Alternative electronic gadget chargers

Lots of fuel cells in this roundup …

Brunton Hydrogen Reactor fuel cell to ship “in October”:
http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2013/08/brunton-hydrogen-reactor/
Uses small, refillable hydrogen canisters. No word on weight.

Based on the Horizon Minipak, available now at REI:
http://www.horizonfuelcell.com/#!minipak/c156u
120g for the device, 105g for the fuel cartridge, about 14,000 milliwatt hours per cartridge.

Nectar mobile power system, to sell “Summer 2013” through Brookstone.com:
http://www.nectarpower.com/
About 200g for the device, 35g for the butane-filled power pod, and about 55,000 milliwatt-hours per power pod.

myfc PowerTrekk hybrid fuel cell and battery charger, available now at REI & Amazon:
http://powertrekk.com/
Needs water plus a “puck” with sodium silicide to fuel the system.
240g for the device, 30g for the “puck”, plus about 15g of water, about 4,000 milliwatt-hours per puck.

Compared to Lithium AA batteries and chargers, these fuel cells are not cheap, but might be worth considering for certain situations.

"Compared to Lithium AA batteries and chargers, these fuel cells are not cheap, but might be worth considering for certain situations."

Rex, what is the situation where you feel these would be more practical than lithium primary AA batteries?

–B.G.–

I think its practical to charge the solar umbrella in a thunderstorm. Ok I guess you can use it for shade on a sunny day.

>Rex, what is the situation where you feel these would be more practical than lithium primary AA batteries?

The Nectar appears to be the most power-dense of these portable fuel cells.

So I'll compare the Nectar to Lithium batteries.

Nectar device with one power pod
235 grams total weight
55,000 milliwatt hours
234 milliwatt hours per gram
$100+ if priced comparably to other fuel cells on the market

Energizer PP-3AMCP USB charger with Energizer Ultimate Lithium AA batteries
45 grams for the charger
14.5 grams per battery
4,500 milliwatt hours per battery (depends on temperature)
219 grams for charger plus 4 sets of 3 AA batteries (closest weight equivalent)
54,000 milliwatt hours total
245 milliwatt hours per gram
$37 for charger plus batteries (approximately)

So roughly the same energy for the same weight at maybe 3x the cost or more.

Why choose the Nectar fuel cell over the Lithium batteries?

– Hard to ship large quantities of Lithium batteries.

– You don't want to swap batteries 4 times to get 54,000 milliwatt hours.

– You would rather recycle one power pod than figure out how to dispose of 12 AA lithium batteries.

– You want to be the coolest kid on the block :-)

I didn't say I would buy any of these devices; but somebody might.

— Rex

"- Hard to ship large quantities of Lithium batteries."

I don't know. Amazon.com seems to do a lot of that.

–B.G.–

OK, maybe shipping is not an issue.

But if you need lots more energy, the Nectar wins.

At 2 Nectar pods of energy (about 110,000 mWh):

270 grams total – Nectar (407 mWh/g)
393 grams total – Lithium (275 mWh/g)

At 4 Nectar pods of energy (about 220,000 mWh):

340 grams total – Nectar (647 mWh/g)
741 grams total – Lithium (291 mWh/g)

Why would you need so much electrical energy in the wilderness?

Too many toys: GPS, tablet, camera, satellite phone, satellite messenger, AM/FM/SW radio, Steripen, headlamp, bear fence, laser gun sight, tea heater, festive lights on your tent …

Not me.

— Rex

How much butane would it take to generate 55,000 mWh of electricity from a Nectar device using a SOFC fuel cell, which is about 60% efficient?

About 8 grams.

The other 227 grams are packaging and energy conversion.

==========

55,000 mWh of electricity would boil 2 cups of water from 1°C under perfect conditions. You could build an immersion heater into an insulated pot and cook with electricity on 35 grams per day (cartridge weight).

