EnviroGadget » human powered gadgets

Human-Powered Play And Freeze Ice Cream Maker

Anita (EnviroGadget Writer) — Wed, 02 Jun 2010 09:00:28 +0000

The Play and Freeze Ice Cream Maker is a ball that helps you to make ice cream through motion. The ball requires ice and salt to be put into one end and the ice cream ingredients to be put into the other. Through playing with the ball, kicking it about for instance, the mixture keeps moving allowing it to chill into soft scoop ice cream.

This Play And Freeze Ice Cream Maker allows you to make homemade ice cream away from the home. The only constraint to where it can be made is that you need ice for it and the ingredients for the ice cream that usually require chilling. This could be achieved through taking the ice and ingredients in a cool bag. By filling one side of the ball with as much ice as you can, then adding half a cup of rock salt, you create the perfect environment for the inner chamber to create ice cream.

The inner chamber is reached from the opening at the other end of the ball. The mixture you use for the ice cream can be as basic or as complex as you wish, though only one pint of ice cream can be made at a time. Once the mixture is safely in the inner chamber all you need to do is play with the ball. By being constantly in motion the mixture chills evenly, so the more it moves, the smoother it will be.

After around 10 minutes of play you will need to stop to pour out some of the water from the ice and salt portion of the ball, this section will then require a top up of ice and salt. It is also a good idea to stir the ice cream mixture at this point, to help move away any that has become frozen to the sides of the central chamber. After another 10 minutes of play the ice cream should be ready to eat. You can stop playing at different points for different textures, those who like their ice cream really soft will want to stop sooner than someone who prefers it rather hard.

This ball helps to create homemade ice cream without requiring an electronic ice cream maker. Most home ice cream makers need electricity to keep the ice cream mixture constantly stirred. By using a light but strong ball this ice cream maker avoids that by allowing you to move it about. The effort required to keep the ball in motion is a lot less than what would be required to stir the mixture by hand, and also a lot more fun.

Though the Play and Freeze Ice Cream Maker could be used outdoors, it could be hard to keep both the ice cream ingredients and the ice cool enough. If you are camping out in the snow it would be simple to do, however in those conditions ice cream may not be the treat you desire. This ice cream maker will require ice, which in most cases will have come from a freezer. Despite this it still helps to save on electricity compared to most other home ice cream makers, while not requiring the amount of hard work as creating it by hand power alone.

The Play and Freeze Ice Cream Maker is available for around $20 in the US or £19.95 in the UK.

Want to buy this gadget? Check out the Human-Powered Play And Freeze Ice Cream Maker article on EnviroGadget to see the lowest prices for this gadget.

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Hand-powered Windup Mobile Phone Charger

Dan (EnviroGadget Writer) — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 09:40:56 +0000

The Hand-powered Windup Mobile Phone Charger is a perfect and affordable little gadget that allows you to top up your mobile phone using nothing but hand power. We’ve seen hand-powered chargers before, but this one stands out as it’s so cheap at just £5.99 (around $10) and it supports a number of mobile phones (sadly not the iPhone though).

The phone charger is really light and compact, and is able to give you 8 minutes of talk time with just 3.5 minutes of hand power (where you average at around two and a half turns per second). Counter-intuitively, it’s not the speed of cranking that determines how much talk time you get, but more the number of turns that you do. This is because the energy generated by a dynamo is directly proportional to the number of turns completed, rather than the speed of the magnet moving within the coil. However, the faster you go, the less time it will take to charge your phone!

The compatibility list includes (which is sadly a little short):

Nokia 3210/3310/3330/8210/8250
Motorola Star tac/cd920/930/928/V3688/V8088/V3690
Ericsson T28/T20/T29/T39M/T39/T60/T65/T68/R320/R310/R380/R300/R520m
Siemens C25/C35/C35i/M35/A35/A36/A40/SL45/S45/SL45i/SL42

For just £5.99, it’s a pretty neat gadget. However, I’m sure the lack of compatibility for the newest mobile phones will put people off.

Want to buy this gadget? Check out the Hand-powered Windup Mobile Phone Charger article on EnviroGadget to see the lowest prices for this gadget.

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Time Your Light – Clockwork Lighting

Dan (EnviroGadget Writer) — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 09:00:38 +0000

Designer Jasper Hou has come up with a clockwork LED-based lighting design. To activate the lights, you rotate the clockwork part of the light. As the dial unwinds, the energy released is used to power the internal LED lights.

The lights are designed to replace candles, and therefore only emit an equivalent amount of light energy. Since candles are made from processing petroleum products and release carbon dioxide when burnt, the clockwork lights are a much more eco-friendly alternative. Oh, and the clockwork lights present no fire hazard either!

If this design goes into production, I imagine it would be a pretty popular product!

