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One Watt of Power.

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We had a bit of a fun night at a local village hall last night. I took a small hand cranked 15 Volt generator and a one Watt car bulb of the tungsten filament type. I asked people for how long they could crank the generator handle to keep the bulb fully lit. Perhaps a few minutes for most people. The bulb was rated at just one Watt, the type that was found in interior lights in cars in the past.

So, I thought as it is just so hard to generate electricity by hand, the cost of a kWhr or mains power is quite inexpensive.

Hand-cranked Generator Portable USB Manual Emergency Generators Multifunction | eBay

Z.

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  • I have a similar machine. With a favorable gear ratio, low friction design, and the machine clamped to a stable surface at a reasonable height, a lot more than one watt may be produced. I managed a brief peak of 20 watts, and could maintain 7 watts for some time.

    A cycle type machine by using both leg muscles rather than one arm can do a lot better. An average person can produce 100 watts for hours, and fit athlete can manage peaks of over 1 kw.

    A large dog running in wheel produced 15 watts, cruel to the dog if long continued but fine briefly.

    During the last war we supplied cycle driven dynamos to the French Resistance, mainly for charging radio batteries. Some of these remained in use long after the war, in places without electricity.

    10 watts will light a house to a better standard than most of our ancestors enjoyed.

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  • I have a similar machine. With a favorable gear ratio, low friction design, and the machine clamped to a stable surface at a reasonable height, a lot more than one watt may be produced. I managed a brief peak of 20 watts, and could maintain 7 watts for some time.

    A cycle type machine by using both leg muscles rather than one arm can do a lot better. An average person can produce 100 watts for hours, and fit athlete can manage peaks of over 1 kw.

    A large dog running in wheel produced 15 watts, cruel to the dog if long continued but fine briefly.

    During the last war we supplied cycle driven dynamos to the French Resistance, mainly for charging radio batteries. Some of these remained in use long after the war, in places without electricity.

    10 watts will light a house to a better standard than most of our ancestors enjoyed.

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