Camping energy source project

Niall OB

Hi, I'm Niall and I'm a 3rd year college student currently undertaking a design project. The product that my group and I have come up with is a portable turbine that can be used for camping trips. It's a light weight device that will weigh 6kgs roughly and has a power output of about 600W. This product would be able to be used to power laptops/phone chargers/radios/speakers/mini fridge or any other electrical device you might have need for on a camping trip. So I'm just wondering does this product appeal to anyone, and if it does could you let me know and possibly give me feedback as to whether or not you'd be interested in something along the lines of this? I'll get back to you with prices once that has been worked out but until then if anyone could give me some feedback that would be great!

spaceHopper

it would be great for camper vans, what is itpowerd by and are we talking 220 or 12C DC

ltdslipdiff

Oooh I don't know...the whole idea of camping is to get away from the lap-tops and phone chargers isn't it? Its all about cooking beans in tins and eating ashy sausages !!! maybe better to angle it towards the likes of outdoor workers like Site Surveyors, Wildlife photographers etc etc. Saw something similar done, it may have been on ebay.com
Best of luck with it !!!

Roen

Could have applications for base camps/expeditions. How is it powered though? Getting a 6Kg device somewhere is one thing. Getting the fuel to power it is another.
Am curious nonetheless. Can you provide us with more detail Niall?
Ronan.

Donny5

Roen wrote: »

Could have applications for base camps/expeditions. How is it powered though? Getting a 6Kg device somewhere is one thing. Getting the fuel to power it is another.
Am curious nonetheless. Can you provide us with more detail Niall?
Ronan.

Well, since he says turbine, it's either a wind turbine, water turbine or jet turbine, and since B & C aren't very practical, I think it's safe to assume it's the former. At 6Kg, though, it would be useless to anyone except car campers, and they already have a reliable 12VDC source.

CianRyan

Donny5 wrote: »

Well, since he says turbine, it's either a wind turbine, water turbine or jet turbine, and since B & C aren't very practical, I think it's safe to assume it's the former. At 6Kg, though, it would be useless to anyone except car campers, and they already have a reliable 12VDC source.

Water would work if you were by a river, no?
More reliable than wind too.

sparrowcar

Donny5 wrote: »

Well, since he says turbine, it's either a wind turbine, water turbine or jet turbine, and since B & C aren't very practical, I think it's safe to assume it's the former. At 6Kg, though, it would be useless to anyone except car campers, and they already have a reliable 12VDC source.

This

It's a nice idea but can't see any practical use other than car camping and even then what if there is no wind/water when you need it.

Donny5

CianRyan wrote: »

Water would work if you were by a river, no?
More reliable than wind too.

You could maybe get some power from a water wheel, but you need a higher head than a river could provide for a true turbine.

Niall OB

Sorry, I thought I said in the first post, it's a wind turbine but not in the usual windmill design. It's designed in a way that it will catch wind from any direction, so that even if its a small breeze it will generate power so it can be used in most locations.

I'll keep posting up with more specifications as I get them but the design is a solid reliable one.

Donny5

Niall OB wrote: »

Sorry, I thought I said in the first post, it's a wind turbine but not in the usual windmill design. It's designed in a way that it will catch wind from any direction, so that even if its a small breeze it will generate power so it can be used in most locations.

I'll keep posting up with more specifications as I get them but the design is a solid reliable one.

So it's a giromill or darrieus turbine?

mcgratheoin

Why not think along the lines of boats as well - A good, cheap reliable wind turbine for keeping batteries charged would be something I'd consider investing in...

fenris

Maybe include a mechanism to turn it by alternative means.

Some thing modular e.g. decouple the wind turbine, hook up a hand crank, bicycle, friction wheel etc. this then becomes a potential line of accessories.
I think to be effective you have to be able to scavenge whatever energy is available and use it to turn the mechanism, so just make it easy to couple onto.

Some kind of battery pack would also be needed to smooth out the the power delivery. You only think that Ireland is windy until you try and fly a kite, sail a boat or use wind power!

apoeiguq3094y

Niall OB wrote: »

Sorry, I thought I said in the first post, it's a wind turbine but not in the usual windmill design. It's designed in a way that it will catch wind from any direction, so that even if its a small breeze it will generate power so it can be used in most locations.

I'll keep posting up with more specifications as I get them but the design is a solid reliable one.

6kg is a lot to carry, if your not aiming at the car campers - where weight wouldn't really be a big issue - it would be a great idea if it was modular so if you had a party of 3 you could take about 2kg each.

It really is a lot of extra weight so i don't know who you'd be aiming at. Your average recreational camper isn't going to haul this thing and a laptop unless they need it for a specific purpose. It might be good for wildlife filming & photography. Bear in mind though, that 6kg of extra batteries would go a long way, so it might be easier to bring batteries instead of this.

Another thing, when your camping - you usually try and find the most sheltered spot possible, which would be working against your needs for the generator.

Niall OB

It's will be 12vDC. And Donny5 it's based off a design similar to those turbines but modified to be more effective for this particular use. apoeiguq3094y the turbine itself can be taken apart into smaller lighter sections so that one person isn't left carrying the 6kgs themselves.

