Alternative to solar chargers?

andymiller

Mini wind turbine:

http://www.expansys.com/d.aspx?i=162001

From the blurb:

Description
The Hymini is a handheld device which uses wind power to generate electricity.

Generated electricity* is used to charge an internal 1200mA/h lithium ion polymer rechargeable battery. Mobile phones, mp3 players, digital cameras, and any other 5 Volt device can be recharged from this portable power bank.
The Hymini can also be recharged from the mains electricity supply (via an adapter).

Wind Power
As you can tell by looking at this photograph of this handheld device, the wind turbine is very small. From the calculation of wind power we know that the power output of a wind generator is proportional to the area swept by the rotor, and proportional to the cube of the wind speed. Therefore, in order to generate any useful electricity with a wind turbine of this size, high wind speeds are essential. Internal battery charging starts when the wind speed reaches 5mph, but it is recommended that the Hymini is fitted to a bicycle, car, or even on the arm while jogging in order to increase the speed at which the air hits the turbine. The maximum charging wind speed is 40mph - no extra power will be converted above that speed. Peak power output for the turbine is 1 Watt.

The manufacturers (MINIWIZ Sustainable Energy Dev. Ltd.) claim that if Hymini is mounted on a bicycle or jogger for one hour, enough electricity will be generated to provide 15 minutes of mobile phone talk time, or to take 50 digital photographs.
The Hymini internal battery can output 5 Volts DC at a current of 200-850mA. With a full internal battery, an iPod can be charged in one hour via the Hymini USB charging connection



Full-size side view:



Handlebar mounting kit:



Though they also do an armband which might be a more practical alternative is handlebar space is at a premium

Waderider

There is a favourable review in this months PC Pro :!: magazine for this device, where a journalist used it strapped to a commute bike.

Crapaud

Waderider wrote:

There is a favourable review in this months PC Pro :!: magazine for this device, where a journalist used it strapped to a commute bike.

Is this the article?

It looks just the dab for touring when you can't charge up camera batteries / mobile. Pity it's no use for powering a laptop. It's not that expensive - I'd be tempted to try one out.

I've got a Freeplay Ranger wind-up / solar-powered radio that runs all year on one charge from the mains. The rest of the time it sits on the windowsill to charge up on solar. It's a great wee thing.

HYmini

Waderider

That's the one, the magazine is normally spot on with gadget and PC reviews.

nwallace

On a bike, with a hub dynamo, what would be more efficient?

vernonlevy

Doesn't the hub dynamo need additional electronics to supply DC?

GyatsoLa

So far as I know, none of the better quality hub dynamos permit their use for charging batteries, but I've seen at least one successful home-brew attempt at it, and so far as I know its very efficient.

http://www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/page ... 68041&v=Fp

The link above gives what seems to be some good instructions on how to go about doing it.

My guess is that a dynamo based system would be the most efficent in terms of weight/aerodynamics, etc., but thats just a guess. It would be interesting if someone had the skills to do a proper comparison.

Special K

I have a solar charger. It is one of these:

http://www.solartechnology.co.uk/products/solar_chargers/freeloader.asp

I wouldn't advise getting one without adjusting your expectations to the lowest possible setting. I say this because the item I received was badly packaged, badly put together (not all the bits stick together as they should).

It's comically bad, barely above the quality of decent Christmas cracker gifts. There are pictures on the website of people in far flung places with these bits of kit, and yet I strongly suspect that mine will last no more than one two week tour.

In terms of performance it has managed to half charge an iPod. Not impressed or convinced that it is worth it's weight in functionality (surely the measure by which all tour gizmos and gadgets should be measured).

Sorry to be cynical, but I just don't have £30 to waste, and now that I have aI feel a bit stupid and naive for doing so.

andymiller

Special K wrote:

I have a solar charger. It is one of these:

http://www.solartechnology.co.uk/products/solar_chargers/freeloader.asp

I wouldn't advise getting one without adjusting your expectations to the lowest possible setting. I say this because the item I received was badly packaged, badly put together (not all the bits stick together as they should).

It's comically bad, barely above the quality of decent Christmas cracker gifts. There are pictures on the website of people in far flung places with these bits of kit, and yet I strongly suspect that mine will last no more than one two week tour.

In terms of performance it has managed to half charge an iPod. Not impressed or convinced that it is worth it's weight in functionality (surely the measure by which all tour gizmos and gadgets should be measured).

Sorry to be cynical, but I just don't have £30 to waste, and now that I have aI feel a bit stupid and naive for doing so.

Thanks for the warning - I had been looking at these - though I had been bargaining on needing to get the additional solar panels. Looks like I'm going to have to spring for the HyMini turbine.

alfablue

I just picked up one of these from Glowgadgets on eBay. Cost about £6 with postage. It has an integrated 1350mah battery (c/w 1000 on the freeloader). It may not be much use, but not a big investment to find out.



