Here is a small biomass stove some of you may be interested in. Burns twigs and small scraps of wood AND generates electricity for charging small electronic devices.
Mine is supposed to arrive tomorrow and I'll be fully testing it and then writing a review.

http://biolitestove.com/campstove/camp-overview/features/

Cheers... Joe O'

I WANT ONE!!!!!
only draw back i see its dam heavy.

Here is a small biomass stove some of you may be interested in. Burns twigs and small scraps of wood AND generates electricity for charging small electronic devices.
Mine is supposed to arrive tomorrow and I'll be fully testing it and then writing a review.

http://biolitestove.com/campstove/camp-overview/features/

Cheers... Joe O'

I WANT ONE!!!!!
only draw back i see its dam heavy.

Weight, if i recall, is about 1 kilogram. About the same weight as a 1 L fuel bottle with a liquid fuel. I think the weight, for what this stove can do, is reasonable. You can cook with it, boil/ purify water with it, charge batteries for lights, cameras, radios etc.
I'll be testing it out soon on a week long solo canoe trip on Lake Superior.

Oh that is awesome!

I WANT ONE!!!!!

DITTO!
Looking forward to the review!

That's the coolest stove I've ever seen! Makes me sad that I just bought a Solo Stove! Oh well, if your review is good, I'll get one of these too!

That's the coolest stove I've ever seen! Makes me sad that I just bought a Solo Stove! Oh well, if your review is good, I'll get one of these too!

Greenguy...got a link for the particular stove you just got? Myself, I've got several right now but this new one excited me.

That's the coolest stove I've ever seen! Makes me sad that I just bought a Solo Stove! Oh well, if your review is good, I'll get one of these too!

Greenguy...got a link for the particular stove you just got? Myself, I've got several right now but this new one excited me.

Here's the Solo Stove link: http://www.solostove.com/

That's the coolest stove I've ever seen! Makes me sad that I just bought a Solo Stove! Oh well, if your review is good, I'll get one of these too!

Greenguy...got a link for the particular stove you just got? Myself, I've got several right now but this new one excited me.

Here's the Solo Stove link: http://www.solostove.com/

Another interesting looking stove, nice!
I just received my BioLite stove this afternoon. Going to play with it for the next several days on a canoe trip on Superior and will then post a review on it.

Cheers... Joe O'

For those interested in the solo stove, theres a guy on youtube (brooklin or maybe brooklyn prepper) he has a how to video on how to make this stove out of a paint can and an apple juice can. Looks pretty easy.

Calls it a "wood gas stove", i think.

Back from a 5 day solo canoe trip on lake Superior. I'll be writing up a bit of a review on the BioLite stove over the weekend. works well, burn hot and clean and the charging system appears to work well. More coming in a day or two.

Cheers... Joe O'

Never did get the user report on this Spinkx79... would appreciate it if you could let us all know how it worked (or didn't).

Still looking at treating myself to one as an early b-day gift this year.

Serious shortcomings with devices which use the thermoelectric generators. If power generation is critical for your GPS or mobile radio, choose wisely.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=58b8Acjwtl4

http://theepicenter.com/power_sources_generators_and_batteries.html

I did a presentation on Thermoelectric Power Generators with a manufacturer as a special guest ( http://internationalpreppersnetwork.net/viewtopic.php?f=16&t=3061 ). Here are some highlights that I discussed/learned:

Realistically, it can take hours to fully charge a device: In a best case scenario you're going to get about 5 volts at 1000ma charging power though devices like the biolite stove, power pot or TPOD5. This means it will take a while to charge anything and you'll have to constantly feed the fire and/or water.

You can't easily make these: I've researched and considered making my own TEG (Thermoelectric Generator). The main factors are the difference in temperature and the compression. It's simply not practical to make an effective TEG. You really have to know what you're doing to create something effective. Don't buy 20 'so-called' TEG's from China and think you're going to get an abundance of power by slapping them all together and placing them over a fire. It doesn't work that way. The technology is much more complex then most people originally conceive.

