Back in October I posted details of the new Biolite Stove which had won an award from the Outdoor Writers Guild. This stove system cleverly mixes a wood burning stove with a thermoelectric generator to create a charge which can used to charge up USB devices. The Biolite created a lot of interest but it did have two downsides, it was heavy and it relied on burning wood which — in the cooler and wetter parts of the world — limited its use.
This week a new, and perhaps more versatile unit, has been produced which is known as the Powerpot.
The Powerpot’s thermoelectric generator is built into the pot itself. This means that the system can be used with any heat source, in the photo above you can see it being used with a conventional gas canister stove. The charging cable leaves the pot near its top which means that you don’t have to worry too much about flames melting your cable, indeed, on the Powerpot website you will see a demo video which shows the pot being used on a barbeque.
The Powerpot itself has a capacity of 1.4 litres and yet weighs only 516 grams (which includes the pot lid and the cable). It costs $149 which (for example) compares to $99 for the Backcountry Boiler or the Bushbuddy Ultra ($126). The Biolite stove is selling for just under £150 in the UK.
I’ve been watching the development of Powerpot for a while, it is a successful KickStarter project. You can certainly use this with a cartridge stove and I would imagine with many alcohol stoves and it might be easily possible to use it with the right kind of wood burner — it will be interesting to see the first reviews of people using this in the field. There are not many reviews yet but there is one bushcraft site which seems to suggest it works well on just about any type of fire/stove. The USB cable is protected by a heat resistant fibreglass protective layer which its reckoned to be protective to 415 centigrade.
The Powerpot certainly seems to be a better option for our kind of climate. Then again, a good potable battery or spree batteries (if your phone has removable batteries) will be cheaper!
This could prove to be quite popular! Here is the promotion video.
That’s quite heavy. You could carry a lot of batteries for that weight and at far less expense. For me, one to leave on the shelf in the shop.
AL — this is half the weight of the Biolite. To be honest I don’t think I would ever use either and you are far too sensible to simply buy the latest gadget, but we know that there are those who do
Great idea but heavy and I wonder how much charge you get. Battery extender or spare batteries still look best option. Good to see innovation, though.
I think Robin that this would appeal to real wilderness hikers, perhaps somebody doing one of the longer US trails, rather than mere mortals like us!
My battery weighs 125 grams and gives me four to five iPhone charges which is more than sufficient for a TGO Challenge and so this option isn’t for me.
But, again, this might really interest someone who was more adventurous. And those who like the latest gadget
It only really makes sense with a wood burning stove. Even then, a solar charger might be better. As technology improves, so will efficiency. Might even replace wind turbines
I’m sure some people ail use it with cartridge stoves but as you say wood burning makes sense.
This may make more sense than solar panels. I’ve had bad reports back from those who have used them in more northern climes, i.e. they don’t work at all! I do think they need some sun!
I would certainly consider it for something like the Pacific Northwest Trail, on which I took a small solar charger that didn’t work most of the time plus two spare phone batteries. Also there will probably be lighter, smaller versions in the future, which was my opinion with the Biolite (I was one of the OWPG judges who gave it the award). Rather like the original Jetboil, the first heat exchanger stove, which was heavy. The principle was excellent though and now there are smaller lighter heat exchanger stoves.
If they halve the weight it becomes more attractive in combination with a wood burning stove for long wilderness trips. As I understand it, significant advances are being made in solar panel technologies, so in a few years time they might be viable for backpacking, but until then they seem like curios, especially in regions with limited sunshine.
The problem with this technology isn’t weight but charging time. Even if something like this could kick out 1amp then charging time (or stove running time) is about 2hrs for a smartphone. Do you have gas for 2 hrs to waste? On a long hike certainly not. Sorry but these chargers are gimmicks in my opinion.
Just had a very funny chat with Colin who doesn’t believe the technical specs in terms of power output. The one thing they don’t mention in the stats is full charge time. A cannister is probably useless but a real fire might work in three or four hours.
“It’s crap” says Colin.
“Yes, but when your sitting there doing nothing all evening apart from keeping a fire going it might be perfect”
Even at the same output as a mains power lead — and some reviewers suggest tat is what they have had — it means a two -3 hour charge. Certainly not something for a canister.
Still, it has kept us entertained!
Good point Andy. On the Pacific Northwest Trail I often kept my wood burning stove going for several hours. That was easier than relighting it and sometimes it was nice to have a mini camp fire. It could have been charging my smartphone at the same time if I’d had a Powerpot.
I could see it having some use as Chris would use it. Gas no but over a small controllable stove campfire then if you could be bothered to keep it topped up with water and the small fire controlled at a level that its not too hot that it boils over or too cold that you don’t get much useable power and you could be bothered doing this for hours then just maybe it has a use.
Thing is all the pictures show a gas burner and that’s because it’s an easily controllable heat source which is what you need to successfully operate something like this.
Get one in for test Chris
I like my evenings outside watching the stars coming out – I like keeping a fire going as well …
I’d go with Alan Sloman here. On the hill I use an old Sony Ericcson K800i – the indestructable Mack Truck of mobiles and an absolute classic. I have three – still available on Ebay for around £20. For hill use this to my mind is the very best phone – and if you push it you can get internet access (at a price – only 3G) .On a typical three-week stravaig I use two batteries max – total additional weigh 25gm.
I recently shelled out for a Samsung Galaxy III – bought it from Sweden simply to channel Nordic Noir and get it unbranded and free of UK bloatware. This is the only fully-specced smartphone that comes with a replaceable battery and the ability to store up to 64GB of data on a SD card. The iPhones, sweeties, are entirely predicated on cloud storage once you’ve used up their limited internal storage. I say to you – Chocolate Teapots.
These heat-exchange gizmos simply demonstrate the first law of thermo-dymamics. You put the energy in, you get the same stuff out. But, as Colin Ibbo says, the third vector is time.
I guess the root question is – why? Do you actually need to have portable electricity to give you constant communication and be tied to an alternate world when you’re out on the mountain? For occasional use – emergency communication or watching those dodgy videos during long dark nights – then devices with replacable (low-cost, low-weight) batteries may be more attractive than going down a route dependant on steam-punk devices.
Mango – 64 gig store age on my iPhone is more than enough for me or 128 gig on iPad. No cloud necessary. It’s why Apple is selling more phones than anyone else
Practicality is my concern and phones whose batteries you can’t easily change are no good for my outdoor usage whatever other qualities they may have or however popular they may be. Being able to change the battery is far more important than internal storage size to me. I can just add a larger memory card if I need extra space – not that I know what I’d do with 128 gig anyway.