Camping Generator

[Neon John]

ThermoElectric Generation (Peltier Junction) REQUIRES not only a HOT Side
but ALSO a COLD Side, and generates power on the difference in
temperature between the two. I have a Commercial Unit that is Propane
Fired, and produces 240 Watts using 1 USG/day. It uses ambient Air on
the Cold Side, and a BIG Heatsink to keep the Cold Side, cool. They are
not very efficient, or cheap, but they have NO MOVING PARTS, and don't
wear out.

Which one do you have, Bruce? I think you've told me before but I've brain
farted.

That's more efficient than the fabled Honda inverter generator. Your unit
makes 240 watts and consumes a gallon per day of propane. Converting to
hours,

1gpd/24hrs = .042 gph

Honda claims that the EU will run for 8 hours on a 0.6 gal tank of gas at 1/4
load - about 250 watts.

0.6gal/8hours = 0.075 gph

The honda has almost twice the consumption and that's before we figure in the
lower heating value of propane. If we figure that propane has about 90% the
heating value of gasoline then the EU uses

0.075 gpm/0.9 = 0.083 gph.

Almost exactly double the consumption of the EU. I'm a little surprised that
a TEG would be that efficient. Hmmm. How much did that thing cost again?

John
--
John De Armond
See my website for my current email address
http://www.neon-john.com
http://www.johndearmond.com <-- best little blog on the net!
Tellico Plains, Occupied TN
What do you call a blonde's cranial cavity? Vacuum chamber?

 

[Neon John]

One of my mates was in signals and he said it was B hard work. Another
friend runs a field cinema using a bicycle with the rear wheel held off the
deck with a frame. This then drives the friction wheel from a 24V scooter
which is smoothed by 2 1 farad capacitors and runs the show, I've never
pedalled it in earnest but 50W seems about sustainable for a few hours.

I used to have one of the US signal corps hand-cranked radios when I was a
kid. That thing WAS hard work but the reason was that it had no battery. The
generator had to supply all the radio's power in real time. OTOH, a
battery/generator setup like that steam engine addressed would be easy. One
would simply take turns pedaling it, putting out the same wattage or maybe a
little more, to charge the battery for the radio session.

The big downside in all this is the weight. that little generator alone
weighed 60 lbs. The battery was probably 50. No idea about the boiler but I
bet it was at least 60 lbs. I think that the TEG approach would be by far the
best bet.

John
--
John De Armond
See my website for my current email address
http://www.neon-john.com
http://www.johndearmond.com <-- best little blog on the net!
Tellico Plains, Occupied TN
What do you call a blonde's cranial cavity? Vacuum chamber?

 

[Neon John]

That's why good photographers "bracket"

(not sure why I'm feeding this troll but...)

Remind me again how bracketing fixes poor composition or a "wardrobe
malfunction"?

I've photographed many/most of the area's mountain streams. I came back each
night to my camp site, built up the fire, cooked dinner over the fire and then
dragged out the laptop to review the day's work. I made notes on what I
needed to shoot over. I then fired off my mapping software and planned the
next day's work. After that I crawled into my sleeping bag and went to sleep.

I think that most folks would call that camping. And frankly, your opinion
matters less than does Fred's. Fred is one of my cats and can't really be
bothered with having an opinion on this topic.

John
--
John De Armond
See my website for my current email address
http://www.neon-john.com
http://www.johndearmond.com <-- best little blog on the net!
Tellico Plains, Occupied TN
What do you call a blonde's cranial cavity? Vacuum chamber?

 

[Neon John]

How about those Honeywell thermopiles that sit in the pilot light and
produce .75v to hold the gas valveopen? I forget their output
impedance... I think it was 50ohms... but a couple of germainium
transistors wired as a multvibrator could run from the .75v, run the
square wave out thru a couple of inductors, catch the spikes with a
couple of shottky diodes and a BFC and you're ready to charge.

