8 yrs on, exhaust cooker maker awaits investor

Deepkamal Kaur

Tribune News Service

Jalandhar, February 24

Eight years after he invented an exhaust cooker that can cook food on waste fuel from engines used in vehicles, including car, truck, bus, train or even a ship, a retired technician from Rail Coach Factory, Kapurthala, still awaits an investor who could develop his prototype for commercial purpose.

Rakesh Chander Ahluwalia had got his invention “An exhaust cooker for preparing food using exhaust flue gas from a vehicle” patented in May 2009.

Channelising the heat of the engine for cooking purposes, the device requires no extra energy and can rather save power spent on boilers and thermostats.

“It can save up to 70-kW power used in pantries to boil water and to heat up meals for passengers of Shatabdi and Rajdhani trains,” he claimed.

Ahluwalia, who retired from the RCF three years ago, says the one-time cost of the device varies with the type of vehicle. It is just Rs 10,000 for a car and goes up to Rs 3 lakh for a ship.

“It works with all types of fuel, including petrol, diesel, CNG and even bio-fuels. The device can have a tap fitting to dispense boiling water that can be used for preparing dip tea, coffee, soup, noodles, pasta and other stuff. Besides, it can also help cook rice, pulses and vegetarian and non-vegetarian food (with readymade tadka). The cooker can work with or without pressure,” said Ahluwalia, who worked as technician (first class) at RCF for over three decades.

Trained in welding, the passout from Central Training Institute, Ludhiana, says the device may come in handy for the Army personnel who travel long distances, especially uphill.

It could even help families having infants to sterilise their milk bottles, he said.

He added, “I do not have enough resources to run the venture commercially but I have been evolving it further since I devised it. I have attached it with a Bajaj scooter and demonstrated its use. I even purchased a Tata 407 truck to test its capacity. Now, I am looking for someone who can just pay me my royalty and use my invention in a big way.”