No more Batteries ?! No more Chargers ?!

[tgrsaint]

(Chuckling)… just got here (newbie) & right away PANIC ?!! … "Oh Dear"… I gotta do 20 "intelligent & relevant" posts before I can apply for entry into the Classified & Co-op sections? ... (50% of my reason for registering). Ha, ha… not even sure that's "possible" since 90% of my accurate knowledge regarding "vaping" so far… CAME FROM(?!)… dropping by ECF from time to time (BEFORE registering). So… what could I possibly contribute that hasn't been covered already?!


Turns out I just MIGHT have a "Thread-worthy" topic; has to do with a "parallel" small POWER-SOURCE, which has been making some pretty big footprints in some parts of the World recently … it's called "Direct Methanol Fuel Cell" Technology (DMFC's).


I've already emailed one of the USA's most notable companies in the area of "micro-fuel-cells", offering to personally finance a little research into the possibility of Mfg an "eGo-sized" power-stick, using this technology; … sadly, no response whatsoever… I guess they're just not interested. Field trials have already been completed for cell-phones using this tech, & they were "very" impressive; no more batteries, no more chargers, just a few drops of Methanol into the fuel cell compartment now & then & "whammo(!) … full power, right now." So here are three questions for ECF members:


1- in this massive flock of "trying-to-be-responsible" minds… does anyone have any accurate knowledge regarding micro-sized Direct Methanol Fuel Cells & their construction ?
2- are we, as a phenomenally large purchasing group "interested" in doing away with batteries entirely ?
3- can we, as a "phenomenally large" purchasing group "influence" a single Manufacturer to begin designing & building, a Safe, "battery-less" eGo-stick ?


All ideas, opinions, accurate knowledge, & reading recommendations welcome. Let's kick-it-around-a-bit & see if it "Flies"… or "Dies".


Glad to be here; many thanks to ECF founding members… & ECF maintainers.

 

[Thrasher]

that would be most awesome. just dont mix up the juice bottles with the methanol bottles and youll be ok.

if it really did work, and work well i would buy one in a second.

 

[inanitydefined]

i think it would be great. The market they would probably work best in is the cig look a like market, which as we all know are for the most part useless with current battery technology

 

[Thrasher]

I can see they guy in home depot now
"can i help you?"

yea im looking for a small bottle of methanol.

"whats it for?"

So i can vape i just ran out....................................

 

[Ineedmygti]

me = mind blown right now

 

[Kable]

I'm in. Sounds like a way to reduce the size of these things.

 

[tgrsaint]

actually, I'm pretty fond of the nice cigar-sized eGo batts; but I've been aggressively hunting for slim 14500/14650 Mods recently so that I don't have to toss "the whole thing" when it won't take a charge anymore. So far, Ive managed to get myself on the Sturm Mod list; & I've spoken to Super T Mfg about a 14500/14650 Mod... he says he just "might" consider such a device for 2013 (it's about the ONLY size that his line "doesn't" cover at the moment). And (this is embarrassing) but I've actually been "stalking" the GP piccolo site DAILY, waitin' for "the day"... & not wanting to miss a chance at the next batch.

 

[Off Topic]

Since most methanol is made from natural gas, I'd say the technology is a waste. Natural gas fuel cells already exist. There is a company working on a home model right now.

 

[Boden]

After snooping around looking at the patent records... You'd need a battery to run the energy transfer. This would give you a net energy loss. Looks like a scam to me.

Oh yea, I've got a bridge to sell in Alaska if any one is interested...

 

[tgrsaint]

I'm in. Sounds like a way to reduce the size of these things.

The Wiki DMFC article states that the energy density of Methanol is about 15x's greater than Lithium-ion batteries; so the size could come down "lots" especially for those Monster 6V & 7V Mods.

 

[tgrsaint]

Since most methanol is made from natural gas, I'd say the technology is a waste. Natural gas fuel cells already exist. There is a company working on a home model right now.

True that most Methanol is sourced in Natural Gas or Coal, but a) there's LOTS of it available & b) it's "Super-clean" power (way cleaner that batteries) & c) Natural Gas "doesn't work" as a safe "pocket-sized" power-stick. And (failing all else) we can always get oodles of clean Methanol from the distillation of cellulose-bearing garbage; our original source for Methanol was everyday wood.

 

[tgrsaint]

After snooping around looking at the patent records... You'd need a battery to run the energy transfer. This would give you a net energy loss. Looks like a scam to me.

Oh yea, I've got a bridge to sell in Alaska if any one is interested...

(chuckle)... no "scam" already a well-proven Technology with many applications already answered by it.

 

[thz0]

ah I didn't even think about this technology being applied to PVs... that is such an awesome idea! I hope we'll see it in the next few years (most likely that will be only after it's predominant for more common devices like cell phones though)

 

[tgrsaint]

... (most likely that will be only after it's predominant for more common devices like cell phones though)

.... probably correct, but I'm thinin' "vape-batteries" are very nearly as big a Global business as cell-phone batts... not?

 

[Futuresilver]

As of now, I'm not very familiar with how fuel cell technology works, but the first concern that comes to mind, and I know this was already mentioned, is the liability involved with manufacturing a product where the methanol could potentially be accidentally ingested. That could cause severe problems.

"Methanol ingested in large quantities is metabolized to formic acid or formate salts, which is poisonous to the central nervous system, and may cause blindness, coma, and death..." -Wikipedia article on methanol

If I were a manufacturer, I would think twice about producing a methanol-based fuel cell for this sort of application. I would think that there has got to be a better, less-toxic option for a fuel. That being said, I do think this is a really cool idea, and wonder what kind of cost-per-unit something like this would have..

 

[myyrkezaan]

After snooping around looking at the patent records... You'd need a battery to run the energy transfer. This would give you a net energy loss. Looks like a scam to me.

Oh yea, I've got a bridge to sell in Alaska if any one is interested...

Panasonic demoed a laptop using one in 2006.

 

[Merlin21]

Where is the Diy Methanol sub forum??

 

[varitablevoltage]

We definitely need something post apocalypse cause I don't want to hand-crank charge my e-cig.

 

[phoenixdragon888]

Sounds as miraculous as the bloom box

 

[phoenixdragon888]

For safety only people with a liscence could refill the cells