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Chockstone Forum - Gear Lust / Lost & Found

Rave About Your Rack Please do not post retail SPAM.

 Page 1 of 2. Messages 1 to 20 | 21 to 26
Author
New lantern/charger 4 phone/tablet runs on water

Pat
20-Feb-2016
12:18:26 PM
Hi I was talking on a previous thread about a new lantern/charger project I am working on. The kickstarter campaign has launched for it and after two days is already about 50% funded. We are stunned with the success so far.

Brief specs

Both lanterns run on low level salt water and a single consumable power rod that retails for about US$4.50 and replaces approximately 85 AA batteries. Giving about 250 hours of light.

Lantern one PL 250 is just a lantern and runs entirely on salt water using patented technology

Lantern two PL 500 is the same sized lantern with a USB charger and a secondary accessory light on a long lead that plugs into it when wanted. It runs on salt water, but also has a lithium - ion battery for facilitating the charging.

The kickstarter link with interesting video is here: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1993414184/the-hydra-light-pl-500-salt-water-energycell-lante

The website for our company is here: http://www.hydra-light.com

Happy to answer any questions that I can.

I am really excited to be bringing this project to the market. This is our first product into production, but we have a range of products that will be able to bring power and light to many tens of millions in the developing world who have no access to electricity and would like to. We are going to be using the kickstarter funds to bring these models to the market and the UN and Red Cross have been very interested in our working prototypes as the later models are based around disaster relief first response and micro enterprise development through the distribution of safe clean electricity.

Funding our kickstarter programme will allow us to go to this next step and give our first customers a light that is always ready to go wherever you are. You'll never need to worry about having a flat battery again.

We would appreciate any shares with contacts that you have that would be interested in this light.

Pat
7-Mar-2016
6:48:37 PM
Just bumping this topic - super please with this result - we are now over 100% funded so our production run is about to start. Just a few days to go before the campaign closes - beat the price rise when we go to retail distribution.

shortman
7-Mar-2016
10:06:45 PM
Good on ya Pat. My bank account has been hacked, but will get onto it when they send me a new card...

phillipivan
7-Mar-2016
11:20:41 PM
Great work Pat. I'm always stocked to see folks inventing and building stuff. More power to you if you can bring it to market successfully.

Pat
8-Mar-2016
12:39:50 AM
Thanks phil, It's coming to market quite successfully - we have lined up all the big distributors in the states, europe and UK.

This model is a pre release at a reduced cost to our backers and friends.
patto
8-Mar-2016
2:34:07 AM
On 20/02/2016 Pat wrote:
>Lantern one PL 250 is just a lantern and runs entirely on salt water using
>patented technology

Uh huh.....

So you are marketing a wet electrochemical cell based on centuries old technology, but apparently your lantern uses 'patented technology'.

This guy might have something to say about that:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alessandro_Volta

These guys are making similar exaggerated claims:
http://www.salt.ph/
http://www.gizmag.com/saltwater-lantern/24018/

So either you have a miracle battery that is better and cheaper than traditional battery technology. Or you have a great scam going on...

I'm guessing it is the latter. (Probably a simple magnesium anode battery wrapped in fancy marketing.)


(And if by chance you had made a better battery there is billions of $$$ to be made in improved batteries and the key markets aren't chockstone users.)

Pat
8-Mar-2016
9:01:34 AM
I never said it was a battery. It is patented.

If you think its a scam - that's fine don't buy.

The patent applies to the cathode material which we have developed.

Yes it is an electrochemical cell and in many ways it is better than current AA technology in terms of cost per hour of power generated.

Is it surprising that it might be better than traditional battery technology, just as batteries were better in some ways than traditional candle technology?

There are a number of saltwater lanterns coming to market. Yes we are not alone. Can you point out what claims that I have made that are exaggerated?

All our lanterns are tested and carry the CE mark as we are selling into Europe and to agencies like the Red Cross - but as you know they are easily fooled by small start ups like ours.

