok stove conducted by the Food Service Technology Center showed negligible
energy use associated with the use of the external chiller.
38
37
Alliance for Water Efficiency. Waterless Wok Introduction.
.
38
Sham, Kong and Zabrowski, David. Food Service Technology Center. March 2010.
Wok Water Saver Performance Test
.
Prepared for Pacific Gas & Electric Company.
.
