Cooking pots that charge your mobile

[mattcbf600]

Who needs solar & 12v connections? This cook set will charge your phone whilst you make a cup of tea:

PowerPot uses cooking heat to power campers' devices

Utter genius or total rubbish?

m

[mattcbf600]

I've noticed these guys are after funding via Kickstarter - I've just backed them and I think you should to.

The PowerPot by David Toledo — Kickstarter

Here's a video - but go to the kickstarter page above to see the full pitch video

[pbekkerh]

Very interesting but I probably only cook water 2-3 times 5 minutes a day, that won't charge anything and why use the heat from the exhaust? If you have an exhaust you probaly also have a generator!!

[mattcbf600]

Yes I know what you mean - I thought that as well. But they say you can get a full charge in 20 mins and I suppose when I think about the cooking I do of an evening it's not far off that - plus a top up in the morning when I'm making tea - so perhaps it'll work. More importantly it can be used to charge a battery that will then in turn charge / top up your mobile. It's a fantastic idea.

On the exhaust front - great idea! But watching the video they say it works on heat differential - not just heat - so it will charge on a geothermal spring if it has water in it but won't charge on the spring if it doesn't have water in it to heat up.

Reading into it the Army are researching the same tech to wire into combat gear so that the temp differential between the soldiers body and the outside air can charge the gear they are carrying with them - the only down side is that it doesn't work well in deserts!

[pbekkerh]

Originally Posted by mattcbf600

...................But they say you can get a full charge in 20 mins and I suppose when I think about the cooking I do of an evening it's not far off that -............................
On the exhaust front - great idea!...............................

Reading into it the Army are researching the same tech to wire into combat gear so that the temp differential between the soldiers body and the outside air..........................

If your phone battery is designed for a 4hour charge, no matter how high a current the thing can deliver, the phone willl either not charge enough or you'll cook its battery.

As I said, if you have an exhaust, you're in a car or on a bike and both have a built in powersource.

Happy soldier with a piece of metal against his body all day.

[mattcbf600]

Hi Poul,

Most modern phone batteries have what's called a fast charge circuit. This mean that it will take the battery to 80% full capacity within 10-20 mins depending on the model - at which point it drops to normal charge for the last 20% - which for some phones means 4 hours, but for the newer devices it means 2 hours for a 98% charge.

I don't think I'm explaining the point about the heat transfer well enough. The tech works because there is a temperature differential between the heat source and the contents of the pan - if you were to simply put the thermal patch on an exhaust it wouldnt generate any current.

On the soldiers uniform - must find the article for you - but as I understand it the material is woven into the fabric and I indistinguishable from the cloth.

Your point on us having power on our bikes is well made though. The limitation of that of course is that is only a viable option whilst running. I suppose what I'm getting at is that this is a great idea as a supplementary charging solution rather than an all in one solution. If I'm carrying a cook pot anyway - why not carry one that will give my camera or phone a fast charge at the same time?

When I'm out and about I use the power traveller gear day to day - it's terrific stuff. I wrote about it here

Powering on | The London Biker

The other thing that excites me about this tech is the potential for the developing world. The big pot puts out enough power to run a small house for lights, laptop, speakers and so forth.