Alternative Energy--Power from a Kerosene Lamp!

[@jowiemonster]

i love this . i would love a version of this with modern electronics. depending on the design you could make a updated one that had a usb plug in the side to power a smart phone. it would be great during a black out , the oil lasts long, it provides heat and the usb plug can charge your phone for emergency calls or staying connected.

[@tompas11A3n52KkX]

Fantastic! I love it! Thanks for showing this.

[@shmehfleh3115]

Neato. I wonder if it eventually gets heat-soaked and stops working. Or if it'll put out a higher current if there's a bigger temp differential.

[@waynewheaton6244]

The Apollo astronauts had a thermoelectric generator and used it on the moon. It was powered by radioactive isotopes. I'm sure it is still there and probably working.

[@Steve-qn6bt]

Russia has lots of RTGs sitting abandoned. Just don't get too close to them.

[@molnarriki4876]

They have2500 of them arround russia

[@waynewheaton6244]

@@molnarriki4876 2500? Are RTG's (what does RTG stand for) producing electricity from decaying isotopes? Cool in safe circumstances.

[@WillSmithHitandMiss]

Very Interesting!!!!! Thank you for sharing

[@MisterTalkingMachine]

Really amazing device, helps a lot that transistor radios need really little power, they can also easily run from credit card size solar panels of today Do you think the thermoelectric generators are plain thermocouples or may they be semiconductor based like modern peltier modules?

[@shmehfleh3115]

According to the description, it uses two dissimilar metals. Modern peltiers use a sandwich of semiconductor P-N junctions and can put out a little more juice. Though probably not much.

[@MisterTalkingMachine]

Alrighty

[@ironbrassmachine]

Interesting !

[@Science-Vlog]

very cool, i like this type of tech.

[@RayMosier]

So.. it's not piezoelectric ? The fact that it played AC/DC made it awesome.

[@riderericsson]

Thanks. No piezoelectric.

[@shmehfleh3115]

Thermoelectric. The Seebeck effect.

[@RayMosier]

@@shmehfleh3115 ahh. I see now. I used the wrong term. Thanks for the reply.

[@tobythewhale]

You know you are free is when you can hear ACDC

[@clytle374]

Electronics in the base? I can't imagine what tech of the day would be in there. Any idea?

[@riderericsson]

It's in the description--a germanium transistor, two capacitors and a coil.

[@clytle374]

@@riderericsson Thanks, I wasn't paying good attention and had the 30s or 40s in my head. Super high tech for the 50s.

[@lifewasting]

Nice!

[@LenKusov]

I think if someone tried it more seriously with modern tech, it could work quite well - there's rocket stoves with thermoelectric phone chargers in em nowadays, and if it was integrated in a cold-blast hurricane lamp you could use the lamp's draft to cool the outer fins AND head the inner fins for maximum efficiency. Hell, make it an Aladdin style mantle lamp and you'd have something that's both a great light source AND a respectable power source.

[@riderericsson]

They are commonly used in deep space missions with heat supplied from radioisotopes (i.e., nuclear). There was a hurricane lantern made a few years ago in Europe with built in thermocouples and radio but sadly no longer being manufactured.

[@artsculpturecinetiquemecan740]

Hello, I am very interested in your thermoelectric machine, can we find construction plans or diagrams? I thank you in advance Sincerely Maeldan 

[@drteknical6571]

Have you tried running the output directly to a USB socket and tried to charge a smart phone? Might be an interesting experiment. It's great to own working, mid-20th Century Tech!! Great vid!

[@STOP_RIGHT_THERE_CRIMINAL_SCUM]

Phones require 5v at 2 amps, that's 10 watts, this only theoretically makes 100 mliwatts (0.1 watt)

[@asadabdulqaabir4006]

@@STOP_RIGHT_THERE_CRIMINAL_SCUM You are thinking in fast charging. 500 mA would be enough to put some juice in a cell phone battery,. But, anyway it's about 3 watt, so, beyond the reach of this contraption.

[@redberon1703]

Are those black Fin iron or brass?

[@riderericsson]

steel

[@librarymark]

i'd like to see the output on a scope. Sounds like quite bit of ripple to me.

