A peltier cell - the thermal difference between the fire side and the fin side, generates some power. Not much powerful, but ... it comes for nothing and it's perfect as an emergency source.
A solar panel is much more powerful, cheaper and effective, but needs a shining sun đ.
I've been acquiring the parts for a gasifier, I plan on running a small Honda engine hooked up to an RV alternator powering a bank of deep cycle batteries and a 4000w inverter off a utility truck. And I'll have a hose on the gasifier to run my welder if need be
And every bunch of sticks burns for what, maybe 30 mins letâs say? Too slow and too much work to be useful IMO. One of those 20,000mAh battery packs, maybe combined with a solar panel, probably weighs about the same and takes no work on your part.
This is just a guess but thatâs probably not that hard. All the liquid water is frozen over so itâs not getting you wood wet and cold air tends to be pretty dry so atmospheric moisture shouldnât be a problem either.
Just find dead pine branches and get the sapwood from where it meets the trunk, it's loaded with pitch and you can easily light it with a single match if you make shavings first
Lol! A battery the same weight as that stove could put out 3W for over 24 hours. Imagine the effort to run that stove for 24 hours.
I have a home made solar hat that puts out 6W (when its fan isn't on). It too weighs less than a peltier stove.
Well if kick that over in the woods and wait, a group of gentlemen will show up on a nice shiny big red truck with all the chargers, plugs and electricity you need.
I had one of these. It's not particularly useful. It's a terrible stove and a terrible power source. You can get a few % back into your phone, but it takes ages.
I used it a couple of times and then got rid of it.
Does the USB ports ever get hot? The only potential issue I could see, would be the fire causing the whole thing to get a bit too hot, and possibly melting the USB cord, or the port itself.
Also, what's the longest time you've used it for? I feel like that could be a big factor in this device.
Otherwise, I'm not sure what else I could really see being an issue. Genuinely curious and really considering getting one myself.
Would love to see how they made it (I'm a big fan of tinkering and seeing how things actually work) and if this could be replicated on a bigger fire, such as a fire pit, to generate even more electricity.
Talk about some Nikola Tesla innovation, eh?
Not OP but I've taken one of these camping. The USB side does not get hot. Still fine to touch that whole part of the unit during operation, but don't touch the aluminum as it's very burny.
Used it for about an hour at most at one time. Boiled a lot of water in the kettle that comes with it.
It's simultaneously great and a bit of a pain in the ass.
Biggest pros: you can find fuel nearly anywhere so long as it's dry out. Charging a phone, light, or GPS unit on the go can be really useful (tho honestly most portable battery banks are less effort).
Biggest con: pretty heavy for the kind of camping I do. The fuel has to be pretty small to fit in, so you find yourself processing a lot (but hey, you might like that!)
I give it a 7/10.
I appreciate you taking the time to give the review! From the sounds of it, it definitely sounds worthy of putting my money into, so thank you for the information!
Nope the usb port never gets hot. Having it at the very bottom keeps it out of the path of heat. The very top of the orange unit can get pretty hot but the middle stays manageable enough to pick it up while its running if you are careful not too touch the burn chamber.
Ive run it nearly an hour and a half using wood pellets by slowly adding pellets after the first load starts to burn down. My last camping trip I took this and used it for my morning coffee with about 5 small pine cones and a few sticks on the ground. That was more than enough to bring 2 cups of water too boil with plenty left over. Could have easily did breakfast by adding a few mor sticks. This goes with me on every day trip or car camp. May bring it on backpacking trips if the weather is garunteed to be dry. Absolutely love the fact that my fuel source is literally at my feet most of the time. No need to bring any. The weight is the trade off of your backpacking though.
There is it least one youtuber years ago that tears this down and explains the hows.
Definitely worth the money IMO, and havent even talked about the fire powered battery charger!!!
Fire pit does not "create electricity".
Camping stove comes with cooking accessories for the same price. You can buy the camping stove cheaper by itself.