I finally found some specifications on the Honeywell thermopile.

Output 600 mV to 750 mV
Resistance 2.89 ohm
Temperature Rating Hot 1400 F
Temperature Rating Cold 780 F.

Not much promise there. the combination valve solenoid is essentially a short
with 0.750/2.89 = 260 ma flowing. With a few turns of heavy wire, it's easy
to built enough amper-turns to operate the pilot valve but very little actual
power is involved - sqr(0.260)*2.89 = 0.195 watts. 195 milliwatts isn't going
to do much. It would take about 12 of them to make a watt of external power.
At $30 ea (best price I could find), that's some mighty expensive electricity.

I've been putting some thought into this problem, considering the latest info
the OP posted (island for 2 weeks, weight not too much of a problem.)

A pelton wheel works as well on steam as it does water (microhydro). In fact
huge pelton wheel steam turbines are used in nuclear plants for emergency core
cooling because they are so reliable. So steam might be viable. A micro
hydro wheel in metal hooked to a PM alternator or motor would do the job.

There remains the problem of the pressure vessel. I wouldn't have one because
of the risk of explosion. I'd do a once-through. What I'm thinking about is a
coil of corrosion-resistant material - stainless or even better inconel - laid
into the fire. A positive displacement feedwater pump turned by an electric
motor would slowly feed the proper amount of feedwater to maintain steam
pressure. The water vaporizes as it passes through the coil and likely will
gain some (maybe a lot) of superheat.

Several problems remain. Unless you want to fool with a condenser and all
that complication, this would be a once-through system. That means that a
supply of low dissolved solids water would have to be available. Once-through
systems are kinda sensitive to water purity, as only a little mineral buildup
can stop up the tubing or shed and clog the turbine nozzle(s). This means
that either you'd carry your supply of, preferably demineralized water or else
that you carry the appropriate chemical treatment to treat clear locally
available water.

The other problem is, this thing will be LOUD. A banshee. A siren will be
quiet compared to it. Perhaps you could build an enclosure around the wheel
and duct it to a muffler. By the time you go that far, though, only a little
more effort will make a condenser. Then you have to either air-cool it or
pump water from the river. Starting to get complicated again.

I think that I have a steam turbine engineering handbook in e-book form. If
you're serious about this I could probably make it available. Don't ask
unless you're serious, however, because it will be a big file and I'm on
dial-up.

I too have spent hours looking longingly into the many campfires that burn
around here every weekend, trying to figure out how to harness all that energy
and do it cheaply and simply. So far I'm batting about zero. I know a guy
who built a wood-fired gas turbine out of a turbocharger but in that case, the
wood burns in a refractory-lined pressure vessel, out of sign and enjoyment.
Plus, the thing screams! Ear muffs and ear plugs and it's still loud.

Personally, I'd enjoy the campfire and tote along a small generator and some
gasoline.
--
John De Armond
See my website for my current email address
http://www.neon-john.com
http://www.johndearmond.com <-- best little blog on the net!
Tellico Plains, Occupied TN
Vegetarian - Indian word for "poor hunter".

 

[Malcolm \Mal\ Reynolds]

(not sure why I'm feeding this troll but...)

Remind me again how bracketing fixes poor composition

It might not, but it might fix those pesky "details"


or a "wardrobe

malfunction"?

You mean you can take a picture that has a "wardrobe malfunction" and not
recognize it immediately?

I've photographed many/most of the area's mountain streams. I came back
each night to my camp site, built up the fire, cooked dinner over the
fire and then dragged out the laptop to review the day's work. I made
notes on what I needed to shoot over. I then fired off my mapping
software and planned the next day's work. After that I crawled into my
sleeping bag and went to sleep.

I think that most folks would call that camping. And frankly, your
opinion matters less than does Fred's. Fred is one of my cats and can't
really be bothered with having an opinion on this topic.

Fred has an opinion, just doesn't feel your worthy of it.

 

[Bruce in alaska]

Which one do you have, Bruce? I think you've told me before but I've brain
farted.

That's more efficient than the fabled Honda inverter generator. Your unit
makes 240 watts and consumes a gallon per day of propane. Converting to
hours,

1gpd/24hrs = .042 gph

Honda claims that the EU will run for 8 hours on a 0.6 gal tank of gas at 1/4
load - about 250 watts.

0.6gal/8hours = 0.075 gph

The honda has almost twice the consumption and that's before we figure in the
lower heating value of propane. If we figure that propane has about 90% the
heating value of gasoline then the EU uses

0.075 gpm/0.9 = 0.083 gph.

Almost exactly double the consumption of the EU. I'm a little surprised that
a TEG would be that efficient. Hmmm. How much did that thing cost again?

John
--
John De Armond
See my website for my current email address
http://www.neon-john.com
http://www.johndearmond.com <-- best little blog on the net!
Tellico Plains, Occupied TN
What do you call a blonde's cranial cavity? Vacuum chamber?

Mine is made in Canada, by Global ThermoElectric. It was 6 months old
when it was surplus'd by our USCG, as it was just installed on a
MountainTop Remote Radio Site that lost everything in an Avalanche.
In their Infinite Wisdom, the USCG decided to switch to Diesel Gensets
to power all their Sites, and the contractor was charged with disposing
of the TEG's and Battery Systems. I picked up the TEG, and a
complete bank of 24 Vdc 700 AmpHr Absolyte II AGM's, for $250US.
The TEG's cost $5000US New, and the Batteries were in the $3000US range.
They dropped them off at my Front Door, with the Chopper, on the trip
back from the MoutainTop. I have tested the TEG a number of times since,
and also picked up a spare Power Converter Unit for it. The TEG's Raw
Output is at 7.5 Vdc @ 32 amps, which the Converter inverts to 24 Vdc @
9.5 Amps. The batteries are what powers my microISP Hardware, and
Servers, thru a Trace 2624 Inverter/Charger. There is a picture of the
Batteries, on the website. <www.99850.net>

 

[Neon John]

The honda has almost twice the consumption and that's before we figure in the
lower heating value of propane. If we figure that propane has about 90% the
heating value of gasoline then the EU uses

0.075 gpm/0.9 = 0.083 gph.

Almost exactly double the consumption of the EU.

^^^ TEG. I need to proofread a
little better, I guess.

John

--
John De Armond
See my website for my current email address
http://www.neon-john.com
http://www.johndearmond.com <-- best little blog on the net!
Tellico Plains, Occupied TN
Ignorance more frequently begets confidence than does knowledge. -Darwin

 

[Neon John]

http://www.dhub.org/object/208050

I keep thinking about building an engine/generator that will run on
the top of a wood stove. The more I learn about model steam engines
the less I like the idea of constantly watching the water level or
worrying about the pump.

back in college when I was on work scholarship, I worked with a professor who
built a steam engine out of a Harley-Davidson engine. Not terribly
successfully. Later on I built a small steam engine of an air compressor.
Again only moderately successfully.

The problem in both cases was lubrication. "real" steam engines have a pusher
rod seal that separates the steam from the rest of the parts. That way the
oil is not diluted with water that leaks passed the Pistons. A tiny bit off
"steam cylinder oil" is introduced with the steam to lubricate the piston but
that's separate from the lower end lubrication.

In both the cases I'm talking about there was no seal so eventually the crank
case filled with condensed steam. In my professor's case, he was too
hardheaded to listen to a mere student and so he never solve the problem. In
my case, I arranged things so that the engine was configured similarly to a
two-stroke. A small amount of steam with oil mixed in passed through the
crankcase, lubricating it like a two-stroke gas engine. That "solved" the
lubrication problem but it made a sloppy mess.

