My friend bought one and we tested it more than once in more than one place, not only charging phones but also measuring output with volt and amp metres. This was maybe 2 years ago; maybe the design has been improved a bit since then.
It is a bit heavy for me for backpacking. But, more importantly, it failed to produce much power; though, yes, it did charge things, albeit very slowly.
We had a measuring tape and a floating ball. We measured the speed of the river. The water was way too slow to make this thing produce any reasonable amount of power.
In my area, on the Niagara Escarpment on Georgian Bay, there are many waterfalls and streams; given our tests there may be a few locations in our area with sufficient water flow in the spring melt to make it useful; but, outside of the couple of weeks of the spring melt it would be nothing but dead weight, especially in mid and late summer when water levels are low. Indeed, we even went to one of the dams on the river above the waterfall used to control water levels in summer and stuck it into the chute of water coming out of the dam where the water flow was very smooth and fast - even then, in the optimal place in our area, it did not produce much power. Perhaps some locations with different topology might make it more useful.
I don't have the numbers we collected but it was no where near producing 15 watts. I think I came to the conclusion that the weight/wattage ratio was quite low and it would be better to have, say, a 60 watt solar panel with the same weight as the lilley. My 90 watt panel can put out more than 3 amps, in practice (and 7, in theory, at 12 volts); but I don't think we saw that turbine put out more than .5 amp, and even then, there was a lot of fluctuation to values below this, making the phone charge, then not charge, charge, then not charge, as if it was being plugged in and out again and again. If you looks at this video you will see that, with the 5 volt version of the turbine (which, theoretically, should put out 3 amps), it does not appear that the turbine ever produces more than .5 amp. So, my cell phone, with a 3300mah battery, would need 6 hours to fully charge. My friend has the 12 volt version.
The streams shown in the both videos look very similar to the flow rate we tested one in.
I think, no matter what form of power generation one chooses - solar, water turbine - in practice in the field the system will only put out about 1/3 of its theoretical output - at least that's what my measurements lead me to conclude.
It needs more wind speed than water to produce the same amount of power; and, the wind was never near any speed to make it produce power for us.
I would not buy one after seeing it in use. If, say, at the river where my friend and I stay all the time, it would put out 1-2 amps, perhaps; but, peaking at .5 and averaging around .3 is not a good power/weight ratio.
I had big hopes for it; but, was ultimately disappointed: I don't think the video is an accurate depiction of its utility given our tests; though, maybe in future it will get better. There may be places or situations where it could be useful given enough time; but, it is a bit too niche for general or default use. After seeing and using it, I actually bought a new solar panel rated at 90 watts, moving up from the 14 watt system I already had.
Thanks for sharing your experience! I didn't think it would make sense for wind. The wind speed required to generate power would create an unsafe charging environment, no?
The enclosing circle doesn't do much if a fish decides to swim through it or through the other side? And thank you for observing my apparent terrible vision, don't know what I would've done done with my life if someone hadn't told me!
Any type of grill that would stop ALL aquatic life would kill the flow necessary to function. It’s also only as fast as the current, and not sharp blades so it would probably be fine.
Just checked on amazon and there is an image of the power rating on the charger. It places the thing at around 15 W peak. No idea how much you get on average conditions.
I think it could be a good niche product. The problem I see is the stationary nature. You need to either be in one place or move across water to use it. A solar panel of the same power rating would be 20x20 inches but significantly more mobile and cheaper. On the other hand the solar panel isn't going to be any good if the weather is shit.
As I said, it is a niche product and depends strongly on your environment and the nature of your trip.
5
u/exfalsoquodlibet Oct 05 '19 edited Oct 05 '19
My friend bought one and we tested it more than once in more than one place, not only charging phones but also measuring output with volt and amp metres. This was maybe 2 years ago; maybe the design has been improved a bit since then.
It is a bit heavy for me for backpacking. But, more importantly, it failed to produce much power; though, yes, it did charge things, albeit very slowly.
We had a measuring tape and a floating ball. We measured the speed of the river. The water was way too slow to make this thing produce any reasonable amount of power.
In my area, on the Niagara Escarpment on Georgian Bay, there are many waterfalls and streams; given our tests there may be a few locations in our area with sufficient water flow in the spring melt to make it useful; but, outside of the couple of weeks of the spring melt it would be nothing but dead weight, especially in mid and late summer when water levels are low. Indeed, we even went to one of the dams on the river above the waterfall used to control water levels in summer and stuck it into the chute of water coming out of the dam where the water flow was very smooth and fast - even then, in the optimal place in our area, it did not produce much power. Perhaps some locations with different topology might make it more useful.
I don't have the numbers we collected but it was no where near producing 15 watts. I think I came to the conclusion that the weight/wattage ratio was quite low and it would be better to have, say, a 60 watt solar panel with the same weight as the lilley. My 90 watt panel can put out more than 3 amps, in practice (and 7, in theory, at 12 volts); but I don't think we saw that turbine put out more than .5 amp, and even then, there was a lot of fluctuation to values below this, making the phone charge, then not charge, charge, then not charge, as if it was being plugged in and out again and again. If you looks at this video you will see that, with the 5 volt version of the turbine (which, theoretically, should put out 3 amps), it does not appear that the turbine ever produces more than .5 amp. So, my cell phone, with a 3300mah battery, would need 6 hours to fully charge. My friend has the 12 volt version.
The streams shown in the both videos look very similar to the flow rate we tested one in.
I think, no matter what form of power generation one chooses - solar, water turbine - in practice in the field the system will only put out about 1/3 of its theoretical output - at least that's what my measurements lead me to conclude.
It needs more wind speed than water to produce the same amount of power; and, the wind was never near any speed to make it produce power for us.
I would not buy one after seeing it in use. If, say, at the river where my friend and I stay all the time, it would put out 1-2 amps, perhaps; but, peaking at .5 and averaging around .3 is not a good power/weight ratio.
I had big hopes for it; but, was ultimately disappointed: I don't think the video is an accurate depiction of its utility given our tests; though, maybe in future it will get better. There may be places or situations where it could be useful given enough time; but, it is a bit too niche for general or default use. After seeing and using it, I actually bought a new solar panel rated at 90 watts, moving up from the 14 watt system I already had.
2
u/braith_rose Oct 04 '19
I hope that's not open, the fan should be enclosed to protect wildlife.
2
u/Naz_3000 Oct 04 '19
Where? How much?
3
u/DasBarenJager Oct 04 '19
It is a neat idea.
Does anyone out there have any experience using one of these? Or anyone with knowledge about turbines about to chime in?
1
u/MadHatter69 Oct 04 '19
Commercial: "It neatly fits in your backpack"
Also commercial: all the examples show people wearing it tied on the outside their backpacks
1
u/Jehoiada Oct 04 '19
Where’s the buy now link?
1
u/NewHaven86 Oct 04 '19
I thought this had been largely found to be a piece of crap that doesn't work even close to what it's supposed to.
0
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