I've seen the camping gimmick ones that say you can charge your phone while you boil water.
Discussion
im leaning toward trying to make one. just to see where the tech is at.
I was thinking I could power something with a rocket mass heater but I haven't done any research yet. I have no idea what the temperatures need to be. Do you think you could do something like put a ring of chips on a 400f metal plate and simply put a pot on top to boil water to cool them? Maybe the process of boiling maple sap to make syrup could also produce some power.
What have you been looking at for your initial research? Some quick searches about it tell me I'm not using the right vocabulary to find the simple explanations of how to make a basic generator.
im thinking something small.
there are some 12v output units on AliBaba. Though a 5v 3amp unit would be cool.
i use a woodstove fan every day that works on the same principle.
a base to transfer heat to one side of the plate, and a heat sink on the other to create the temperature difference needed to create current.
its not going to charge a battery bank, but capturing heat as charging electricity for devices sounds cool to me. especially since im burning a fire every day in the winter…
interesting winter tinkering project…
It sounds like the generator doubles as a water heater (or boiler?) too. Would love to see what you play around with if you get a few chips to try something out.