Can Stove Charger

by adriane_macer in Circuits > Electronics

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Can Stove Charger

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Wood stove using soda can can be easily done. It is portable or can be made within 5 minutes.
In this project, we will add material that can generate power using temperature difference. It called thermoelectric generator/cooler. For this example, I used the thermoelectric cooler (TEC1 12706).

Let's proceed to the instructions.

Prepare the Materials

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* empty soda can
* peltier tile (TEC or TEG)
* heat sink
* cardboard or paper
* cable tie
* voltage booster 1volts - 5 volts input with 5 volts output.

https://www.amazon.com/DC-DC-Converter-Boost-Module-Charger/dp/B00P7QARTQ

* thick wire for stove support
* plastic bottle cap enough to shelter the power/voltage booster

Prepare the Stove

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Cut the upper part of the soda can.

Flatten the one side of the can to have good contact with the peltier tile.

Make holes 4 holes at the bottom and 4 holes at the top. Don't punch any hole on side where the peltier tile is located. To avoid burning of the tile while using the stove.

Place the Generator

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Place the peltier tile on the flatten side of the can. Take note, the hot side of the tile should be place on the side of the can. Hot side will recognize by the labeling of the tiles. The side with label is the cold side the other side is the hot side.

Place the heat sink on the cold side of the tile.

To support these parts, place cardboard or paper before placing the cable tie to tighten the peltier tile and heat sink. The cardboard will avoid the cable tie to contact with the can.

Connect the peltier tile to the power booster. The red wire connect to the positive and the black is to the negative.

Add the Booster's Case

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Cut the bottle cap to accommodate the power booster. Then place the booster.

Add Stand Support

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Place the thick wire between the two heat sinks as shown above. Then bend it to make the stove stable.

Now ready to burn.

Ready to Burn

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Fire the stove using paper, woods, tree stems, dry leaves or any combustible materials that fits in.

While the stove inside is burning, the temperature difference between the hot side and the cold side of the peltier tile is become higher. The higher the difference the higher the power it can generate. So that, charging of phone is possible.

Charge the phone or any gadgets with 5 volts minimum charging requirement.

Note:
This example, is less efficient due to small heat sink. The power generates only about 5 minutes as I observed.

Temporary solution is place a wet cloth or ice on the heat sink from time to time.

The permanent solution is to replace the heat sink with large size.

For better power use the TEG thermoelectric generator instead of TEC thermoelectric cooler. The TEG is designed for the power generation. And the TEC is for cooler. But either of these can be used.

Measurements:
* Can stove alone:
-> 5 volts regulated output.
-> 113 mA maximum current

* Placing ice to the heat sink:
-> 5 volts regulated output.
-> 187 mA maximum current.