I'll report back once I receive and test it.

andymiller

alfablue wrote:

I just picked up one of these from Glowgadgets on eBay. Cost about £6 with postage. It has an integrated 1350mah battery (c/w 1000 on the freeloader). It may not be much use, but not a big investment to find out.



I'll report back once I receive and test it.

You may need a bit more power than that. I've read that the Freeloader works reasonably well if you get a Supercharger as well - this gives a combined total of 2.5W. I suspect 1W or 1.35W is simply too little power unless you are somewhere really sunny.

alfablue

yes, you are probably right, I also have an iGo Trip (it takes 2 AA rechargeables and various tips for different devices) so I reckon I might get a charge from the solar gizmo every 2nd day, maybe. But at the price I couldn't resist it!

nwallace

vernonlevy wrote:

Doesn't the hub dynamo need additional electronics to supply DC?

Dynamos put out DC, Alternators put out AC.
So no a Hub Dynamo would not need rectified, a Hub Alternator would though.

There are plenty of options for 12V rectification due to the classic Car/Motorbike market being largely in favour of 12V, Alternators and Negative Earth. Whether or not they coudl work with a hub alternator I don't know.

andrew_s

Despite the name, hub dynamos are in fact alternators, output AC, and need a rectifier to supply DC.

Rectifying the AC isn't the problem with using a hub dynamo for charging. The problem is that the market isn't big enough for someone to have come up with a suitably packaged off the shelf solution. Your market is limited to cyclist with hub dynamos who go touring, whilst there's loads of general campers etc who might buy a solar charger.

If you look, there are a fair number of home-build circuits available.

Magnus Thor

I know someone here in Iceland who has built a charger for batteries powered by a SON hubdynamo.
Here are some pictures I found of the guy building the prototype:

http://pub17.bravenet.com/photocenter/a ... album=2901



Magnus Thor
Iceland

onewallfree

I've just got back from a two-week camping tour with a Brunton i6 solar panel with a 12V cigarette lighter -> USB adapter. I was using it to keep an iPod Nano, Garmin Vista and an iPhone running. It's plenty for the iPod Nano and the GPS, but doesn't really provide enough juice for the iPhone.

Western European midday sun is not enough to get above about 75% charge on any device, though you can get round this by charging a USB battery pack with the panel and then charging the devices from the battery pack.

At any rate, I've just ordered a box to charge USB devices from my hub dynamo. I'm no electrician, but the way I understand it, 10 mph will get me the same output I'd get from the panel under ideal conditions.

The combination should keep my iPhone running along with my other gadgets.

rjh299

I just bought a Power Monkey Explorer brand new off ebay (it was still sealed in manufacturers plastic packing) but it was broke out of the box, so don't know how good it is yet. Looks like it could be pretty handy, with the option of main, usb or solar charge. Sending it back to power monkey lot and they're gonna replace with new one. Anyone else got one of these?

deal

The sunlinq range of foldable solar chargers are pretty damn good, available in 6.5W, 12W and 25W versions

daviddd

deal wrote:

The sunlinq range of foldable solar chargers are pretty damn good, available in 6.5W, 12W and 25W versions

I took 2 x 6.5 watt Sunlinq folding chargers (cost me about £150) for my year cycling around Oz and they were an abject failure. They just didn't work, and I tried everything to get them going to no avail. In the end I bought a rapid (15-minute) intelligent charger for 2 AA (or AAA) batteries - very small and light - and just stuck batteries on to charge wherever I could; at roadhouses, caravan parks etc. Cost me about $30A (£17) and never without power. I did have plenty of spare 2600maH batteries too.

pneumatic

Just don't go for the wind-up charger that we took with us on tour a few years ago. When my mate got it out somewhere in deepest France to try and charge his mobile, a crowd gathered instantly. Things got worse as he found that the most convenient position to operate it was in his lap under the cafe table at which we were sitting.

As he thrashed away, two wristed under the table, an even larger crowd gathered and uttered astonished gasps.

Eventually, the barman appeared in haste with a phone charger and offered to plug him in!!

BTW, he completely failed to raise enough charge to operate the phone before he was utterly exhausted and we were all totally humiliated. :oops:

alfablue

rjh299 wrote:

I just bought a Power Monkey Explorer brand new off ebay (it was still sealed in manufacturers plastic packing) but it was broke out of the box, so don't know how good it is yet. Looks like it could be pretty handy, with the option of main, usb or solar charge. Sending it back to power monkey lot and they're gonna replace with new one. Anyone else got one of these?

