The VitaGoat has four main components although one of these, the cycle grinder, can be used on its own in situations where only dry foods are processed without cooking.

1) Steam boiler: Operates on wood or other solid fuels or liquid gas. Steam-injected pressure -cooking can be 10 times more fuel-efficient than traditional open fire cooking and more efficient than improved stove-design cooking. Water is heated in an inner chamber and the resulting steam is re-heated in a tube, creating a “superheated steam” that is much hotter than regular steam. The steam is then fed into the cooker. The boiler is inexpensive to build, safe, and can be taken apart for cleaning, which is critical since most boilers accumulate scale on their inner shells and eventually fail.

2) PedalPro (Cycle grinder+): Included with VitaGoat or available separately. Energy is produced through a pedal-powered system that uses adjustable-speed pulleys, permitting fast and easy grinding of a variety of foods. An inexpensive modified hand mill using metal plates grinds foods 10-20 times faster than with traditional methods. The PedalPro also provides for optional attachments such as a DC generator for charging batteries and a water pump. The flywheel can be adapted for tool and knife sharpening. This allows a multi-function workstation which can operate independently of the VitaGoat as well as providing the food grinding capacity. Seating is adjustable depending on the operator’s height and the pulleys can be matched to the individual’s power.

3) Cooker: Made from stainless steel, this vessel can pressure-cook up to 15 liters of food per batch, in thirty minutes or less. This greatly reduces cooking time and saves fuel. It is equipped with temperature and pressure gauges and a safety pressure relief valve. Product is fed through a top opening and steam enters the vessel through an opening on the bottom. Cooked product exits the cooker at the bottom, through a valve-controlled outlet.

4) Press: Also made of stainless steel, pressing occurs by turning a screwed rod that pushes onto a sanitary plastic disc, in turn squeezing out liquid from product held within a filter bag. The press is very simple to operate and clean.

5) Spare parts and instructions each system will include a complete set of spare parts such as gaskets, gauges, bicycle chain and belt, and a few others. These are expected to be sufficient for at least 1 year's continuous operation. Technical manuals will be provided in English and French along with a training video.

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