Hydro power

[James.]

http://www.getdatgadget.com/estream-...fits-backpack/

Came across this article and wondered if anyone here has used or experimented with hydro electric power? Either something bought or made? Seems like if you are in a place that has a lot of running water it would work better than solar power.

[Mrgedik]

Re: Hydro power

Hi; have you ever used solar energy in camping as a charger? I saw this www.unbouncepages.com/sun-harvester, did you heard about?

[Happy Joe]

Re: Hydro power

Played around with an old trolling motor as a generator, just for jollies... looked like it could be made to work pretty well with a large enough funnel to channel the water flow into the propeller and/or a better propeller.
Not certain that hydro is a good choice other than for a fixed, longer term camp. However as long as a there is a sufficient sized stream available and a flood does not take the equipment it ought to work.

I use solar because it is easier to deploy and deployable in more locations... although the shade/sun movement (I prefer shady campsites) make me babysit the panels (move them and readjust every hour or two).
Since increasing the stereo usage; it looks like I should upgrade to a much less portable pair of 50 watt panels... easy with solar less so with hydro.

For me scalability is important: increasing electricity demand in recent years is starting to impact my camping more and more... still resisting a generator (a microwave, fridge and an induction cooktop) though... probably should get back to basics...

Enjoy!

[Irate Mormon]

Re: Hydro power

Interesting, but one could (ahem) also leave the gadgets behind...

For the same weight you could pack some field guides. Trees, birds, whatever strikes your fancy. Edible plants? Medicinal herbs...

[Happy Joe]

Re: Hydro power

For less weight than 2 paperback books you can pack an e-book reader with a library of information ('though, IMO, its better to store information in your cranial repository).

IMO, "gadgets" are one of the basics of civilization, without them you would be left defenseless, cold and starving; naked in a wilderness... (not my idea of a good time!).
... everyone has a different comfort zone... just pick one...

Enjoy!

[toedtoes]

Re: Hydro power

Interesting, but one could (ahem) also leave the gadgets behind...

For the same weight you could pack some field guides. Trees, birds, whatever strikes your fancy. Edible plants? Medicinal herbs...

I actually find it interesting that as someone camping with an RV, I use less power than all these tent campers... :confused::confused::confused::confused:

[MacGyver]

Re: Hydro power

http://www.getdatgadget.com/estream-...fits-backpack/

Came across this article and wondered if anyone here has used or experimented with hydro electric power? Either something bought or made? Seems like if you are in a place that has a lot of running water it would work better than solar power.

Oh yeah - love gadgets. Love, love, love my toys. The hydro doohickey looks neat but strikes me as something with too many issues. First of all, it has moving parts which I would assume are prone to "not moving" one day. Then there are worries about needing a site right next to water, then getting the proper flow to keep the blades moving AND, unfortunately, worrying about it drifting off or even someone stealing it. The only real benefit I see to it is that it can run 24/7. I'm with Happy Joe on this one. Solar is silent, deployable pretty much anywhere and, other than having to chase the sun if you're at a shady site, a pretty simple setup. Another timely post for me because I'm just now starting to kick around ideas to make a cart to hold my battery bank and solar panels to make it easier to stay in the sun.

Hi; have you ever used solar energy in camping as a charger? I saw this www.unbouncepages.com/sun-harvester, did you heard about?

The requested URL was not found on this server. (?)

But, yeah, like a couple of other people on here, I'm definitely on board with solar for camping. Kind of funny that, so far, the only pic I have of my panels is a night shot.

[MacGyver]

Re: Hydro power

I actually find it interesting that as someone camping with an RV, I use less power than all these tent campers... :confused::confused::confused::confused:

You think I'm bad now, wait til I get my trailer. I see more solar panels in my future, lithium deep cycles (if they ever bother to come down to something more like a real price), most likely a generator, along with brackets for this and that attached to the camper.

[toedtoes]

Re: Hydro power

I've thought about solar (have a relative in the business, so I can get a good deal), but then I realize there is nothing I need it for. What I have works great for the stuff I want when i'm camping. The high use stuff (hair dryers, toasters, etc.) aren't missed by me at all. If I need air conditioning in the RV, then my campsite is too hot for my tastes to begin with. I can watch a movie or two on my laptop and recharge already, I can read my kindle and recharge already, I can play my mp3 and recharge already, I can power my speakers. My inside lights are powered already and my outside and emergency inside lights run off batteries (which i've only had to replace once in 3 years).

Unless I was staying out for an extended time (more than 8 days), i'm good. And if I'm out more than 8 days, I have to empty my dump tanks and refill my fresh water anyway, so i've hit my limit regardless of power.

