Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on May 22, 2018 6:28:24 GMT
OK so there are "ecofans" about and despite being completely pointless they are very popular. I feel a much more useful unit would be a stove powered lighting system. It must be possible but I am not aware of a reasonably priced item. I'd like to have a play with a teg module or two - may even be able to charge the phone with the fire I reckon. Some interesting items about but too expensive just to play with. DIY seems better. This one is interesting but $70 is too much. tecteg.com/product/thermo-electric-led-light-283/£135 m.ebay.co.uk/itm/ThermLight-Heat-Powered-Thermo-Electric-Light-/232133679707Surely if a stove fan is about £30 then a light could be a similar price.
|
|
|
Post by naughtyfox on May 22, 2018 6:44:07 GMT
OK so there are "ecofans" about and it's no surprise they are very popular as they work pretty well. "Surely if a stove fan is about £30 then a light could be a similar price." - the amount of heat coming off a stove should be enough to light up the whole boat with LED lights methinks.
|
|
|
Post by kris on May 22, 2018 6:57:10 GMT
Tegs are interesting but still too exspensive. You would need to have the cool side attached to the hull somehow for them to be effective on a boat.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on May 22, 2018 7:13:02 GMT
Yes, either air piped from the area below the floor or even better would be water but then you need the electric for the pump or fan.
The stove itself is pretty close to side of boat as well.
I was thinking that this very small stove I have fitted will tend to have a high hotplate temperature so might be workable.
and oddly it came with a spare top plate lid which I could make into a dedicated teg which would be removable and just use the other plate if it doesn't work. Its a cast iron disc about 4 inch diameter. Stove body temp estimated to be around 250-300'C when running.
Eta I hadn't thought much about it before but I guess the fan itself on a stove fan is helping to create the cold side, something which would not happen with a lamp.
|
|
|
Post by JohnV on May 22, 2018 7:40:19 GMT
cheapest source would probably be one of those small (and crappy) coolboxes .... find a second hand one for sale ...... loads on ebay £10 to £20 for fair sized ones
RS do a seebeck for £45 ........ eco fans use the heatsink to provide the temp difference and the fan to keep it cool could you not use something similar, a big heatsink and just a proportion of the power used to drive a small fan
|
|
|
Post by kris on May 22, 2018 7:49:37 GMT
|
|
|
Post by JohnV on May 22, 2018 8:37:14 GMT
looks interesting Kris ..... but I have a feeling the price could be eyewatering
|
|
|
Post by kris on May 22, 2018 8:40:51 GMT
looks interesting Kris ..... but I have a feeling the price could be eyewatering Yes I agree the price is the limiting factor. But it's not long ago solar panels where very exspensive.
|
|
|
Post by JohnV on May 22, 2018 9:20:03 GMT
looks interesting Kris ..... but I have a feeling the price could be eyewatering Yes I agree the price is the limiting factor. But it's not long ago solar panels where very exspensive. I keep looking to see if anyone is making a moderate size Stirling engine since the demise of Whisper gen. There is a Swedish firm (Iresol AB) producing a retrofit 10Kw model but I have not been able to find out any idea of the cost ....... it's probably academic anyway as I expect it to be way above my pockets. Maybe as the world changes they might become more competitive There are a lot of things out there that if they could be produced for a sensible price would be a great boon to boaters ....... I envy Peterboat with his Whispergen
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on May 22, 2018 10:32:07 GMT
looks interesting Kris ..... but I have a feeling the price could be eyewatering Yes I agree the price is the limiting factor. But it's not long ago solar panels where very exspensive. Solar came down partly because of the mass market created by government subsidies encouraging people to put them on their houses. I don't think the same will happen with teg. It is too expensive currently but if it worked it would be a very satisfactory way to generate power on a modest and simple off grid boat in winter
|
|
|
Post by kris on May 22, 2018 10:32:34 GMT
Yes I agree the price is the limiting factor. But it's not long ago solar panels where very exspensive. I keep looking to see if anyone is making a moderate size Stirling engine since the demise of Whisper gen. There is a Swedish firm (Iresol AB) producing a retrofit 10Kw model but I have not been able to find out any idea of the cost ....... it's probably academic anyway as I expect it to be way above my pockets. Maybe as the world changes they might become more competitive There are a lot of things out there that if they could be produced for a sensible price would be a great boon to boaters ....... I envy Peterboat with his Whispergen I find with these thinks the only way is to make your own in a make do and mend kind of way. For the tegs I looked into it before you can by the basic units relatively cheap but to get the wattage you have to make stacks of them and the related charging circuit plus obviously the cooling side of the equation. But if you where prepared to make your own stacks then you could build something reasonably cheaply.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on May 22, 2018 10:34:13 GMT
cheapest source would probably be one of those small (and crappy) coolboxes .... find a second hand one for sale ...... loads on ebay £10 to £20 for fair sized ones RS do a seebeck for £45 ........ eco fans use the heatsink to provide the temp difference and the fan to keep it cool could you not use something similar, a big heatsink and just a proportion of the power used to drive a small fan I was wondering about a rigid pipe coming from the floor with a little PC fan in it- to provide a flow of cool air from under the floor. Might be worth a play. Thanks for the cool box suggestion.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on May 22, 2018 10:35:41 GMT
I keep looking to see if anyone is making a moderate size Stirling engine since the demise of Whisper gen. There is a Swedish firm (Iresol AB) producing a retrofit 10Kw model but I have not been able to find out any idea of the cost ....... it's probably academic anyway as I expect it to be way above my pockets. Maybe as the world changes they might become more competitive There are a lot of things out there that if they could be produced for a sensible price would be a great boon to boaters ....... I envy Peterboat with his Whispergen I find with these thinks the only way is to make your own in a make do and mend kind of way. For the tegs I looked into it before you can by the basic units relatively cheap but to get the wattage you have to make stacks of them and the related charging circuit plus obviously the cooling side of the equation. But if you where prepared to make your own stacks then you could build something reasonably cheaply. I think running a couple of LED lights would be a good starter project for diy. There is a direct correlation between stove use and lighting as the stove is generally getting more use on cold dark evenings.
|
|
|
Post by kris on May 22, 2018 10:38:33 GMT
I find with these thinks the only way is to make your own in a make do and mend kind of way. For the tegs I looked into it before you can by the basic units relatively cheap but to get the wattage you have to make stacks of them and the related charging circuit plus obviously the cooling side of the equation. But if you where prepared to make your own stacks then you could build something reasonably cheaply. I think running a couple of LED lights would be a good starter project for diy. There is a direct correlation between stove use and lighting as the stove is generally getting more use on cold dark evenings. Yes I agree it would be a good starter project. But I'd buy the tegs new, don't get them from a cool box. The individual units are cheap, you just have to make stacks out of them to get any real power.
|
|
|
Post by kris on May 22, 2018 10:56:05 GMT
|
|