**A Thermoelectric Generator: A Review of a Tech Build Project**
The following is an analysis of the content of a file that outlines the process of creating a thermoelectric generator. The project in question was inspired by a YouTube video from the channel "tech build," which demonstrated a candle-powered USB charger using a similar setup.
**Background and Introduction**
In the original tech builder video, a candle powered USB charger was built using a tea light to heat up a heat sink, which is attached to one side of a Peltier module. The other side of the module is stuck to another heat sink onto which a fan is placed in order to keep it cool. This setup can output a bit of power, but the creator claimed that it was impossible for the system to charge a smartphone.
**The Original Project**
The original project used a candle as a heat source to warm up the Peltier module, generating electricity through the Seebeck effect. However, the video showed that this setup was not capable of charging a smartphone. The output voltage was too low, and the current was not sufficient to power any device.
**A New Thermoelectric Generator**
Inspired by the tech builder project, but also wanting to improve upon it, I set out to create a new thermoelectric generator using Peltier modules. In this setup, six Peltier modules are used to generate electricity through the Seebeck effect. The modules are attached to a figure aluminum piece with a distance of two centimeters from the left and right edge.
**The Construction Process**
To construct this new thermoelectric generator, I began by placing the six Peltier modules onto the figure aluminum piece. Next, I used a handsaw to cut out the heatsinks from the fin aluminum, making sure to remove any sharp edges with a file. Markings were made on the aluminum pieces for later use in creating the aluminum cooling box.
**The Aluminum Cooling Box**
Initially, I planned to use special aluminum solder and a blowtorch to create the box, but after two hours of unsuccessful attempts, I opted instead to use hot glue to temporarily shape the box, followed by using two-component adhesive to properly glue all the aluminum pieces together. Once dry, the hot glue was removed.
**Assembly and Testing**
Heatsink plaster was added to the unlabeled side of the modules and pressed onto the figure aluminum heatsink. Certain wires were shortened to connect them in series with a bit of solder according to this scheme. Next, I added heatsink plaster to the labeled side of the modules and pressed the fin aluminum heatsink onto them.
**The Finished Thermoelectric Generator**
Finally, it was time to test the thermoelectric generator. The setup consisted of placing the Peltier modules in the cooling box, attaching the outputs to a fitting boost converter, and plugging the output into a smartphone. Initially, the system did not charge the phone, but after adjusting the voltage of the output to 5 volts, it was possible to charge the device with a current of 40 milliamps.
**Conclusion**
This thermoelectric generator, while capable of charging a smartphone, is more suited for survival situations than everyday use. It requires periodic refilling of water in the cooling box to maintain functionality. Despite its limitations, I am pleased with the project's success and believe it can be improved upon further.
WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enno no this this has to be a joke you just witnessed how I watched a video from a YouTube channel called tech build on in which a candle powered USB charger was built this whole system uses a tea light to heat up a heat sink which is attached to one side of a Peltier module the other side of the module is stuck to another heat sink onto which a fan is placed in order to keep it cool now in my opinion this setup can output a bit of power but let me tell you that in the tech builder video this system with its tiny tea light powers the fan and an LED light while simultaneously also charging a smartphone which i think is impossible so in this video in order to prove that he take both the project is fake I will be creating the same system and show you how little power it outputs and then I will be building a proper thermoelectric generator that can truly charge a smartphone let's get started this video is sponsored by jl CPCB which is a PCB company whose goal is to provide easy to create and faster the Laval prototype PCBs they're excellent quality $2 PCBs are no short term promotion so why not head over to the site to upload jojoba files and order your PCBs today to start off let's take a look at the utilize Peltier module which is this Tec one 127 26 at this point I could tell you all about the functional principle of such module but since I already talked about that in a previous video I will keep it short this time by adding a bit of firmly conductive paste to the unlabeled site of the module pushing it onto heatsink and powering the module the unlabeled site will get hot and thus slowly heat up the heatsink while the labeled site will get cold the code sites can even reach temperatures underneath the freezing point of water but as the hot side gets warmer the cold site also gets warmer because the Apache module can only sustain a certain temperature difference between its two sides now we cannot only use electric energy to move thermal energy but it also works the other way around thus by heating up the hot site while keeping the cold side cool we can create a voltage across the Peltier module which we can use to power electronics that is the basic principle of a thermoelectric generator and with the peewee out of