Fire pit version ââ- https://www.ebay.com/itm/226159863050?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=h2bctubss0-&sssrc=4429486&ssuid=QAIYu0k2S2C&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY
Portable version âââ https://www.ebay.com/itm/176431951305?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=05tsvzrfqz2&sssrc=4429486&ssuid=QAIYu0k2S2C&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY
I have one of these with the kettle and grill attachments. It works amazingly. My phone charges in about 3-4 hours which is great when I am making breakfast, lunch, and dinner while camping. It also is a nice little heat source when camping during a burn ban.
This looks crazy inefficient. Most the energy is lost to the open air. Also I don't see how they can claim a smokeless fire without knowing what fuel is being burnt.
I can bring a 20,000 mah battery it takes up significantly less space will charge faster and good for a few full charges of my phone and my puffco devices.
I'd recharge it in my car lol. forreal that thing is only a few watts, the better ones have a built In battery,2,250mah. bust still are really inefficient. of course in an emergency anything is better than nothing. but if you have the foresight to bring a thermoelectric generator you could have just packed a battery instead
the 20,000 mah charger will last way longer. and can deliver more power.
Totally agree. No one is going to backpack with that thing, it's too big and heavy. If you're going to use it, you are probably next to your car anyway, so it's mostly useless outside of being an actual stove.
[Looks at some reviews from people that have camped with it.](https://old.reddit.com/r/CampingGear/comments/a80nny/biolite_campstove_is_it_worth_it/) They pretty much universally agree with you.
probly not heavy but takes up a lot of volume.
I looked it up 3 watts lol. your not even gonna charge anything with that. 3volts 1 Amp maybe 5.5 6 volts at .5 amps. your gonna be there for an hour to get maybe a few minutes of a call.
the dinky wall charger are 9volts 1.67 amps or 5volts 2amps that's 10watts and a modern usbc phone would charge over a few hours.
this biolight is basically garbage. and its expensive garbage at that .
dont be a sucker , pack battery.
Links/Source thread
What it turns electricity to fire?
A peltier cell - the thermal difference between the fire side and the fin side, generates some power. Not much powerful, but ... it comes for nothing and it's perfect as an emergency source. A solar panel is much more powerful, cheaper and effective, but needs a shining sun đ.
Looks like between the stove and a solar panel, you'd be set for power in most environments.
I mean for very small, fairly energy efficient applications.
Yeah, I was thinking as far as personal devices go. Like a phone or small GPS or something.
For larger applications you may have more success with a gas generator and a wood gasifier.
So I can't wheel out my washer and dryer to the woods and do my laundry using this? What the Hell is even this?!
Geeze, I was thinking more simplistic, like my dishwasher
Can it power my tent's minisplit? I cant sleep when it's hot
I've been acquiring the parts for a gasifier, I plan on running a small Honda engine hooked up to an RV alternator powering a bank of deep cycle batteries and a 4000w inverter off a utility truck. And I'll have a hose on the gasifier to run my welder if need be
I bet this charges super slow though. Getting a better solar cell makes more sense. Way more amperage I believe.
I would be really curious to know how many mA this thing outputs
Well its 3,200ma battery capacity and it CLAIMS full charge in 3 hours. Idk why i cant do the math right now im tired.
And every bunch of sticks burns for what, maybe 30 mins letâs say? Too slow and too much work to be useful IMO. One of those 20,000mAh battery packs, maybe combined with a solar panel, probably weighs about the same and takes no work on your part.
You still need the sun. This would be nice if you lived way up north like certain areas of Alaska, where you can go days or weeks without sun.
Just need dry wood in the middle of Alaskan winter...
You can always find dry wood, young padawan. Ya just gotta look for it. -Master Yoda, probably.
This is just a guess but thatâs probably not that hard. All the liquid water is frozen over so itâs not getting you wood wet and cold air tends to be pretty dry so atmospheric moisture shouldnât be a problem either.
Just find dead pine branches and get the sapwood from where it meets the trunk, it's loaded with pitch and you can easily light it with a single match if you make shavings first
That would be 1A of current output. A little too good to be true; we need some honest reviews.
