Simple do-it-yourself thermal power plant
How to charge a cell phone using a candle? It’s very simple - for this you can assemble a simple thermal power plant from just a few very affordable elements.
This little thing is pretty cool, you can take it with you on a hike or fishing trip and in any situation you can charge your mobile device, be it a phone or a tablet.
Unlike a Power Bank, this generator has no limitations and can operate continuously. You can use not only a candle, but also wood chips or paper as a heat source.
Thermal power plant details
- Peltier element 12706.
- USB boost converter.
- Tin.
- Radiator from a computer processor.
- Thermal conductive paste.
Making a heat generator with your own hands
The first thing you need to do is find a tin can. Cut off the bottom and drill multiple small holes along the entire side surface. You should not make large holes, otherwise in windy weather the fire will go out due to strong winds.
Then, using metal scissors, we cut out a window for the candle at the bottom of the jar.
After cutting, be sure to clean the sharp edges with a file or needle file.
This is the very heart of the heat generator - the Peltier element. It will generate current when the temperature of its surfaces differs. That is, we will heat one side with a candle, and we will cool the other with a radiator from the computer.
To ensure reliable heat transfer to the Peltier element, we apply a heat-conducting ointment to its sides.
Apply a thin layer to one side.
We apply it to the jar.
Apply the second side
To prevent the wires from melting on a hot jar during operation, it is necessary to put on fiberglass tube sections - cambrics.
And we install the radiator from the computer processor on top. There will be no cooler on top, everything will cool naturally. Moreover, in nature, a little breeze will do the trick.
The Peltier element does not produce a large voltage, about a volt, but its current strength is sufficient for our purposes. Therefore, in order to exchange the values for the ones we need, we will use a boost converter, which will increase and stabilize the output voltage to 5 V.
Solder the output of the element to the input of the converter.
The output of the converter already has a USB socket for connection, so there is no need to solder anything else.
Checking the heat generator
We light a candle.
We insert it into our reactor)).
We are trying to charge our mobile phone. After a few seconds the voltage reached the level.
And the phone started charging.
The thermal power plant does an excellent job of producing electricity.
If desired, you can add a fan by connecting it to the output of the converter. Five volts is enough to spin up a twelve volt cooler.
For reliability, the can with the radiator can be fastened together with thin wire or thin long bolts, having previously drilled holes in both.
Conclusion
Here we often turn off the lights at home. And when this happens, I take out the heat generator. It provides electricity and light from a candle, killing two birds with one stone. Well, if there is not enough light, you can also connect a mini LED lamp to USB. The good news is that this device is always ready for use, and therefore there can be no unexpected troubles.
