Daniel John Repetti III has a good idea
Although he has never invented anything before, this former fireman from the North Hudson Regional Fire Department believes he has found a way to help save energy through a unique design for cookware.
Born in Hoboken, Repetti moved to Bayonne in 1972.
As a firefighter, he has had plenty of experience dealing with heat, although his idea for redesigning cookware struck him only recently during his birthday party last year.
He was watching the barbeque and realized that the grill with the top down kept heat in and saved energy. “I thought it was too bad that we didn’t have something like that for the stovetop,” he said. “Then I thought maybe you could put a cone on top of the pot to keep the heat in. But that wouldn’t work because the heat would slip away any time you lifted it off to stir or check on the contents. Then I thought, what if you put something on the side?”
He imagined a kind of metal skirt with the bottom open to be fit around the belly of the pot, capturing all the heat that is lost along the sides of a pot while being heated on the stove.
“Three times more of the pot is heated than without it,” he said.
This invention, he believes, could be used on nearly any kind of pot, and if used widely, could result in significant savings in energy.
“I have a prototype,” he said. “But I need to make the real thing.”
With the patent pending in the U.S. Patent Office, Repetti is seeking a manufacturer who can help him market the product.
“It has to be some sort of green company,” he said, “some company that is looking to work with protecting the environment.”
While he has yet to come up with a cost for the product, Repetti said he wants it to be as economical as possible so that people can afford it.
“The more people who own it and use it, the more energy we save,” he said. “No matter how good a product is, people have to use it.”
Creating a buzz
He has been calling around with the hopes of “creating a buzz” in the cookware field.
“I want to get it out there and help the environment,” he said.
So far, he has tested only the working model. He said the product needs more testing to determine its full effect. To make his model, Repetti had to seek out plumbing supplies since he could not find the items he needed anywhere else.
“I’ve cooked in it and it keeps the heat in, but it’s self-made and is not an accurate test of what it can do,” he said.
To manufacture the skirt, a company would need to make molds.
“It’s a simple idea, but a lot of very important discoveries were simple,” he said.
The skirt is portable, so it can be used almost anywhere. Repetti said the skirt could be made in various sizes to accommodate large venues, such as cruise ships or even military mess halls, or smaller versions for use in ordinary homes.
Repetti has been reaching out to various housewares companies, with the hope that someone will express an interest.
“I think this can save a lot of energy,” he said.