Don't get fooled by China knockoffs: China offers Thermoelectric Power/Cooler Generators. There is a difference. Thermoelectric coolers are designed to produce a hot and cold side when electricity is applied to them. You can reverse the process to create electricity but they aren't as effective. This is the same technology you'll see in a wine cooler or coleman 12v camping cooler. They are cheaply advertised on ebay but they are misleading and of poor quality.

TEG's are not EMP proof: According to Engineer 775 (Practical Preppers), the biolite stove is not EMP proof. It's possible that the TEG's themselves within other devices might melt/merge if they were exposed to a large electromagnetic pulse. This would render them completely useless. I'm still pondering this one and I'll have to talk an EMP expert to confirm this.

Most technologies are based on propane as the fuel source: I know some of the smaller devices like the biolite stove are designed to work with wood but if you look at other devices or larger devices they're all based on propane as being the main source of fuel. This doesn't make sense. It defeats the purpose.

The PowerPot doesn't make sense: ( http://www.thepowerpot.com/ ) I came close to buying one these. Don't buy one. If you understand how TEG's work then it doesn't make sense. The PowerPot works by applying a heat source at the bottom of a pot while filling your pot (for cooking) with water (presumably cold). Because the difference in temperature is one of the main factors it doesn't make sense that you're heating water as it will quickly come to a boil. This in turn will affect how much power you generate. Compared to the biolite stove where you're feeding fire or biomass as the fuel - with the PowerPot you're doing the same but also required to provide fresh cool water every 20 minutes. Does that sound practical?

Teg Power = Poor Support: ( http://www.tegpower.com ) Granted their 12 volt charging system looks impressive I've contacted this company several times and they didn't respond. I wanted to purchase their product but without a phone number and no responses to my emails I've decided this isn't a company I want to deal with.

The TPOD is neat: ( http://www.buytpod.com/ ) Ok. This thing is kind of cool. They talk about it like it's the best thing since plutonium. But it is pretty amazing the first time you light it up. My first question is why do I need a TEG for light if the candle is supplying light? According to the manufacturer it's 20 times brighter. I can attest to that. You'll need to stock up on candles though.

The biolite stove is a novelty item: ( http://www.biolitestove.com/ ) If I go camping this is not going to be my main stove. Does it work? Yes, but as I've previously noted it takes a while to charge things. It's more novelty then anything else, however, you do have the ability to charge things if you need to.

Ideally, you'd want a wood burning stove with a TEG unit that is capable to charging a car battery. From there you can attach an inverter and power up a lot of different things. I have a large, thick sheet of aluminum that I'm planning to use over a fire to simulate just that with a few different TEG's that I have. I highly recommend getting a 12 volt system (Model # TEG12VDC-24AIR) from http://www.thermoelectric-generator.com . I've met this guy personally when I was on my knowledge quest for TEG's. He knows his stuff and likely one of Canada's foremost authorities on the technology.

This technology should be used in conjunction or as a contingency to other alternative means to generate electricity. It is neat and almost magical to think you can generate power from fire. My advice is for you to do your own research to determine if it can fit your needs and if it's right for you.

Thanks Che,
I always wondered how efficient these things were and how useful they would be.
I guess if you had an afternoon to charge something that used a usb charger (that's the reason, I'm guessing for the 5vdc output) then OK.
I had been asked to review one of these things a while ago, but the person was unwilling to send me one to try out.
Sorry, but I can't write a review based on the claims of a web site...I always have a product in hand when I do a review.
I do, however, like the idea of a 12vdc unit that would be able to charge a deep cycle battery when the solar panels just won't produce the power!

I had been asked to review one of these things a while ago, but the person was unwilling to send me one to try out.Sorry, but I can't write a review based on the claims of a web site...

Heartily agree. That is, unless, they gave me $500...!

I do, however, like the idea of a 12vdc unit that would be able to charge a deep cycle battery when the solar panels just won't produce the power!

Totally and that's what originally got me interested. The idea of using fire/heat to create power is, even now, still quite intriguing to me. Solar and wind power derive from factors that we can't control. Creating fire is something that can control and in some ways gives me peace of mind knowing that I can always created some degree electricity on demand. Don't get me wrong, solar and wind are fantastic energy sources. This is just something else you can add to the arsenal. Below is the unit from the manufacturer that I met which can charge a 12 volt battery: