BioLite Camp Stove - rocket stove/usb charger?

[dave brenneman]

This is pretty incredible. I'm considering getting one, actually..

http://www.biolitestove.com/CampStove.html

[matt walker]

Cool Dave, I've been wondering about those. They do look really neat. You'll have to let us know what you think if you get one. I'd be really stoked on a first hand report.

[GrahamB]

I always thought the Kelly Kettle was the best bio-friendly camp stove, but now it looks like there is a new kid in town. It would be great for a weekend canoe trip.

[dave brenneman]

[matt walker]

Yeah, they are out there. TEG (thermoelectric generators) have been around for a while, but they are really tough to use practically and don't generate a whole lot without a lot of energy. It's a big topic, but, basically, not quite ready for prime time for most applications. There are exceptions of course.

[paulbee]

The BioLite looks interesting, but unsure if shipping or real product yet. Output is something like 2 watts at 5V (USB). That is paltry considering they claim the fire is like 3-5KW of energy.

Themoelectric elements are available on Ebay. Go looking and shopping. They are also called: TEC's, TEG's, Peltier Power Modules, Peltier Cooling Plates, etc.

TEG's are two sided. One is hot, one is cold when operating. So you can create heating devices as well as cooling devices or apply heat to one side and get a SMALL electric charge.

In order to use a TEG near fire you need to affix a water reservoir to prevent the element from overheating. That water needs to circulate or it will overheat and cause failure of the element. Yes, you can heatsink them and use a fan for blowoff instead. Both require power, further drawing down your generation of power pool.

My opinion is TEGs are only viable when you make your own setups and combine these into gang units. Cost is too high per watt and power generation numbers are too low with commercially available units, so far. The elements are downright cheap and often can be found perfectly fine used or scavenged from 12v fridges, wine coolers, etc.

This is a company here in the USA making products available now:
http://www.tegpower.com/index.html

This is a similar product that siphons electric from a gas lantern:
http://www.tegpower.com/pro9.htm

Complete product list:
http://www.tegpower.com/products.html

[pa_friendly_guy]

The idea of the BioLite stove is to let you charge your cell phone or I-Pad while you are out in the wilderness away from everything with no electric available to you. It seems to me that if it works as advertized it will do that for you, and do it for a fairly reasonable cost. Why you need your cell phone or I-Pad charged while you are getting away from everything is beyond me. Emergencys and safety would seem to be the only reasons that I can think of. The tech seems to work, and its nice to know that other companys are making similar produces that gives us options. I like the idea, even though it is not economical for making enough power to live off the grid, it does seem to have its place, and for what it does for you I think the cost is very do-able. If I camped out more, and if I owned a cell phone, I could most likely find a BioLite stove very usefull,