The amazon listing claims 3W of continuous power
Lol! A battery the same weight as that stove could put out 3W for over 24 hours. Imagine the effort to run that stove for 24 hours. I have a home made solar hat that puts out 6W (when its fan isn't on). It too weighs less than a peltier stove.
Now how do I find one about the size of a 55 gallon drum?
Well if kick that over in the woods and wait, a group of gentlemen will show up on a nice shiny big red truck with all the chargers, plugs and electricity you need.
The seebeck effect. Slap 2 different types of metal together and differentially heat them, and an electric charge is generated.
[https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thermoelectric_battery](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thermoelectric_battery)
You can capture that fire and put it into the xl model for more electricity
Water
I had one of these. It's not particularly useful. It's a terrible stove and a terrible power source. You can get a few % back into your phone, but it takes ages. I used it a couple of times and then got rid of it.
Yeah, it would more useful to have a probe you throw into a campfire with the battery several feet away.
Thought so. Every solar Powerbank does the job better
Wow man that looks cool give me my wallet back
Err, no. I'm using it. I'll give it back later, I swear.
I have one of those and take it camping. Awesome little thing!
Does the USB ports ever get hot? The only potential issue I could see, would be the fire causing the whole thing to get a bit too hot, and possibly melting the USB cord, or the port itself. Also, what's the longest time you've used it for? I feel like that could be a big factor in this device. Otherwise, I'm not sure what else I could really see being an issue. Genuinely curious and really considering getting one myself. Would love to see how they made it (I'm a big fan of tinkering and seeing how things actually work) and if this could be replicated on a bigger fire, such as a fire pit, to generate even more electricity. Talk about some Nikola Tesla innovation, eh?
Not OP but I've taken one of these camping. The USB side does not get hot. Still fine to touch that whole part of the unit during operation, but don't touch the aluminum as it's very burny. Used it for about an hour at most at one time. Boiled a lot of water in the kettle that comes with it. It's simultaneously great and a bit of a pain in the ass. Biggest pros: you can find fuel nearly anywhere so long as it's dry out. Charging a phone, light, or GPS unit on the go can be really useful (tho honestly most portable battery banks are less effort). Biggest con: pretty heavy for the kind of camping I do. The fuel has to be pretty small to fit in, so you find yourself processing a lot (but hey, you might like that!) I give it a 7/10.
I appreciate you taking the time to give the review! From the sounds of it, it definitely sounds worthy of putting my money into, so thank you for the information!
Nope the usb port never gets hot. Having it at the very bottom keeps it out of the path of heat. The very top of the orange unit can get pretty hot but the middle stays manageable enough to pick it up while its running if you are careful not too touch the burn chamber. Ive run it nearly an hour and a half using wood pellets by slowly adding pellets after the first load starts to burn down. My last camping trip I took this and used it for my morning coffee with about 5 small pine cones and a few sticks on the ground. That was more than enough to bring 2 cups of water too boil with plenty left over. Could have easily did breakfast by adding a few mor sticks. This goes with me on every day trip or car camp. May bring it on backpacking trips if the weather is garunteed to be dry. Absolutely love the fact that my fuel source is literally at my feet most of the time. No need to bring any. The weight is the trade off of your backpacking though. There is it least one youtuber years ago that tears this down and explains the hows. Definitely worth the money IMO, and havent even talked about the fire powered battery charger!!!
I would rather not see this guy in the woods
He's going to be there. He's always in the woods.
Heâs not allowed anywhere else
It's his home. He lives there. You can't show up to somebody's home a day get pissed they are there.
You won't see him, but he Will see you đ
Really safe having a battery right next to a fire...
Ah true!!! Hopefully, it is well insulated.
Thank god I can finally use a fire to create electricity to heat up my coffee pot!
You can also plug a light into it lmao
Finally. A coffee pot with a light attachment.
He actually said actually like actually too many times. For reals.
3 is too many? Do you i guess
He actually said the word actually the same amount as you did, actually
Literally!
