crank handle generator

[steptoe]

Ok here is one for yorkshire andy or anyone that knows if these are any good i am thinking i might get one to pop in the garage store in case , i know we have the power stations and gennies and wind up lanterns but i was wondering if these are worth the money .

thanks in advance

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07 ... _750024701

[jennyjj01]

OMG.I guess it was inevitable that such a thing would exist.
They need to sell it as the latest exercise machine!
I bet you'd know it if you used that for long enough to charge up a phone or laptop.
https://youtu.be/WcJXCU2HmJ8?t=902
The poor guy in the vid cranked it for ages just for a few % on his phone. And it was as clumsy as buggery.
Later in the vid he said "It feels like I w@nct off an elephant"

Bottom line. You'd have to be desperate to use it. There have to be better ways of spending forty pounds.

To be honest, I have a wind up radio and I just don't rate that idea either, having tried to use it.

Ok here is one for yorkshire andy or anyone that knows if these are any good i am thinking i might get one to pop in the garage store in case , i know we have the power stations and gennies and wind up lanterns but i was wondering if these are worth the money .

thanks in advance

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07 ... _750024701

[steptoe]

OMG.I guess it was inevitable that such a thing would exist.
They need to sell it as the latest exercise machine!
I bet you'd know it if you used that for long enough to charge up a phone or laptop.
https://youtu.be/WcJXCU2HmJ8?t=902
The poor guy in the vid cranked it for ages just for a few % on his phone. And it was as clumsy as buggery.
Later in the vid he said "It feels like I w@nct off an elephant"

Bottom line. You'd have to be desperate to use it. There have to be better ways of spending forty pounds.

To be honest, I have a wind up radio and I just don't rate that idea either, having tried to use it.

Ok here is one for yorkshire andy or anyone that knows if these are any good i am thinking i might get one to pop in the garage store in case , i know we have the power stations and gennies and wind up lanterns but i was wondering if these are worth the money .

thanks in advance

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07 ... _750024701

hi jenny ok thanks for that , i do have wind up lanterns and find them great i also have a wind up radio well 2 in fact one was one of them chinese type ones and reception was not the best indoor but i got a freeplay wind up no battery in just works on the wind up omg it is the dogs , i wind it and it goes for a fair while it is just wind up nothing else , i can recommend them highly

[Yorkshire Andy]

I'd be tempted to buy a hub dynamo and a usb adaptor for a push bike and ride round the block for half an hour


https://keeppedalling.co.uk/good-stuff/ ... -chargers/

Hub dynamo about £35 on eBay for a Shimano one (plus paying for a wheel build / rebuild) or new spokes if you can DIY build .)

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/392281228871 ... %7Ciid%3A1

Then a usb adaptor £30 ISH eg

https://brocott.co.uk/bicycle-dynamo-po ... to-5-2vdc/

[jennyjj01]

I'd be tempted to buy a hub dynamo and a usb adaptor for a push bike and ride round the block for half an hour


https://keeppedalling.co.uk/good-stuff/ ... -chargers/

Hub dynamo about £35 on eBay for a Shimano one (plus paying for a wheel build / rebuild) or new spokes if you can DIY build .)

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/392281228871 ... %7Ciid%3A1

Then a usb adaptor £30 ISH eg

https://brocott.co.uk/bicycle-dynamo-po ... to-5-2vdc/

Not a bad idea. But a tad expensive and a bit of a faff, for me. You didn't quite tempt me to buy one this time.
I'm trying to think of any situation where human powered generator is the best option, and it's down to the unviability of alternatives.. I.e. stored batteries would need to be depleted, solar, petrol, wind and hydro would all need to be unavailable or unviable. Things would need to be pretty dire.
I think I'd rule out the hand crank generator. The only situation where I could see it being the best option would be a group of people bugged out where none of them had thought to get a solar charger or powerpack and all of them could take turn cranking for the one 'rescue me' call. Or maybe useful in prison to charge the illicit mobile?

For the bike dynamo, at least the use of the bike could be valuable of itself, but they make pedalling harder and it's no freebee.

I'm puzzled by adopters of wind up radios/torches. I have a small one which I've tried to use, but it gives very little run time for the amount of cranking. Is it just me and my cheap rubbish?

[Yorkshire Andy]

[Or maybe useful in prison to charge the illicit mobile?

They just use their vape charger which they are permitted to have in their cells by all accounts

(source : serving prison officer)

[jennyjj01]

[Or maybe useful in prison to charge the illicit mobile?

They just use their vape charger which they are permitted to have in their cells by all accounts
(source : serving prison officer)

Wow!!!! I'd never have thought of prisoners even having access to mains, let alone chargers. Wouldn't vape batteries be potential incendiary weapons?
So there it is... No situation where the hand crank generator is the least worst option?
The blue one shown in the original post seems to waste more energy warming up the user's shoulders than charging the device.

[tarmactatt]

With solar, you can at least be getting on with something else while waiting for batteries/devices to charge.

There are some higher quality alternatives: Texenergy infinite orbit or Ex-military clansman crank generators, which come up on eBay fairly regularly.

I'd rather try a small wind turbine, doubtful it would produce much energy unless you managed to mount it high up and you lived near the coast (or on a mountain).

[rik_uk3]

The Clansman hand crank will last a lifetime, wish I'd kept mine

The type in the OP are on ebay cheaper

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/374048284978 ... R7bMrMCTYQ

[steptoe]

I'm puzzled by adopters of wind up radios/torches. I have a small one which I've tried to use, but it gives very little run time for the amount of cranking. Is it just me and my cheap rubbish?

Hi jenny this is the type i have i got it cheap on ebay as the guy said the rubber band broke on it lol i got it opened it fitted a new band .30p and she now works a treat
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/115600271397 ... R9yOzdKTYQ