the way I got myself the components for the tech Builder version of such a generator so I created a square hole in the metal pencil holder glued the heatsink we've already attached Peltier module on top of its and then once again you thermally conductive paste to add the second heatsink to the Peltier module after I successfully completed the system I lit the tea lights positioned it in place onto a small pedestal and waited a few minutes for the lower heat to heat up by using my multimeter I was able to measure a maximum output voltage of 0.9 4 volts and the maximum short-circuit current of 100 milliamps those values are certainly not enough though to charge a smartphone or even light up a small LED but by powering the fan with an external power source and placing it on top of the system we can in fact improve the voltage and current values quite a bit but the only true way to power something directly with this thermoelectric generator was by heating up the hot side with a blowtorch which was certainly not intended by the original trader the problem is that the radiated heat of the chi-lites and thus the temperature difference is simply not enough what I think happens is that the original trade are savi 12 volts 400 what rating of the module and thought that it should be easily possible to create the same electrical output power when using it as a generator but just like with a powerful motor it does not mean that you can easily get the rated values out of it as electrical energy when using it as a generator but nevertheless know that we know that these systems output capabilities are fake let's move on to my own design my idea is to use sixty lights simultaneously along with six Peltier modules for the hot site I will be using a sheet of aluminium with a thickness of three millimeters while for the cold sites I will be using another aluminium sheets with a thickness of only 1.5 millimeter on to which I will be placing an aluminium box filled with ice water to keep everything cool I will also be using some m5 bolts and nuts to suspend this construction in the air so I started by placing the six party modules onto the figure aluminium piece with a distance of two centimeter from the left and right edge in order to figure out the nest three dimensions for the heatsinks which ultimately looked like this by the way I'm using the same type of Peltier modules from before which are honestly quite expensive so you can get yourself cheaper low current versions of them which should also work except ibly well but nevertheless after I marked the outline of the heatsink onto the aluminium I cut it out Vova handsaw removed the sharp edges with a file marked the four holes for the m5 bolts through them over four point five millimeter bits and then created an m5 threads into each of them next I marked the outline for the cold side heatsink onto the fin aluminium in addition to a few other outlines which were mandatory to later create the aluminum cooling box so like before I used the hand saw to cut out those six pieces of aluminum whose sharp edges I then once again removed with a file at this point I wanted to use special aluminum soda and blowtorch in order to create the box but after two hours of unsuccessful solar connections I gave up on this plan and instead used hot glue to temporarily create the box shape and then used two component adhesive to properly glue all the aluminum pieces to Bonneville as soon as the adhesive was dry I removed the hot glue and finally moved on by adding heatsink plaster to the unlabeled side of the modules and pressing them onto the figure aluminum heatsink next I shortened certain wires of the modules in order to connect them all in serious with a bit of solder according to this scheme afterwards I added heatsink plaster to the label side of the modules and pressed the fennel aluminum heatsink on to them and widely plaster was drying I got myself an m5 threaded rods onto which I created markings with a distance of 10 centimeter to one another which are used to create the required for m5 bolts to suspend my generator in the air so after adding them to the system in addition with some fitting nuts my thermoelectric generator was basically completes that means it was time to light up the chi-lites place the generator on top and pour ice water into the box and as you can see with this setup we're getting an output voltage of five foods and a short-circuit current of 100 and 80 milliamps which actually wasn't that goods but after lowering the heat sink quite a bit and repeating this tests I got better results which I was ok with now in order to properly charge up a smartphone with a five food inputs I still needed to add a back boost converter between them in order to deliver constant 5 volts so I added a fitting one to the output of the party modules adjusted its voltage to 5 volts and so that liebherr wires of a micro USB cable to its outputs after them plugging the connector into my phone we can see that it doesn't affect charge but it is noteworthy that it only does so will the current of 40 milliamps which means this system is more for survival situations than anything else also you need to keep the water codes by adding ice to it every now and then and with that being said I hope you enjoyed my take on a thermoelectric generator now please do me favor and don't head over to the tech builder channel and hit on him because I think with this video he already learned his lesson to not publish fake projects anymore anyway as always don't forget to Like share subscribe and hitting the notification bubble stay creative and I will see you next time
