Homegrown power; my thermogenerator.
Nothing fancy here just had some ¼ inch copper and steel tubing laying around. I decided to make a thermogenerator and did so by cleaning the ends with sand paper. Then I smashed the ends with vice grips so that they were flat (I figured more surface area the better). Next I began soldering the two ends together mostly making a mess because I had no flux. It holds!
Once it was finished it worked great. I produced about 10mv with ~ 100°C temperature difference. I predict that in an array I could easily produce ~5Volts, enough to do some work. I imagine that a car muffler / engine, camp fire or even the sun on a cold day would make a fair amount of voltage. Free energy sure, but at less than 10 percent efficient it’s not a show stopper.
One other Item you may be interested in. I can use this reversely and it would make a great temperature sensor. Just apply some voltage through a pull up resistor and read the voltage drop it produces with respect to temperature.
Stupid gadget; Homegrown power for less than $1.00
- floodhound2
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Re: Stupid gadget; Homegrown power for less than $1.00
Heat is wasted energy, I like that you designed something to recover the energy.
Like you said, if this was placed on vehicle exaust, it could charge a battery.
Wasted heat near a furnace, hot water tank, or even a window exposed to the sunnyside, could all be used to make power.
DNR
Like you said, if this was placed on vehicle exaust, it could charge a battery.
Wasted heat near a furnace, hot water tank, or even a window exposed to the sunnyside, could all be used to make power.
DNR
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He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to the discerning. He reveals deep and hidden things; he knows what lies in Darkness, and Light dwells with him.
He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to the discerning. He reveals deep and hidden things; he knows what lies in Darkness, and Light dwells with him.
Re: Stupid gadget; Homegrown power for less than $1.00
Could you use the heat fro a CPU to recharge a battery... for laptops I mean. I know it's a pretty inefficient way to create power, but it's just wasted anyhow so even a little would be better then none.
knuffeltjes voor mijn knuffel
[img]http://i911.photobucket.com/albums/ac320/stuphsack/Sig.jpg[/img]
[img]http://i911.photobucket.com/albums/ac320/stuphsack/Sig.jpg[/img]
Re: Stupid gadget; Homegrown power for less than $1.00
When I am off work next Sunday and Monday night I am going to have to play with that idea. It tweaked my curiosity and seems like it would be fun to play with.
p.s. who makes the dvom in the picture?
p.s. who makes the dvom in the picture?
- floodhound2
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Re: Stupid gadget; Homegrown power for less than $1.00
I am acquiring better materials and may try using a parabolic reflector to increase the power. the idea for my next design will have hundreds of wires and should bring promising numbers to the table. Sure there are a few problems but engineers solve them or drink till its time to quit.
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Re: Stupid gadget; Homegrown power for less than $1.00
More electronics are using less power. At the least - besides using solar power to recharge lights, now you can use heat to recharge a flashlight.
In the case of lost or stranded persons - they could recharge a becon or cellphone with a heat source, in case there is lack of light to recharge a solar panel.
DNR
In the case of lost or stranded persons - they could recharge a becon or cellphone with a heat source, in case there is lack of light to recharge a solar panel.
DNR
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He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to the discerning. He reveals deep and hidden things; he knows what lies in Darkness, and Light dwells with him.
He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to the discerning. He reveals deep and hidden things; he knows what lies in Darkness, and Light dwells with him.
Re: Stupid gadget; Homegrown power for less than $1.00
Some times I come up with the most interesting solutions to problems this way. However the progress slows exponentially as I tend to check everything 18 times just to make sure it's correct. Or for that matter the project morphs into something else all together.Sure there are a few problems but engineers solve them or drink till its time to quit.
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Re: Stupid gadget; Homegrown power for less than $1.00
I suppose that you could but this type of energy harvesting is less than 10% efficient. You can improve on the designs efficiency if you were able to create materials that could conduct electricity but not heat.Could you use the heat fro a CPU to recharge a battery... for laptops I mean. I know it's a pretty inefficient way to create power, but it's just wasted anyhow so even a little would be better then none.
I think that making an array with copper wire, steel wire and integrating this in a parabolic reflector may improve the performance to a point that it becomes valuable.
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Re: Stupid gadget; Homegrown power for less than $1.00
sure it would be inefficient, but would it at least extend the life of the battery... even 10 minutes more would be worth it because the heat generation is all lost anyhow. Recapturing any of it would be useful I think.
knuffeltjes voor mijn knuffel
[img]http://i911.photobucket.com/albums/ac320/stuphsack/Sig.jpg[/img]
[img]http://i911.photobucket.com/albums/ac320/stuphsack/Sig.jpg[/img]
- floodhound2
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Re: Stupid gadget; Homegrown power for less than $1.00
I guess it could be beneficial I just wonder how much it would increase the cost of the CPUs heat sink and overall weight size.
You might be on to something no matter what
You might be on to something no matter what
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