Yes I have one. The battery is really good and will do about 3 phone charges (kept me going all weekend, well, from Thursday till monday at Glastonbury, with only one mains charge before I went. I haven't really used the solar charger yet, but I reckon it would take about 2 days to fully charge the battery so may just keep up with the phone's requirements. I also have a £5 single AA phone charger and take numerous charged NiMH 2900mah batteries so I always have an option even on longer tours.

deal

daviddd wrote:

deal wrote:

The sunlinq range of foldable solar chargers are pretty damn good, available in 6.5W, 12W and 25W versions

I took 2 x 6.5 watt Sunlinq folding chargers (cost me about £150) for my year cycling around Oz and they were an abject failure. They just didn't work, and I tried everything to get them going to no avail. In the end I bought a rapid (15-minute) intelligent charger for 2 AA (or AAA) batteries - very small and light - and just stuck batteries on to charge wherever I could; at roadhouses, caravan parks etc. Cost me about $30A (£17) and never without power. I did have plenty of spare 2600maH batteries too.

sorry to hear that, my 12w charger works great and i know a number of people with similar experiences, maybe there was a bad batch ?

tardington

I always turn the brightness on my phone screen right down - the battery life extension is enormous...

Sorry to hear the freeloader is a bit poor - a friend of mine just got given one. Not by me thankfully!

onewallfree

daviddd wrote:

deal wrote:

The sunlinq range of foldable solar chargers are pretty damn good, available in 6.5W, 12W and 25W versions

I took 2 x 6.5 watt Sunlinq folding chargers (cost me about £150) for my year cycling around Oz and they were an abject failure. They just didn't work, and I tried everything to get them going to no avail. In the end I bought a rapid (15-minute) intelligent charger for 2 AA (or AAA) batteries - very small and light - and just stuck batteries on to charge wherever I could; at roadhouses, caravan parks etc. Cost me about $30A (£17) and never without power. I did have plenty of spare 2600maH batteries too.

They look identical to the Brunton panel I have. In my experience, it depends what you connect the panel to. I tried one of those intelligent chargers with mains, 12V and USB power inputs and a USB power output in addition to room for 4 AA(A) batteries, and it was hopeless because the panel so rarely provided sufficient voltage. I picked up a simple 12V->USB converter (similar to below) and that charged USB devices just fine.

JeremyintheCzechRepublic

I think many of us like the idea of using solar energy to charge our various devices but realistically, how long are you likely to be away from a socket to charge up your gadgets?
http://www.jeremytaylor.eu

alfablue

I am thinking a dynamo hub will be the way forward for long tours, Busch & Muller amongst others make handlebar accessories to hold and charge various devices (eg: the E-Werk power supply / charger and the Universal Cockpit Adapter).

andymiller

Oh god this is an old thread!

I must admit that my experience with the HyMini hasn't been an unqualified success. You might be able to keep a phone charged up with it, but that would be about it.

I've now got a PedalPower Universal Cable. It looks like a very compact and flexible solution (at least for powering USB-chargeable devices and chargers. I plan to use it with a Powerchimp AA battery charger. Unfortunately I haven't yet had the chance to set it up and try it out.

It costs 92 Australian dollars (charger and dynamo extra of course). Delivery is by UPS which was lightning fast but also pretty expensive (49 AUD).

Jeremy - yep I think you're probably right - at least for Europe and North America. Touring in France, I've yet to find a campsite that didn't have an electric socket somewhere that I could use.

andrew_s

JeremyintheCzechRepublic wrote:

I think many of us like the idea of using solar energy to charge our various devices but realistically, how long are you likely to be away from a socket to charge up your gadgets?
http://www.jeremytaylor.eu

When you go cycle camping power supply is a problem.
If you camp at a commercial site there's usually somewhere, even if it's just a shaver socket in the toilet block. However, would you really want to leave your 705 GPS or camera there for a few hours whilst it charges? There's also the same security problem in a lot of hostels.

I've gone for the E-werk solution, since I use a dynohub anyway for lighting.
It only arrived yesterday, so I've not tried it out yet. It comes with USB socket & plugs, but for other things you need to rig up your own plugs. That will mean a visit to Maplins on Saturday. Plan A is to see how it works powering the Magicshine P7.
The longer term plan is to have another go at a DIY dynamo headlight using it as the power source. A triple XPG plus a power supply that will give 1 amp at 10V if you are going fast enough should make for a dandy 1000 lumen main beam light, switched with a Cyo dipped beam.

alfablue

I would be interested to hear your views on the E-werk once you have had a chance to use it.

andymiller

andrew_s wrote:

If you camp at a commercial site there's usually somewhere, even if it's just a shaver socket in the toilet block. However, would you really want to leave your 705 GPS or camera there for a few hours whilst it charges? There's also the same security problem in a lot of hostels.

True, but whether or not you go for a dynamo or a solar charger or whatever, it's worth going for devices that are powered from AA or AAA batteries where you can so that you have the option of leaving a charger in a campsite toilet without having to worry too much. A Powerchimp works well for charging iPods and other USB-chargeable devices. May be less help for cameras (though presumably most if not all have a removeable battery).

I appreciate this is not much help to someone who has already splashed out on a Garmin 705.

BigJimmyB

rjh299 wrote:

Anyone else got one of these?

No but this was the contender against the Freeloader.

Having seen comments on the FReeloader, the PowerMonkey looks fave. I'm not rushing out just though - keep us posted on your findings.