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A portable wind turbine the size of a water bottle
- krasotkin 4y agoVery cool. Is this open hardware? That is, something public you could download and 3d print? My mind is already buzzing with half-baked ideas of how I might utilize this in my garden.
- VyseofArcadia 4y agoI don't think this one is, but coincidentally there was something similar on Hackaday a couple of weeks ago. https://hackaday.com/2022/05/02/hackaday-prize-2022-a-3d-printed-portable-wind-turbine-for-hikers/ https://hackaday.com/2022/05/02/hackaday-prize-2022-a-3d-pri...
- TrispusAttucks 4y agoHow does this compare to a micro solar panel?
- pg_bot 4y agoThe economics don't make sense to me. You can get a solar panel and portable power station for less cost today for similar or better power output. The only benefit here is that this will work in the dark, but even then I'd rather just put more money into battery storage. Combine that with the fact that this is a kickstarter and not a product sitting on store shelves, and that small wind turbines generally don't make much sense due to the laws of physics with regard to efficient power production. Hard pass.
- im3w1l 4y agoIt's nicer to hike on a sunny day than a windy day.
- maxerickson 4y agohttps://www.outdoorgearlab.com/topics/camping-and-hiking/best-solar-charger https://www.outdoorgearlab.com/topics/camping-and-hiking/bes... I guess you would often get closer to the true output of the 20+W solar panels, at least during summer daytime. I haven't done extended hiking or similar, but I expect "phone off" (and maybe a usb battery) is pretty competitive as a solution, with charging when it happens to be available.
- conk 4y agoI’ve done a lot of backpacking and tried various approaches inluding solar panels but I’ve settled on bringing a good 10,000mah rechargeable usb battery pack. With this I can keep my garmen inreach mini, iPhone and headlamp charged for 5-6 days on the trail with a battery that weighs 6oz.
- hadlock 4y ago"will provide power at wind speeds from 8 to 28 miles per hour" Neat idea but unless you are within 3 miles of the coast you're unlikely to see wind speeds above 6mph in your area for any sustained period of time.
- MetallicCloud 4y agoReally? I'm in Boulder, CO and we often have days of continuous strong winds. We're nowhere near a coast.
- micromacrofoot 4y agoyeah because you're way up a mountain!
- oh_sigh 4y agoAnother boulderite checking in... Boulder is right on the foothills and mostly on the plains, not the mountains...you can just get to a mountain within 10 minutes.
- tejtm 4y agosea level checking in, err Boulder you are nigh a mile high. It would take more than 10 minutes to fly off the mountain you are already on.
- oh_sigh 4y agoSo you consider Kansas a mountain then? Interesting...
- micromacrofoot 4y agoit’s a very very wide one
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- ck2 4y agoAren't there physics tricks that could be used like Bernoulli and Venturi effects for a reverse mini dyson-fan as generator?
- ghostly_s 4y agoYou are aware a Dyson fan is just a conventional fan with a futuristic-looking duct attached?
- UI_at_80x24 4y ago40w max output @ 28 miles/hour windspeed. 12,000 mAh internal battery There's no mention of voltage but it looks like it uses USB connectors, so let's assume 5v. This turbine running at full-load (with NO losses) 40w @ 5V = 8A (maximum theoretical) 8A * 1.5hrs = 12,000mAh (1.5hrs minimum theoretical time needed for a full charge. Now divide everything by 1/3rd for better 'real-world' (aka pessimistic) numbers. 13w average output 13w / 5v = 2.6A 2.6A * 4.5hrs = 11,700mAh So really not that bad, but most of the time I'm camping the trees block 95% of the wind. On the other hand that other 5% does seem to happen more then 5% of the time. =) Here's the fundraiser site where it gives more details: https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/shine-a-wind-turbine-that-fits-in-your-backpack#/ https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/shine-a-wind-turbine-that...
- snares 4y agoWould love someone experienced with wind turbines to chime in. Generating 2.4A at 5v from "hardly any wind" (8mp/h) would put this in another league to similar consumer options. Any guesses to their "patent-pending" technology?
- UI_at_80x24 4y agoI never said that you'd get 2.4A @ 8mph wind. I just dropped all the other numbers by 1/3rd. I have no idea how fast the wind has to blow to get that level of power output. I would be willing to bet that 8mph wind only gives you ~500mA of power (which is what USB v1.1 operates on), and that fancy internal battery is probably using off-the-shelf circuits so that you can charge phones. This product sells* for $400+ CAD. You can buy several 10,000mAh battery packs for that amount of money, and probably have a lot of juice left over at the end of your camping trip. [Note: I just did some searching and an Anker 20,000mAh powerbank can be bought for $33. So I could buy 10 of them for less cost and probably not need to charge them for a couple of months.] I'm kinda/sorta intrigued. The fundraiser page looks scammy IMHO, and is full of marketing fluff. I go bike-camping. Something like looks less practical then a 100w solar panel, but also more compact. Full sunlight is rare when/where I camp, I'm usually under tree-cover. That makes the solar panel weep, and is practically useless. I have to make compromises to make use of it. (i.e. the edge of a farmers field) This turbine might require different compromises, but the best thing it has going for it; time. I could leave it operating for 2 days giving me 48hrs of charging time, compared to the 3hrs of direct-overhead sunlight I might get while camping. That's 16x the amount of time for 'energy generation'. Even at less then my 1/3rd rate of power, that might charge all of my battery banks. I will wait for them to be built, and field tested by others. I'm not in a rush. *Not shipping yet, but we promise soon! /sarcasm
- airbreather 4y agoI normally camp near running water, a more practical idea in this case would be a small water turbine, especially as water water enables smaller size for same power and generally constant flow so power output needed is less than generally intermittent wind. The other thing is it doesn't say how noisy it is - bet you it's pretty annoying if it is making 40W, probably even at 15-20W.
