How to Charge Your Cell Phone From a Pot of Boiling Water

You may have heard of the PowerPot. Featured on the hit TV show Shark Tank and endorsed by Dallas Mavericks owner and billionaire Mark Cuban, the PowerPot converts heat energy into electricity.

Here’s a teaser from Shark Tank introducing the PowerPot.

Original video by ABC

You can charge all sorts of devices from it, like cell phones, cameras, even water purifiers and GPS units.

PowerPot charging an iPhone in the field

But the PowerPot costs over $150, with some models priced well into the $200s.

Fortunately, the technology required to make something like this work isn’t too expensive. And you can make your own PowerPot-like device for only $30 (it doesn’t work quite as well though).

YouTuber Xuyen N made an easy-to-follow video explaining how you can make your own thermoelectric generator (PowerPot) with just a few commonly sourced parts.

Original video by Xuyen N

The standard PowerPot is rated at 5W (1A and 5V), and once the water starts to boil the power drops off to around 3W.

The DIY version on the other hand put out only 0.1W (5V and 0.1A).

Maybe there’s a way to more efficiently capture the heat energy on the DIY version, and I’m not sure if the water was already boiling when he made the measurements or if the temp was still on the rise.

Watch an in-depth test of the PowerPot and one of it’s competitors, the CupCharger.

Original video by EpicenterBryan

Source: TheEpicenter

SEE ALSO: Fascinating Technology Lets Your Plant Charge Your Phone