I think that a Stirling engine would probably be the most appropriate for this
application. A moderately pressurized air or nitrogen filled engine would
probably work okay. Ever since I read about it, I've been fascinated with the
free piston Stirling engine. Google it and read about it.. It appears to be
something someone with a decent home machine shop could fabricate.

John
--
John De Armond
See my website for my current email address
http://www.neon-john.com
http://www.johndearmond.com <-- best little blog on the net!
Tellico Plains, Occupied TN
Hell is truth seen too late. -Hobbs

 

[[email protected]]

http://www.dhub.org/object/208050

Yeah! Now that's what I'm talking about!

I love that WWI era tech. I work for a hydroelectric power company, and
some of the generators still have Tesla's patent numbers on them.

I keep thinking about building an engine/generator that will run on
the top of a wood stove. The more I learn about model steam engines
the less I like the idea of constantly watching the water level or
worrying about the pump.

My steam-engine idea would be a novelty item, for use a couple of weeks a
year, for a few hours at a time. It mght just be the most "practical" way
to charge the cellphones too.

Somebody suggested just bringing a charged lead/acid battery to use for
recharging stuff. That might be the most practical way to do it. I've got
some feeble solar cells that I could hook up to it, for whatever mAhs that
would contribute.

Another possibility would be to just bite the bullet and get a good solar
cell, but last I looked into it, an adequete one would have been bulky and
expensive.

I wish that there was just some compact thing that I could throw into the
campfire's inferno that would churn out some amps. There is SO much
energy in the campfire, but we have no good cheap portable way to turn it
into electricity.

The other huge source of energy on the island is the wave action in the
lake. There's usually waves of one or two feet most of the time.
Sometimes they come crashing in. I've thought about how they could drive
a generator, but never came up with anything.

 

[Scott]

On Wed, 7 Jan 2009 01:37:53 +0000 (UTC), in alt.energy.homepower,

Somebody suggested just bringing a charged lead/acid battery to use for
recharging stuff. That might be the most practical way to do it. I've got
some feeble solar cells that I could hook up to it, for whatever mAhs that
would contribute.

Another possibility would be to just bite the bullet and get a good solar
cell, but last I looked into it, an adequete one would have been bulky and
expensive.

....but probably cheaper, lighter, and more compact than a micro steam plant.

Did you ever work out what your daily power requirements are? I think I
mentioned some rough figures earlier. Add up the hours you expect to use
each toy, multiply by its hourly power consumption, and add up those numbers
to find how many ampere-hours you need each day.

You can get a good quality 65-watt panel for under $400. The one I'm
thinking of is about 2 foot square and weighs under 15 pounds. Under very
good conditions it will supply around 20 amp-hours per day, depending on
your location.

Even with solar I would probably still want a storage battery, just a small
one of perhaps 50-60 AH. That way the solar panel can charge the battery
when the sun is high, and you'll be able to use that energy when you want it
later in the evening. A battery also works to stabilize the system, so that
you don't cook your toy chargers with the panel's ~17v open-circuit voltage.

Solar is not terribly efficient, and it's not cheap. But it does work, it's
nearly foolproof, and with sealed batteries it's as close to
maintenance-free as you're going to get.

 

[[email protected]]

I think that a Stirling engine would probably be the most appropriate for this
application.

I started looking into them. I'm thinking that one could be designed to
have part of it buried in the coals, while having the other part inserted
into a small ice chest, filled with either ice or just lake water.


A moderately pressurized air or nitrogen filled engine would

probably work okay. Ever since I read about it, I've been fascinated with the
free piston Stirling engine. Google it and read about it.. It appears to be
something someone with a decent home machine shop could fabricate.

I looked into those. Why do you think they are more appealing than other
stirling engines? Ease of construction?

 

[[email protected]]

I've been putting some thought into this problem, considering the latest info
the OP posted (island for 2 weeks, weight not too much of a problem.)
Thanks!