Once again, we have not made a battery - it is a generator. and yes there are billions to be made. The current lantern market alone in the world is $500 million US. There are many other applications for our product which we are developing.

Thanks for pointing out that chockstone is a small market.

Thanks for your interest
patto
8-Mar-2016
10:06:58 AM
On 8/03/2016 Pat wrote:
>I never said it was a battery.
....
>Yes it is an electrochemical cell and in many ways

Huh, what!? A battery IS an electrochemical cell. Oh unless you want to be pedantic and insist you need two or more cells for it to be a 'battery'. (Likewise a AA is an single electrochemical cell)

>Once again, we have not made a battery - it is a generator. and yes there
>are billions to be made.
A generator? Didn't you just say earlier it was an electrochemical cell? Your lack of product knowledge doesn't inspire confidence.

>There are many other applications for our product which
>we are developing.
Given your product is a standard electrochemical cell invented centuries ago I see you have the right strategy. Marketing, marketing, marketing...

If you have gone to the expense of a CE mark and selling into "Europe" and the "Red Cross" why do you need kick starter funding?
marky
8-Mar-2016
11:46:03 AM
Jealousy much Patto?? Lol


bigchris
8-Mar-2016
12:50:00 PM
I reckon that its totally cool. I didn't even know that stuff like that could ever work! Baller.

Classic Chockstone always brings out the classic dickheads.

Pat
8-Mar-2016
1:46:41 PM
Hi Patto, thanks for giving the opportunity to show my ignorance and to explain the project a little more.

Firstly I am primarily an investor - so my technical language is bound to be inadequate to someone who obviously knows more than me.

That being said, the cell that is at the core of all the products is not a battery - it just generates (produces) electricity The base cell doesn't store the electricity - that's why I said it wasn't a battery. That maybe a little technically naive or even unintentionally false, but as a layman I call the generator a cell and if it was able to store the electricity generated I would call it a battery. That's the way I was using those terms. I would be interested in what term you would use to describe the generator cell without the storage facility - but perhaps only if it was a G rated description, although I don't mind if you are insulting, abrasive or even defamatory.

As you pointed out - its a standard magnesium rod and the patented cathode material.

Yes we are doing a lot of marketing. We would like to sell some of our products.

The reason for the kickstarter campaign is to offer some limited early release product to those of our friends (myself included) who are interested and to other backers who would like to see the product. The European and Not for Profit sector models are not part of this campaign - we are making sure that no models are loss making, so this limited run is being sold at (I believe) 40% of the future RRP.

shortman
8-Mar-2016
1:54:07 PM
On 8/03/2016 bigchris wrote:
>I reckon that its totally cool. I didn't even know that stuff like that
>could ever work! Baller.
>
>Classic Chockstone always brings out the classic dickheads.

Isn't that why we all fit in??

Anyway...geeze patto...don't you get your knickers in a knot when ODH launches similar type elitist crap??

Pat is a good bloke, good enough reason to buy his sh*t for me.

Pat
8-Mar-2016
2:03:26 PM
Well I've suckered you once before shortman - open your wallet man!

shortman
8-Mar-2016
2:17:12 PM
On 8/03/2016 Pat wrote:
>Well I've suckered you once before shortman - open your wallet man!

Luckily I can live off petty cash for a bit...someone paid for a $90 breakfast in America late last week and my account has been frozen until they figure out how.....Wonder what $90 gets ya for breaky??
Olbert
8-Mar-2016
2:27:13 PM
On 8/03/2016 Pat wrote:
>That being said, the cell that is at the core of all the products is not
>a battery - it just generates (produces) electricity.

That is what a battery is!

>The base cell doesn't
>store the electricity - that's why I said it wasn't a battery.

The base cell stores energy in the form of chemical energy. When you make a circuit through the power stick (whatever that is!) and the salt water, that chemical energy causes electrons to flow - thus electricity.

This is exactly the same as any form of battery out there. Batteries store chemical energy which is transformed to electrical energy when a circuit is made.