At 2.5 W of peak power, that would take about 22 hours. Better take that super-insulated electric crock pot.

Or use an Esbit stove and cook on 14 grams of fuel per day in about 10 minutes.

— Rex

Absolutely no way i'd feel comfortable hiking with one of those Nectar generators.

They run at 750 °C (1380 °F) and have a butane canister attached.

Sure they'll be insulated, but still i wouldn't want one in my rucksack or tent at night.

Rex, this is the first I have heard of a hydrogen powered fuel for backpacking. I feel that this is a huge leap forward into chemical powered fuels. It pretty much maxes the available BTU's per pound.
Thanks!

The SpringActive SPaRK is under development for the US military:

Generates 3-6 watts per leg while walking. Was 860 grams (30 ounces) each in 2011, they planned to cut the weight in half.

“On a 72-hour mission in Afghanistan, a US soldier will carry 70 batteries for such devices as night-vision optics, GPS, imaging systems, and communications gear. This adds 20 pounds to a combat load.” http://www.designnews.com/author.asp?doc_id=235935

Might be easier for lightweight backpackers to carry extra AA lithium batteries. Even if the SPaRK is 430 grams, that’s about 30 AA lithium batteries, and you will carry the batteries on your back, instead of on your feet. Weight on your feet is extra bad!

— Rex

This might actualy work for some :

http://www.flamestower.com/
8oz ,7.7"x2.5"x1"

Was going to make a new post but found this older thread.

http://www.brunton.com/products/hydrogen-reactor

Stats/spec details are out. It weighs 242g (8.5oz), and each cartridge is 8500 mAh
From the site:

Live Swappable Energy – Just exchange empty for full and keep charging without waiting, ideal for disaster readiness; solid state with no natural discharge.
Environmentally Safe – No toxic chemicals. Recharged from water.
Hydrogen Power – Lock rechargeable Hydrogen Core to Hydrogen Reactor for hours of power off-the-grid and on-the-go
2 Hydrogen Cores – Each is Capable of 6 iPhone recharges; 5v 2amp output

INCLUDES 2 HYDROGEN CORES Equal to 30+ AA Batteries

SPECS – 13.5 x 7.3 x 3.4 cm; 146g Reactor, 242g with Hydrogen Core; Solid state with no natural discharge.

OUTPUT – Standard USB

Seems like a pretty "light" way to keep stuff charged for a week at a time, or longer if using a phone/gps for emergencies while on a through hike and don't want to fiddle stiff with solar/rely on good weather.

non-alternative gadget charger: new trent travelpak+. just used it on a 1.5 week trip, and it worked great on my GPS watch, headlamp, iphone, ipod shuffle. like the form factor, ease to charge in regular outlet, two USB + pass-through charging.

http://www.flamestower.com/

That thing is pretty cool. Nothing I'm likely to get, but cool regardless.

Eton hand-cranked & solar cell AM/FM/NOAA Weather radio, flashlight & USB charger:

http://www.amazon.com/NFR160WXB-Microlink-Self-Powered-Weather-Flashlight/dp/B001QTXKB0/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1385610780&sr=8-6&keywords=crank+radio

For 90 seconds of cranking you get up to 40 minutes of playtime, depending on the volume you run the radio at. Don't know how fast it will charge a cell phone or tablet.

Weight is 8.7 oz (243.6 grams). I keep one in my survival/disaster kit ("Bug Out Bag" if you're a prepper).

The MiniWiz HyMini generator unfortunately has been discontinued.

— Rex

MiniWiz Biscuit, just a prototype.

— Rex

Looks like Brunton hydrogen cores are $20 unless you wanna buy a $300 core recharger?

This is the most ridiculous and interesting thread I've ever seen on BPL. I love it.

My grandfather is developing super-capacitors for electric buses with a startup in Boston comprised mostly of MIT grads. There's some exciting stuff around the corner. Smartphones that recharge from the heat of your fingertip…