A pelton wheel works as well on steam as it does water (microhydro). In fact
huge pelton wheel steam turbines are used in nuclear plants for emergency core
cooling because they are so reliable. So steam might be viable. A micro
hydro wheel in metal hooked to a PM alternator or motor would do the job.

What advantages would that have over a traditional steam engine?

There remains the problem of the pressure vessel. I wouldn't have one because
of the risk of explosion.

I'm thinkig of using a kitchen-type pressure cooker.

Several problems remain. Unless you want to fool with a condenser and all
that complication, this would be a once-through system. That means that a
supply of low dissolved solids water would have to be available. Once-through
systems are kinda sensitive to water purity, as only a little mineral buildup
can stop up the tubing or shed and clog the turbine nozzle(s). This means
that either you'd carry your supply of, preferably demineralized water or else
that you carry the appropriate chemical treatment to treat clear locally
available water.

Damn. I was planning to use lake water. Carrying drinking water is a
major pain. We usually take a canoe to the mainland after a while, on a
calm day, and fill up the 5 gallon water carriers.

The other problem is, this thing will be LOUD. A banshee. A siren will be
quiet compared to it.

Loud is bad.

I think that I have a steam turbine engineering handbook in e-book form. If
you're serious about this I could probably make it available. Don't ask
unless you're serious, however, because it will be a big file and I'm on
dial-up.

I haven't considered a turbine design, but thanks.

I too have spent hours looking longingly into the many campfires that burn
around here every weekend, trying to figure out how to harness all that energy
and do it cheaply and simply.

My thoughts exactly. It is much like looking at the sun and wishing the
same thing.

So far I'm batting about zero. I know a guy

who built a wood-fired gas turbine out of a turbocharger but in that case, the
wood burns in a refractory-lined pressure vessel, out of sign and enjoyment.
Plus, the thing screams! Ear muffs and ear plugs and it's still loud.

Personally, I'd enjoy the campfire and tote along a small generator and some
gasoline.

Yeah - I could do that, but the aesthetics of that bother me.

 

[[email protected]]

I'm curious - would you give us some notion as to what the island is
like (any permanent residents, climate, general location, etc)?

There are two islands. Both are Vermont State Parks, in Lake Champlain,
15 miles south of Canada.
(there's a third, but no campfires are allowed.)

The first is Burton Island State Park. It has water and bathhouses. The
bathhouses have electricity of sorts. You could plug in an electric
razor or anything, and sit there waiting. The campsites are right on the
lake, with beautiful views. There are no vehicles, no RVs, no electricity,
etc. There is a marina which has all that, but the boaters and the campers
don't even speak the same language (most of the boaters are form Montreal)

The other one I go to is Woods Island. It has no elecricity or running
water. There is a ranger who lives there for 9 months of the year in a
cottage. He has a solar cell to keep the radio charged. He also has a
generator to pump lake water up to his holding tank. He has a wood-fired
outdoor shower/bathtub. Most importantly, he has a dock and a nice boat
that the State provides, so he is not cut off from civilization. In an
emergency, he can brng you to land, but isn't supposed to provide casual
transportation. He is off-grid, and from what I can see, he leads a
wonderful life.

I bring a canoe, and it takes an hour of paddling to get to shore to pick
up ice and drinking water.

 

[Neon John]

I started looking into them. I'm thinking that one could be designed to
have part of it buried in the coals, while having the other part inserted
into a small ice chest, filled with either ice or just lake water.

If you have lake water handy then yes, that would work. You have to be
careful, though, that you don't eat up a significant part of your output
running the pump.

A moderately pressurized air or nitrogen filled engine would

I looked into those. Why do you think they are more appealing than other
stirling engines? Ease of construction?

Yes, easy to fabricate and if you're directly generating electricity (magnet
on the piston), no shaft seals, the bugaboo of pressurized Sterlings. With a
free piston arrangement, the pressure vessel is hermetically sealed and no
motion penetrates it. Only wires exit through seals.