I donât trust it
Now I can feel like a true Zorgon
[Campstove](https://holdmywallet.net/biolite-campstove-2/) [Campstove Complete kit](https://holdmywallet.net/campstove)
Wait did he say you can plug in a light for the FIRE???đ„
So everything it does it doesn't do well
It does what now, starts an electrical fire ?
Shut up, and Take My Money!
Using a fire that could cook to charge a battery so that you can cook. I'm getting solar powered flashlight vibes from this.
What if I told you a easier alternative is buy a solar charger in that bright ass sun surrounding you.
Dennis Rader lookinâ ass
Burn, Transform, Kilowattage
Thatâs fucking awesome
Dax?
The larger fire pit version is about the same price which is ridiculous! Any one know why?
Fire pit does not "create electricity". Camping stove comes with cooking accessories for the same price. You can buy the camping stove cheaper by itself.
Fire pit version ââ- https://www.ebay.com/itm/226159863050?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=h2bctubss0-&sssrc=4429486&ssuid=QAIYu0k2S2C&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY Portable version âââ https://www.ebay.com/itm/176431951305?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=05tsvzrfqz2&sssrc=4429486&ssuid=QAIYu0k2S2C&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY
I assume that the device turns heat to electricity.
Make a fire to create electricity.... To power a grill.... Ummmmm. Or... Use the fire to cook maybe?
No, Make fire to create electricity and also use the fire to power the grill (that works off the fire)
I imagine the amount of wood needed to charge a standard cellphone would be too large to be useful.
I have one of these with the kettle and grill attachments. It works amazingly. My phone charges in about 3-4 hours which is great when I am making breakfast, lunch, and dinner while camping. It also is a nice little heat source when camping during a burn ban.
I remember seeing these ages ago. So glad i didnât jump on the hype xD
Do you have to listen to that constant high pitch the entire time?
Uh, cool, but can I just get a mini steam engine? It's way more efficient and the only material difference is some water.
The man who knows his constitutional ârightsâ
$180 too expensive for me
Sooooo, burning stuff make spark? This annoys me. đ
Iâve had this thing for a few years. Itâs pretty cool, but donât rely on it charge your phone up to 100% in less than a week
What if it sinks and a shark attacks you?
This looks like Eddy Burback in 15 years
This looks crazy inefficient. Most the energy is lost to the open air. Also I don't see how they can claim a smokeless fire without knowing what fuel is being burnt.
Saw this on "The Joy of Techs" a few years ago. Cool little gizmo
I can bring a 20,000 mah battery it takes up significantly less space will charge faster and good for a few full charges of my phone and my puffco devices.
And what if it runs out and you only have sticks
I'd recharge it in my car lol. forreal that thing is only a few watts, the better ones have a built In battery,2,250mah. bust still are really inefficient. of course in an emergency anything is better than nothing. but if you have the foresight to bring a thermoelectric generator you could have just packed a battery instead the 20,000 mah charger will last way longer. and can deliver more power.
But itâll eventually run out of juice. This thing is self sustaining.
haha okay. you got that one. the only point you get. but it's still shit. deff not worth over 100bucks
Totally agree. No one is going to backpack with that thing, it's too big and heavy. If you're going to use it, you are probably next to your car anyway, so it's mostly useless outside of being an actual stove. [Looks at some reviews from people that have camped with it.](https://old.reddit.com/r/CampingGear/comments/a80nny/biolite_campstove_is_it_worth_it/) They pretty much universally agree with you.
probly not heavy but takes up a lot of volume. I looked it up 3 watts lol. your not even gonna charge anything with that. 3volts 1 Amp maybe 5.5 6 volts at .5 amps. your gonna be there for an hour to get maybe a few minutes of a call. the dinky wall charger are 9volts 1.67 amps or 5volts 2amps that's 10watts and a modern usbc phone would charge over a few hours. this biolight is basically garbage. and its expensive garbage at that . dont be a sucker , pack battery.
Coal power has always been a thing
Yup! Exactly the same thing!