[a65hoosier]

Re: Hydro power

I actually find it interesting that as someone camping with an RV, I use less power than all these tent campers... :confused::confused::confused:

lol. Not all of us tent campers toedtoes. I have very minimal electrical power needs for almost all of my car camp trips (I'll take a 21000mAh power bank to recharge my phone which is used for emergencies and some trail tracking, and enough AA and AAA rechargeable batteries for headlamps/lanterns). That's it. Of course, my trips seldom go beyond 4 days/3 nights which makes it easier to go with a smaller loadout. Occasionally I will bring the deep cycle battery for using the trolling motor if I'm fishing and can rent a boat...then I'll bring an inverter and run a fan/laptop/etc since I'm already hauling the heavy battery/motor...but that's not very often.

My goal every year is to simplify and mainly reduce the amount of gear, food, etc (size or weight) as much as possible while keeping the comfort level to my liking. Car camping with a backpacker mentality. I just got tired of packing/unpacking so much stuff for a typical "relaxing" camp trip that I started upgrading, reducing, or cutting out items over the last several years that didn't have enough "bring it" value. Electronics generally don't make the list.

To each their own..... Having fun comes in all shapes and sizes.

[Irate Mormon]

Re: Hydro power

For less weight than 2 paperback books you can pack an e-book reader with a library of information ('though, IMO, its better to store information in your cranial repository).
Enjoy!

I do love my Kindle and it goes camping with me a lot. A lot of the guides I use do not come in ebook format. I don't think I would want them that way either. I have a lot of reference material (I majored in Zoology) and I try to learn something new every trip. My latest kick is botany. Since wildflowers are coming into bloom where I live, I've been out in the yard trying to ID stuff. What surprised me when I went to my reference bookshelf, was how many plant guides I have. I sure don't remember buying all those. My latest (just ordered it on Amazon) is called The Forager's Harvest. It came highly recommended. I found out about this book by watching the movie The Accountant, of all things. What, you don't remember that book being in the movie? Haha, it wasn't. But near the end of the movie they played this song that really got my attention. When I looked it up it was by a fellow name Sean Rowe. When I went to his website, one of the things he is into is foraging and wilderness skill. And this was the book he recommended. Here's a link to the song if anybody's interested.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mSgnC5eQ5u0

Oh yeah, this thread was supposed to be about hydro power.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V3FnpaWQJO0

[James.]

Re: Hydro power

I actually find it interesting that as someone camping with an RV, I use less power than all these tent campers...

lol. Not all of us tent campers toedtoes. I have very minimal electrical power needs for almost all of my car camp trips (I'll take a 21000mAh power bank to recharge my phone which is used for emergencies and some trail tracking, and enough AA and AAA rechargeable batteries for headlamps/lanterns). That's it. Of course, my trips seldom go beyond 4 days/3 nights which makes it easier to go with a smaller loadout. Occasionally I will bring the deep cycle battery for using the trolling motor if I'm fishing and can rent a boat...then I'll bring an inverter and run a fan/laptop/etc since I'm already hauling the heavy battery/motor...but that's not very often.

My goal every year is to simplify and mainly reduce the amount of gear, food, etc (size or weight) as much as possible while keeping the comfort level to my liking. Car camping with a backpacker mentality. I just got tired of packing/unpacking so much stuff for a typical "relaxing" camp trip that I started upgrading, reducing, or cutting out items over the last several years that didn't have enough "bring it" value. Electronics generally don't make the list.

To each their own..... Having fun comes in all shapes and sizes.

I am with you hoosier...even though I started this thread...I don't use that much power. I take a homemade battery pack that I think is 17ah. More than enough for me at the moment. But while I am always trying to simplify my setup I am also trying to add smart things. I am planning to get rid of my coleman lantern for a led lantern. Working on a tarp to use for protection against the sun and rain. I was thinking of the hydro power because I think it would potentially be less headache than lugging giant solar panels out and setting them up and maintaining their angle. If I could just drop a generator in a stream and plug it into a battery for charging it would be great.

Unfortunately I live in the middle of the desert and the rivers we have don't always (or usually) have actual water in them.

[Happy Joe]

Re: Hydro power

AT 17 AH worth of battery you would not be looking at giant panels (camped for years with a ~32 AH battery bank and quite successfully recharged it with a 5 watt panel. Note; since then panel specs have become even less truthful, so you should probably go for something around a 10 watt panel (minimum) to get similar performance).

With out the stereo I can camp long term (daily solar recharging) with the 35 AH battery and 7 to 8 watts of panel (measured for the pair; advertised as 7 watts each); even with the stereo they would likely be enough if I didn't go for the shady sites and limited the stereo to (6-8 hours per day)... worked with some stereo use last summer... Note; they probably aren't enough to support both lights and 18 hours per day of stereo for much more than a weekend (the battery alone might, do that for 2 days but would likely be near dead.

Enjoy!

[Irate Mormon]

Re: Hydro power

i have a number of stereos I camp with. They don't even need power :-) Here is a look: