Cook your dinner and charge your gadgets at the same time...

[Stringmaker]

Now I know that a lot of us don't take any gadgets into the woods, but I reckon most of us do take a phone?

Well what do you reckon on this:

http://www.biolitestove.com/campstove/camp-overview/features/

Scroll down to the image; I think it is a neat design and a clever bit of engineering too.

 

[Johnnyboy1971]

http://www.bushcraftuk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=96630&highlight=Biolite

 

[santaman2000]

No I usually don't take a phone. If you can get a signal, you ain't really in the woods. On the oher hand a GPS and a CB or Ham radio are quite different.

 

[ex-member BareThrills]

but if your phone has gps you have a multi use tool and dont need a signal. offline mapping and away you go.

 

[Andy BB]

Hey Paul - slight hijack here, but sorta relevant I think!

I'm getting the impression from a number of sources that the Biolite is fine re charging purposes if you're using woodpellets, but somewhat unreliable in terms of output with twigs, and will also need constant feeding to maintain any net output to the charger.

However, if you separated the charging element from the cooker body, and stuck the sticky-out bit through a breather-hole in the Kifaru stove or similar, would it provide a constant output (assuming the stove is on!). Or would it just melt the plastics?

 

[Stringmaker]

http://www.bushcraftuk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=96630&highlight=Biolite

You've got to get up early in the morning to be the first with a story on here!

Mods feel free to lock/delete.

 

[Jared]

Apparently these were getting purchased in NY after Sandy so people can power their phones.


Here is another alternative, that is just a pot with a TEG in the base.

https://www.thepowerpot.com

 

[ex-member BareThrills]

Hey Paul - slight hijack here, but sorta relevant I think!

I'm getting the impression from a number of sources that the Biolite is fine re charging purposes if you're using woodpellets, but somewhat unreliable in terms of output with twigs, and will also need constant feeding to maintain any net output to the charger.

However, if you separated the charging element from the cooker body, and stuck the sticky-out bit through a breather-hole in the Kifaru stove or similar, would it provide a constant output (assuming the stove is on!). Or would it just melt the plastics?

I would think it will need some modding but the theory is sound. The plastic housing is insulated where the element goes through the stove wall but only on the element. dont forget the stove is dual walled too and the fan also help cool it. A kifaru will get extremely hot on the single skin walls when its in full burn. some ceramic wool might do the trick.

 

[santaman2000]

but if your phone has gps you have a multi use tool and dont need a signal. offline mapping and away you go.

LOL. Probably true but my phone is pretty basic. Don't really want the gadgets on it per se; I'd rather keep it just a com device.

 

[Stringmaker]

In the context of real wilderness travel I thought it a good piece of kit to have, as long as you have a fuel source of course.

More likely to be of real use than a solar charger too.

 

[santaman2000]

Apparently these were getting purchased in NY after Sandy so people can power their phones....

I suppose it's possible but it seems more likely they'd plug the cell phones into the car's power port. At any rate the cell phone services were down due to loss of infrastructure for a good while (not unusual after a major hurricane)

 

[Andy BB]

I would think it will need some modding but the theory is sound. The plastic housing is insulated where the element goes through the stove wall but only on the element. dont forget the stove is dual walled too and the fan also help cool it. A kifaru will get extremely hot on the single skin walls when its in full burn. some ceramic wool might do the trick.

Hmmm - thoughts! Maybe some carbon felt? And isn't the fan in the body of the plastic bit, not the stove - so it might still produce a bit of cooling. My love of shinies tells me to get a Biolite, my head says it can't justify itrself! Maybe the pot mentioned above is a better idea for what I'd use it for...

 

[swright81076]

Hmmm - thoughts! Maybe some carbon felt? And isn't the fan in the body of the plastic bit, not the stove - so it might still produce a bit of cooling. My love of shinies tells me to get a Biolite, my head says it can't justify itrself! Maybe the pot mentioned above is a better idea for what I'd use it for...

Why not get yourself a thermoelectric generator, small heat sink and a fan. You could then put this in any gasifier stove. Also rock wool would do the trick for insulation too!

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2

 

[ex-member BareThrills]

yep fan is in the orange where the square hole is. the pot is interesting but an external connector attached to a pot going on a fire gives me concerns. Bottom line with the biolite is its great on pellets and bone dry wood but struggles on damp fuel.

 

[Jared]

I suppose it's possible but it seems more likely they'd plug the cell phones into the car's power port. At any rate the cell phone services were down due to loss of infrastructure for a good while (not unusual after a major hurricane)

http://twitpic.com/b9tz8y

 

[brambles]

Biolite were actually using the opportunity to demonstrate their product and charge folks phones for free.

 

[santaman2000]

http://twitpic.com/b9tz8y

Yeah I see the blog. I'm questioning it's validity. Never seen anything like that at a real hurricane (just here online)

 

[Andy BB]

i'm guessing that's the post-hurricane aftermath, where wind has gone, but so too has the electricity grid........

 

[santaman2000]

Exactly. And in NY where much of the grid is underground the flooding took it out. So even having a charged phone is useless if there's no power to the network providers: www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2225217
http://www.bushcraftuk.com/search;_...dailymail.co.uk cell+phone+damage+after+sandy

 

[cbr6fs]

Why not get yourself a thermoelectric generator, small heat sink and a fan. You could then put this in any gasifier stove. Also rock wool would do the trick for insulation too!

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2

+1 there are many other alternatives out there.
http://www.tellurex.com/products/power.php