Greatly simplifying, the higher the pressure in a Sterling, the more efficient
it is and the more power that can be had out of a give size (volume). I'd be
looking at something in the 100 psi range. A pressure vessel for that
pressure wouldn't be all that heavy and yet that's almost 7 atmospheres, a
great improvement over atmospheric engines.

Someone else asked if you control/own this land or are just visiting. If you
own/control it then you have many more options. I'm thinking in terms of a
fixed installation that you don't have to cart away every year. A large
atmospheric pressure Sterling engine of Sterling's original design could be
built literally with timbers and drain pipe.

John

--
John De Armond
See my website for my current email address
http://www.neon-john.com
http://www.johndearmond.com <-- best little blog on the net!
Tellico Plains, Occupied TN
You have a magnetic personality... That must be why all your mental floppies are blank.

 

[[email protected]]

If you have lake water handy then yes, that would work. You have to be
careful, though, that you don't eat up a significant part of your output
running the pump.

I was thinking more in terms of fetching another bucketful as the first
one heated up. Or just dumping some ice into the slurry.

Yes, easy to fabricate and if you're directly generating electricity (magnet
on the piston), no shaft seals, the bugaboo of pressurized Sterlings. With a
free piston arrangement, the pressure vessel is hermetically sealed and no
motion penetrates it. Only wires exit through seals.
Ah.

Greatly simplifying, the higher the pressure in a Sterling, the more efficient
it is and the more power that can be had out of a give size (volume). I'd be
looking at something in the 100 psi range. A pressure vessel for that
pressure wouldn't be all that heavy and yet that's almost 7 atmospheres, a
great improvement over atmospheric engines.

Someone else asked if you control/own this land or are just visiting.

Just visiting. The three islands are Vermont State Parks.


If you

own/control it then you have many more options. I'm thinking in terms of a
fixed installation that you don't have to cart away every year. A large
atmospheric pressure Sterling engine of Sterling's original design could be
built literally with timbers and drain pipe.

Someday, I'll have my own camp on an island. In the meantime, charging up
the cellphones with a homemade exotic gizmo appeals to me.

 

[Ulysses]

Yes, easy to fabricate and if you're directly generating electricity (magnet
on the piston), no shaft seals, the bugaboo of pressurized Sterlings. With a
free piston arrangement, the pressure vessel is hermetically sealed and no
motion penetrates it. Only wires exit through seals.

Hi John. Are you talking about a fluidyne pump or another kind of engine?

Greatly simplifying, the higher the pressure in a Sterling, the more efficient
it is and the more power that can be had out of a give size (volume). I'd be
looking at something in the 100 psi range. A pressure vessel for that
pressure wouldn't be all that heavy and yet that's almost 7 atmospheres, a
great improvement over atmospheric engines.

John

Do you have any links of any Sterling engines that are producing
electricity? Or for that matter doing any kind of work. I have spent many
hours searching and all I've ever found was proposals and theories but not a
single working engine.

 

[Neon John]

Hi John. Are you talking about a fluidyne pump or another kind of engine?

No, I don't really know much about the fluidyne pump. I'm talking about a
free piston Sterling. I don't know why but there doesn't seem to be much on
the net about Stirlings that is useful. My info is from a couple of books I
have. One is paper and the other is an ebook that I grabbed off the e-books
binary group (alt.binaries.ebooks-technical or something like that) several
years ago when I had broadband.

Do you have any links of any Sterling engines that are producing
electricity? Or for that matter doing any kind of work. I have spent many
hours searching and all I've ever found was proposals and theories but not a
single working engine.

I've seen quite a number of engines in the form of models at antique engine
shows. Both old fashioned rocking beam as well as modern designs. The Cape
Canaveral engine club is particularly good, as you'd expect. They display
every year at the Daytona Turkey rod run. There are a few pictures on my
website under RVs->trips->turkey rod runs. There is one that I highly covet.
It stands about chest tall and was rated at 2 hp. It has a coal fire box in
the bottom. Literally fire it up and go.

there's another one that is a desk fan powered by alcohol or maybe kerosene.
the burner is in the base. It actually moves a useful amount of air. I
understand that a modern version of this is being made in India but I've yet
to find a place to buy one.

