Thought this might amuse you folks:

From that shrill and feisty crew at treehugger.com (who actually post some interesting stuff once you shovel past the endless editorial), an inexpensive cook stove designed for the developing world. The kicker is an integrated low-wattage generator (linear alternator) that can charge batteries.

http://www.treehugger.com/files/2009/07/...l-generator.php

I want one.

EDIT: Hey, whadda ya know, I'm a pooh-bah now. Don't I get one of those Fred Flintstone buffalo hats or something?

Looks pretty cool. They've been talking about stoves of that general type for a few years now. I hope one becomes commercially available.

This one looks a little more portable.


More information here: Bio Lite Stove. They're saying "March 2012" release date, but they've been changing that date for several years. I think they were originally targeting 2009 or 2010.

No affiliation.

HJ

I love the idea of these, its just the cost !
A company is Japan is marketing a pot which includes thermoelectric cells specifically for phone charging (post tsunami).

http://iphonedownloadworld.com/06/japanese-company-invents-hot-pot-phone-charger-just-add-fire/

(no affiliations etc)

Although the cost is quite high for a finished product (IMO), the thermoelectric cells themselves are relatively inexpensive and can be purchased quite readily.

I have toyed with the idea building something myself ... perhaps one day ! The thing to be wary of (if purchasing) is that all the thermoelectric cells have differnt characteristics and work best at different temperature ranges and produce different outputs, so the idea of using one in boiling water is good because the temperature is managed by the boiling point of water itself.

There is lots you can read online about it.

Thermoelectric cells can be used to "recover" waste heat from industrial settings, but because they are considered inefficient, they don't seem to be widely used. However in a camp site setting we are not too worried about "efficiency", so its a good application. IMO, also good if you have a wood heater at home.

The other problem that I've heard about with respect to TEG's (thermo electric generators or cells) is durability. A camp stove/pack stove type of stove is gonna get knocked around a bit. Comes with the territory. The TEG is an excellent idea -- if they can make it practical.

Like I say, the Biolite stove has been up on the web for some time. I first read about them in this 2009 article. There's got to be something that's making them difficult to bring to market.

HJ

There ya go. Wear it with pride.


HJ

The stove shown on the Treehugger site is never going to sell for just $33. The raw materials probably cost more than that. If it ever goes into production, it will probably cost the equivalent of half the annual income of a person in Somalia.

Sue

Here is my 5 year old thread about the Russian Thermocluster company products. They had a line of products based on thermocoupling effect. Their web site is down unfortunately. All I've been able to find is their price list in Russian. They had a pot which was able to generate 12W at 12V while boiling water over a campfire. I saw its blueprints on some web-site - it's almost indestructible in a typical camping environment. The price must be cheap too because there is nothing special involved in its thermocouple design (just an array of different metal pairs welded to the bottom plate and covered with an end-cap).

This one is thermo-acoustic. So, some moving parts are involved...

Fair comment. Consider, though, that a simple yet effective design can be built by street-level metalworkers all through the developing world for a tenth of our cost.

The wild card is the generating mechanism. This one is unique (generating sound to generate power). I would bet that some specific materials would be needed given the temperatures involved, but if a standard speaker can be used as the generator, all bets are off.

Thanks, Jim, that's priceless.

Practical survival accessory too -- keeps my head warm and holds more than an Altoids tin. Wonder if security will let those horns through as carry-on?

No, because that's where you'll have your blades stashed.

Sue