The only form of battery which actually stores energy as electricity is a Superconducting Magnetic Energy Storage system. Basically it's a superconducting circuit where you cause the electrons to flow and they never slow down because there is no resistance. So you can put energy in, then anytime later take it back out again. Once we get room temperature superconductors going, this will be the perfect battery. Until then...we have chemical batteries - like yours.


That said, good luck with your investment! I too have been an entrepreneur looking to make it big. Unfortunately I was more interested in climbing than business. So while I failed spectacularly to make any money I did manage to up my climbing by about 3 grades.

shortman
8-Mar-2016
2:33:59 PM
On 8/03/2016 Olbert wrote:
>On 8/03/2016 Pat wrote:
>>That being said, the cell that is at the core of all the products is
>not
>>a battery - it just generates (produces) electricity.
>
>That is what a battery is!
>
>>The base cell doesn't
>>store the electricity - that's why I said it wasn't a battery.
>
>The base cell stores energy in the form of chemical energy. When you make
>a circuit through the power stick (whatever that is!) and the salt water,
>that chemical energy causes electrons to flow - thus electricity.
>
>This is exactly the same as any form of battery out there. Batteries store
>chemical energy which is transformed to electrical energy when a circuit
>is made.
>
>The only form of battery which actually stores energy as electricity is
>a Supercon
>ucting Magnetic Energy Storage system. Basically it's a superconducting
>circuit where you cause the electrons to flow and they never slow down
>because there is no resistance. So you can put energy in, then anytime
>later take it back out again. Once we get room temperature superconductors
>going, this will be the perfect battery. Until then...we have chemical
>batteries - like yours.
>
>
>That said, good luck with your investment! I too have been an entrepreneur
>looking to make it big. Unfortunately I was more interested in climbing
>than business. So while I failed spectacularly to make any money I did
>manage to up my climbing by about 3 grades.

Didn't Pat say the lithium ion battery within the unit is used to store the energy?

Pat
8-Mar-2016
3:20:34 PM
Thanks for the reply Olbert - I am hoping to raise my grades by three this autumn as well - I hope that doesn't mean entrepreneurial failure!

Yes shortman - there are two units one with a lithium ion battery for storage and one just straight output cell without lithium ion battery.

deadbudgy
9-Mar-2016
11:12:04 AM
On 8/03/2016 Pat wrote:

>
>Yes shortman - there are two units one with a lithium ion battery for
>storage and one just straight output cell without lithium ion battery.

First, its a nice looking product.
Essentially though, you are using a, relatively cheap, non-rechargeable battery to charge a rechargeable battery to charge the battery in your phone and power the lamp.
Do you know what the real cost to replace the cathode will be if I were to buy it from a shop one day?

Pat
9-Mar-2016
11:24:00 AM
In this product that's how it works. I'm not sure what the retail will be on the rods. At the moment they are being packaged in a blister pack of two. One advantage of these is that they are always ready to go - no loss of charge and much longer shelf life than a conventional AA battery.

I'll check with the retail section and get back to you.
Jayford4321
10-Mar-2016
8:13:33 AM
On 20/02/2016 Pat wrote:
>Hi I was talking
>Brief specs
>
>Both lanterns run on low level salt water and a single consumable power
>rod that retails for about US$4.50 and replaces approximately 85 AA batteries.
>Giving about 250 hours of light.
>
>Lantern one PL 250 is just a lantern and runs entirely on salt water using
>patented technology
>
>Lantern two PL 500 is the same sized lantern with a USB charger and a
>secondary accessory light on a long lead that plugs into it when wanted.
>It runs on salt water, but also has a lithium - ion battery for facilitating
>the charging.
>

>Happy to answer any questions that I can.
>
>
>a light that is always ready to go wherever you are. You'll never need to worry about having a flat battery again.
>
Ok, I have a question.
If Ur using it in a desert an Ur water supply is running crisis low, will Ur batt run on P?
Salty enough?

 Page 1 of 2. Messages 1 to 20 | 21 to 26
There are 26 messages in this topic.

 

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