[@stag143]

first time i see this model i used to see the russian type with radiator all around ... please i want to look inside the tube better... thanks for the video

[@PeterMilanovski]

Are they using heat pipes to get the heat from the centre of the tube, out to be Peltier devices? It sure looks like it! There are many products that supposedly are using heat pipes like graphics card for computers, they look like heat pipes and everyone calls them heat pipes but heat pipes they are not! They are simply solid rod's of copper or brass or something else, a proper heat pipe can transfer heat extremely fast, it would take this kerosene lamp a very long time to meet it's operating voltage target if it wasn't using heat pipes! Things were built better back then!

[@riderericsson]

There are no heat pipes. The rods just above the flame are made of two dissimilar metal alloys which generate a small current when heated (thermocouples).

[@PeterMilanovski]

@@riderericsson ohhhh! So they are the thermocouples! Interesting 🤔... They are quite small compared to what is available today.... No wonder why there's only 100mW of current available.... Well that explains it then... Their shape resembled heat pipes! And I was thinking.... Look at that, they were using heat pipes from back then to efficiently transfer the heat to the thermocouples which are probably mounted on the cooling fins! Well that's not the case, thanks for clarifying that! I believe that the thermocouple is the most underrated technology to date.. there's a lot more that can be done with those things and being solid state, they last a very long time....

[@nathanwoodruff9422]

The problem of why it was no longer sold is because of the carbon dioxide output in a closed room.

[@riderericsson]

Nonsense. Similar kerosene lamps were used in homes for nearly 100 years before electricity became widespread.

[@nathanwoodruff9422]

@@riderericsson _"Nonsense. Similar kerosene lamps were used in homes for nearly 100 years before electricity became widespread."_ Nonsense. Homes 100 years ago only dreamed about being as air tight as homes today. If you don't think that is the case, light up a kerosene lamp in your bedroom tonight. If you don't answer tomorrow morning, thank you for proving my point.

[@riderericsson]

Not a problem when the power is out. This unit was a part of a pre-production run sent to 3M employees and they never went into serial production--CO2 had nothing to do with it. Your body will produce more CO2 than a kerosene lamp.

[@nathanwoodruff9422]

@@riderericsson _"Your body will produce more CO2 than a kerosene lamp."_ Oil lamp or lantern: The safety of oil lamps is pretty much the same as for candles. Never leave it unattended, extinguish it before you go to sleep, keep it away from children and pets, and anything combustible. Use the highest quality, purest lamp oil without color or perfumes you can find. This will prevent harmful smoke and particles in the air you are breathing. Check to make sure it is rated as indoor safe. Only use it in a well ventilated area, and keep the extinguishers at the ready. Trim off any loose or out of place fibers before filling. Keep the reservoir ¾ full to preserve the life of the wick. Never fill the lamp with oil when it is lit. When you need to fill the lamp, follow the manufacture's directions as to how much. Do not over fill. Use a funnel and wipe up any spills immediately. Allow an hour for the wick to become fully saturated before lighting. After lighting, roll the wick down to expose only about a quarter of an inch of wick. You will get a better flame and reduce smoke.

[@laurencecope7083]

Just a bunch of thermocouples, you would be hard pressed to run a radio on 100mili Watts

[@riderericsson]

Not only thermocouples but a voltage boosting circuit (germanium transistor, capacitors, and coil) hidden in the lamp base. Easily powers a small transistor radio as you have seen in the video.

[@PeterMilanovski]

The pioneer one and two probes are powered by this same technology except that they are using radioactive products for their heat source, they both have since left our solar system and are still functioning to this day, albeit it at a reduced output in power due to the radioactive material loosing most of its thermal energy.... The probes are probably using more than 100mw of power but probably not much more.... 100mw doesn't sound impressive! Not much you can do with it these days, it was plenty good enough for way back then! I would imagine that if this product was made again today using the latest materials available, considering the current thermoelectric devices today are capable of 1.2W each, you won't need to many of them to charge an iPhone which only uses a 5W charger, my android phone unfortunately uses a 60W charger which will need a larger kerosene lamp... And that's a very handy device for when you are snowed in and the grid is down, this product with give you emergency backup power and heating at the same time! Still has a place in society today.... Still a relevant product today.... Pity no one makes it anymore.... Been thinking about adding some Peltier devices to my Coleman lantern....

[@Lissica1]

OMG man, buy an efficent solar pv setup and dont poison yourself by burning Kerosine inside your room!!! *facepalm*

[@riderericsson]

OMG man--it's preserving old technology, not for everyday use! Poison, really?

[@STOP_RIGHT_THERE_CRIMINAL_SCUM]

He's just showing that he owns it and it's working retro tech, he doesnt need it for the fucking radio