- UI_at_80x24 4y agoThey actually do mention the noise, 50dB max. That is equivalent to a "quiet conversation in a house". BUT in a secluded camping spot, I'd bet it's quiet noticeable. (Compare a quiet conversation in a house to a quiet conversation in a library.) If you normally camp near running water, you are more accustomed noise and might not even notice it. I once camped near a small stream, just wide enough that you could jump across it; it was shallow, and had a very calm 'babbling brook' sound during the day. Wonderful and calming. By bedtime this peaceful flow was an utter torment, and much too loud.
- airbreather 4y agoIf you go to here and plug in some numbers https://www.omnicalculator.com/ecology/wind-turbine https://www.omnicalculator.com/ecology/wind-turbine You see that at around 0.2m blade length a HAWT will generate 40W at 28 mph wind. 28 mph is "Strong Breeze", according to the National Weather Service and in which you probably really don't want to be camping. Strong Breeze = "Large branches in continuous motion. Whistling sounds heard in overhead or nearby power and telephone lines. Umbrellas used with difficulty." But when you get down to 15 mph (moderate breeze) it's only making 6 watts, and at 8mph (gentle breeze) it's making 1 watt. That is assuming steady wind to think you will get that continuously, derate accordingly. I suspect there will be some gap between expected and actual performance for many people.
- skykooler 4y agoThe best use-case I can think of is when hiking to the top of a mountain or large hill, where the top will be exposed and have much higher windspeeds than might be found in the camp site you came from.
- Someone 4y agoIt also is only about a meter or so up from the ground. You rarely get a strong breeze there even if there is a strong breeze blowing.
- pmontra 4y agoThis is correct but if you use it at home you can place it on the roof or on a terrace or stick it to a pole. I didn't research the subject, maybe there are better turbines for that use case.
- adrianN 4y agoIt probably makes more sense to carry three pounds of batteries. Small wind turbines that are close to the ground hardly produce any power. Or two pounds of batteries and a small solar panel.
- gorgoiler 4y agoI seem to recall off the shelf turbines are available that you erect and guy, on long whip fishing pole like devices, to get them a few feet higher up.
- jimmySixDOF 4y agoAs for non typical wind systems, I was looking recently at some vertical axis wind turbines after seeing some flower/tulip designs and for anyone interested this Tesup Atlas 4 model seems to be as good as it gets [1]. Starts generating at 10mph and gets to 4kw at 35mph. Its about a 4ft square footprint and 50lbs so not in the same class as TFA but then again this will do more than trickle charge a cell phone. [1] https://www.tesup.us/product-page/atlas20-48v-2kw-wind-turbine-generator-for-homes-battery-energy-amazon-usa https://www.tesup.us/product-page/atlas20-48v-2kw-wind-turbi...
- nabla9 4y agoWhat really concerns me about that Tesup model is 3-blade design with small air gap between blades. I have no idea how they think that would be more effective than 2-blade Savonius-principle rotor. It's possible to sell consumers ad-hoc designs that are unnecessarily inefficient just because they look cool.
- Stevvo 4y agoI have a 400W wind turbine along with 400W of solar on my boat. The turbine almost never gets used as it makes more noise than a 1500W gasoline generator.
- mikro2nd 4y ago+1 - I came here to ask about the noise emitted by this "water boittle" turbine. A local neighbour has 4 small turbines (the kind typically used on boats) mounted atop 14m masts, and they make a hell of a racket when the wind is strong enough to make them generate reasonable (read: rated) amounts of power (which is pretty seldom around here.) Frankly I doubt whether this machine is nett energy win over its lifespan. To me it looks more like a virtue-signalling device than something seriously meant to generate energy.
- andrew_ 4y agoI've always wanted to try my hand at something like this https://www.treehugger.com/silent-wind-turbines-could-generate-half-household-energy-4857821 https://www.treehugger.com/silent-wind-turbines-could-genera...
- oftenwrong 4y ago3 pounds = 1.36kg It's heavy for most recreational activities, but it might be great for expeditions. If it could be made very durable, it could be beneficial for superdeep cave exploration. In such environments there is no light, but often there is rushing wind and water. There is also a critical need for power to keep lights running. While charged batteries can also be brought in from the surface, they have a limited lifespan in the cave, and an expedition therefore needs a continuous supply of fresh batteries to continue.
- pge 4y agoa water turbine like this one - https://www.waterlilyturbine.com/ https://www.waterlilyturbine.com/ - is probably more reliable in an environment like that if there is a flowing stream.
- vatotemking 4y agoA 10watt solar panel and a step-down module that can charge a powerbank is the simplest, cheapest, most portable option I can think of.
- aaron695 4y ago
- samatman 4y agoSomething vaguely like this might be quite nice if the designers thought in terms of sails rather than propellers. Using the existing principles of tensegrity applied to self-supporting tents, this could have enough surface area to run the generator at maximum in a gentle breeze, with some possibility of trimming in actual wind. It would be a completely different product but it's not an implausible one. Edit: I'm thinking vertically mounted with three 'jib' sails which are constrained on (let's say) the clockwise side, these would take turns catching the wind, then relax into the leeward and snap over onto the bar when returning to windward.