John

--
John De Armond
See my website for my current email address
http://www.neon-john.com
http://www.johndearmond.com <-- best little blog on the net!
Tellico Plains, Occupied TN
You can't turn [MS] shovelware into reliable software by patching it a whole lot. -Marcus Ranum

 

[daestrom]

On Jan 7, 1:23 pm, Tim Jackson <[email protected]> wrote:

This NTSB report on a boiler explosion on the Gettysburg Railroad on
June 16, 1995 explains the operation and dangers of a steam boiler in
exquisite if not excruciating detail:
http://www.ntsb.gov/Publictn/1996/SIR9605.pdf

Thanks for that. I've always been a rail fan and admired these 'iron
horses'.

Funny thing, Microsoft's 'Train Simulator' (which I've wasted many hours on)
has a simulation of several steam locomotives and if you go through the
tutorial, they mention how the water level rises/falls a lot when going
up/down a grade. And how important it is to keep the top of the firebox
covered with water.

Maybe these poor guys should have practiced on a simulator :-/

daestrom

 

[Ulysses]

a
free piston Sterling. I don't know why but there doesn't seem to be much on
the net about Stirlings that is useful. My info is from a couple of books I
have. One is paper and the other is an ebook that I grabbed off the e-books
binary group (alt.binaries.ebooks-technical or something like that) several
years ago when I had broadband.



I've seen quite a number of engines in the form of models at antique engine
shows. Both old fashioned rocking beam as well as modern designs. The Cape
Canaveral engine club is particularly good, as you'd expect. They display
every year at the Daytona Turkey rod run. There are a few pictures on my
website under RVs->trips->turkey rod runs. There is one that I highly covet.
It stands about chest tall and was rated at 2 hp. It has a coal fire box in
the bottom. Literally fire it up and go.

Thanks, I'll look at your website again.

there's another one that is a desk fan powered by alcohol or maybe kerosene.
the burner is in the base. It actually moves a useful amount of air. I
understand that a modern version of this is being made in India but I've yet
to find a place to buy one.

I came across some steam engines made in India but can't seem to find them
again. They also had boilers(?) that looked like two radiators in an "A"
shape. There wasn't much information but I got the impresson you were
supposed to build a fire under the "A."

I heard about a Sterling engine somewhere in Alaska that was supposedly
powering a small town or campground but couldn't find any information on it.
There was supposedly an article in Popular Science or Popular Mechanics
about it but I couldn't find it online on either of those.

John

--
John De Armond
See my website for my current email address
http://www.neon-john.com
http://www.johndearmond.com <-- best little blog on the net!
Tellico Plains, Occupied TN
You can't turn [MS] shovelware into reliable software by patching it a whole lot. -Marcus Ranum

 

[[email protected]]

...but probably cheaper, lighter, and more compact than a micro steam plant.

Yes, and maybe less fun too...

Did you ever work out what your daily power requirements are? I think I
mentioned some rough figures earlier. Add up the hours you expect to use
each toy, multiply by its hourly power consumption, and add up those numbers
to find how many ampere-hours you need each day.

I finally started thinking along those lines. My cell phone has an 1800
mAh battery, and I use around half of it per day, so call that 1 Ah. The
kids's phones take 800mAh batteries that last for 3 days or so. Let's say
another 1 Ah/day for the kids phones, for a total of 2 Ah/day for the
three phones.

Even with solar I would probably still want a storage battery, just a small
one of perhaps 50-60 AH.

How much would that weigh? For just the phones, that would keep things
charged up for a couple of weeks with no solar cell.

What if I used a 20 or 35 watt panel and one of those tiny 7 Ah batteries?