Waterless woks

Wok stove burners generate high heat levels for rapid cooking, so a continuous flow of water is required to absorb this heat and stop the stove's surface from overheating. Water is also used between cooking to clean the woks. 

A local Asian-style restaurant approached us with 8 water-cooled woks about how they could reduce their water use. They volunteered to participate in a trial of air-cooled wok technology.

The busy eatery reduced water use by 30% by replacing water-cooled woks with air-cooled models and changing cooking behaviour.

Air-cooled wok being used for cooking vegetables and noodles.

How they did it

They installed a sub-meter and data logger to measure how much water was being used by the water-cooled woks. This confirmed that an average of 1,087 litres of water per day could be saved by replacing the woks with air-cooled technology.

Chefs using the water-cooled woks also changed their behaviour by filling a large basin at the rear of the stove and using this for cooking and cleaning rather than leaving the rear taps running. This alone resulted in a 75% reduction in water use.

Chefs changed their behaviour by filling a large basin at the rear of the stove.

Following the retrofit of woks with air-cooled technology, the volume of water used was an average of 129 litres per day. A saving of 90%!

Knee-activated tap timers were also installed so chefs could control the water used for cooking and cleaning to reduce waste further.

A knee-activated tap being used by chef.

To find out more about air-cooled wok technology, email us at water.efficiency@watercorporation.com.au.