Thanks for all the suggestions and questions by the way so far too its a big help.

spaceHopper

Niall OB wrote: »

It's will be 12vDC. And Donny5 it's based off a design similar to those turbines but modified to be more effective for this particular use. apoeiguq3094y the turbine itself can be taken apart into smaller lighter sections so that one person isn't left carrying the 6kgs themselves.

Thanks for all the suggestions and questions by the way so far too its a big help.

Have you seen this
http://www.maplin.co.uk/50w-telescopic-vertical-axis-wind-turbine-396269

Also is there are battery or large capacitor to level out lows. How are you able to get 600W from just 6KG unit, that's 50 amps!

apoeiguq3094y

spaceHopper wrote: »

Have you seen this
http://www.maplin.co.uk/50w-telescopic-vertical-axis-wind-turbine-396269

Also is there are battery or large capacitor to level out lows. How are you able to get 600W from just 6KG unit, that's 50 amps!

Isn't your average laptop charger around the 100W mark? is 600 overkill?

Its good that it will be modular - as long as its easy to put back together, and you can do so in the rain.

Best of luck with it. I had to do an engineering design project on a machine that separated different sizes of gravel - it was incredibly boring.

djdrobins

The design of the 600W / 500W is that with power loss due to inefficiencies etc as well as it not possibly running at full power all the time that it was designed to supply just under 300W:

Phone Charger (x2) = 6W
Laptop Charger (x1) = 120W
Radio/iPod dock (x1) = 9W
Lighting LED (x3) = 12W
Mini Fridge (x1) = 70W
Water Pump (x1) = 50W
Total -- ~267W
The max voltage will need to be 24V DC, using a Permanent Magnet.
The above appliances will more then likely never be on and pulling energy all at the same time - but designed for the possibility.

The Market for this device was concived for the Camping / Caravan sector, but as it has progressed so has the applications and thus it will only be limited to its moveability - which at the initial design of 6kg (Max) will limit it.
It will be de-mountable and able to be taken apart for re-locating etc.
The Base will be one part with the blade structure and assembly removeable - this will also allow for future upgrades to alternative blade designs and possible damages or repair.

What would be an expected price option for something like this?
The PM generator is coming in expensive and the different blade options can be dear too - ranging from a fibre glass to a standard plastic to other molded options. The initial cost might be in the range (Don't quote me on this) about €400.


It will also have the possibilty to plug into the grid system which will allow for any unused power to be fed to the grid and a payment reduction in ESB Bills. If then this was pruchased and placed on a domestic house it would have a payback of a few years (A few [1-2 Years] as the possible outputs will be location and ESB rate dependant)

theTinker

A couple of questions and suggestions that might trigger some ideas!

If its a wind turbine(or modular design which allows wind turbine), It would be great for QUICKLY throwing it up on top of a car/van when parked. So basically when camped, parked for any length of time in the woods, lunch. It could be quickly set up top of the car/van to gain the use of higher wind speeds at height.

Its probably crazy but an extendable pole would be great for this? even a meter or 2 would have a great impact on performance. haha maybe some advance version where its always on top of the car/van and a little switch raises the pole from rest mode to active mode (orientated horizontally in rest mode). It would be a significant power gather since cars are usually parked the vast majority of the time!

If your making it so it could be a water and wind turbine. I think a simple 2 series wire up would help. wind would be easier to create at least 12VDC, with water being harder to gaint that voltage for the same stator. So perhaps a simple switch putting 2 phases of power into series(water) or parell(water) would suit? A small recitifier and circuit could easily smoothen out the power i think to the correct voltages if it overshoots.

Its a great idea. Fair play.

theTinker

I dont think it can be used to plug back into the grid without having the ESB examine the installation etc.

I think it would be great for potentially powering a water heater or air heater while on a camping trip.

For inductive loads like that, it wouldnt even need a constant supply of power which would ideally be suited for wind on the go! high wind, tea gets made faster low wind all nite? A nice little bit of safe heat into your camp/van without risking your battery in your van etc.

tomc

This might prove very interesting to Scouting groups as we often have group camps with large numbers of people, often have the requirement for charging walkie-talkies, phones and laptops etc.
There may also be interest from the boating community who would like to keet their batteries topped up when tied up and no shore power available?

TomC

Gillo

I'm pretty sure there is a caravan forum it may be worth getting the thread moved over. Most people here would be hiking, I use a "Power monkey" for my phone, it's basicallly a battery you plug into the phone to recharge it.
Other than a phone, the only other electronics I'd have on the hills are a GPS and head torch, a spare set of AA batteries does the job. The 6kg weight is a massive factor unless you are car camping or leaving it at a base camp on an expedition.

That said its a great idea, I just think you are in the wrong market here. Caravaning, car camping, sailing, possibley someone who bird watches or hunts and could set them up in a hut, possibly some with an allotment and shed, the other market is as an emergency power source (not an issue in Ireland but many other parts of the world).

If its a new design and it works really well, I'd advise taking out a patent, if you are really lucky we'll see you on dragons den!

Either way good lunch with the project.

Gillo

Hey OP

I just came across this today and thought you may find it an interesting alternative to look at, the site doesn't give a lot of information on the technology thats used but I've no background in engineering so it may be straightforward enough.

http://www.biolitestove.com/BioLite.html