Source: Yanko Design

Want to buy this gadget? Check out the Time Your Light – Clockwork Lighting article on EnviroGadget to see the lowest prices for this gadget.

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3-in-1 Wind Up Radio with Torch and Emergency Siren

Dan (EnviroGadget Writer) — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 09:00:29 +0000

With this being the camping season, no doubt you’ll want to break the silence with some music. The 3-in-1 Wind Up Radio is a perfect candidate for a campsite, since its waterproof, robust, features a strong aerial and uses hand power to charge the internal battery. Winding the crank for just 1 minute will give you 60 minutes of listening pleasure, a fair return on your effort!

If you’re out trekking, and you get into a bit of bother, you’ll appreciate the built-in siren. Need to help people find you? Just flick on the alarm, and keep charging it up until help arrives. At least you won’t get bored, as you can listen to the AM/FM radio whilst you’re waiting. Another useful feature is the built-in LED torch, allowing you to stumble your way back to the tent in time for bedtime too!

The 3-in-1 Wind Up Radio is available for just £19.95.

Want to buy this gadget? Check out the 3-in-1 Wind Up Radio with Torch and Emergency Siren article on EnviroGadget to see the lowest prices for this gadget.

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Solar Powered and Hand-crank LED Lantern

Dan (EnviroGadget Writer) — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 10:00:44 +0000

Hand-crank eco gadgets are definitely becoming more popular, and now there’s a Solar Powered and Hand-crank LED Lantern that combines a solar panel and a hand-powered charger into a free-standing camping lamp. The lamp can also be used to charge mobile phones using the phone charging cable.

The solar panel can be used to charge the lamp in just 6 hours. However, no information about how quickly the handcrank will charge the internal battery. From the other hand-powered green gadgets we’ve reviewed, it’s around about 20 minutes light for 1 minutes hand power.

I can imagine that this light is perfect for camping since it’s free standing. You could have 3 or 4 of these lamps around the camping area, giving you lots of useful light without spending loads on batteries. The solar powered and hand-crank lamp is available for $34.99 from GizFever.

Source: GeekAlerts

Want to buy this gadget? Check out the Solar Powered and Hand-crank LED Lantern article on EnviroGadget to see the lowest prices for this gadget.

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Orange Power Pump Charger for Glastonbury 2009

Dan (EnviroGadget Writer) — Mon, 25 May 2009 10:00:43 +0000

As part of their phone charger innovation work, Orange has come up with a compact mobile phone charger in the form of a foot pump gadget. Created by GotWind, the foot pump drives an air turbine which then charges your mobile phone. Orange will be showcasing the gadget at Glastonbury 2009, which is being held at Worthy Farm, Pilton, Somerset, from 24th – 28th June.

The Orange Power Pump measures just 154mm x 129mm x 47mm, and is really lightweight. Considering it doesn’t need any wind or sun energy to charge your phone, it’s perfectly suited to camping in the UK when the weather is less than predictable. You get around 5 minutes of talk time from about a minutes worth of pumping.

Source: Orange Newsroom

Want to buy this gadget? Check out the Orange Power Pump Charger for Glastonbury 2009 article on EnviroGadget to see the lowest prices for this gadget.

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Dynamo Torch and Windmill Generator Eco Toys

Dan (EnviroGadget Writer) — Mon, 18 May 2009 09:00:58 +0000

For some reason, I really like kids eco toys, and the Dynamo Torch and Windmill Generator are no different.

The Dynamo Torch kit is a an educational eco toy that demonstrates how hand-motion, i.e. kinetic energy, can be transferred into electrical energy to light a light bulb. The kit contains an LED light bulb, a motor, gears, and full instructions. A drinks bottle can also be used to turn it into a lantern of sorts. Priced at $12.20 and aimed at kids 8 or older.

The Windmill Generator is very similar to the dynamo torch, but this time wind power is converted into electrical energy. The kit requires the kids to use a drinks bottle to support the motor and propeller. Then when the wind blows, the LED lights up. Priced at $9.95 and also aimed at kids 8 or older.

Want to buy this gadget? Check out the Dynamo Torch and Windmill Generator Eco Toys article on EnviroGadget to see the lowest prices for this gadget.

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The Earth Angel Battery-Free Wind-Up Sex Toy

Dan (EnviroGadget Writer) — Wed, 13 May 2009 10:00:10 +0000

I apologise if this article offends anyone, but I personally feel that it fits perfectly on EnviroGadget! The Earth Angel has been revealed as the first 100% green sex toy from Irish company Caden Enterprises. The vibrator is completely made from recycled materials, and it never needs charging up due to using a wind-up crank to charge the internal rechargeable battery.

The toy is very similar to wind up radios. You just crank the toy for 4 minutes in a clockwise direction (does anti-clockwise discharge it??) and you get 30 minutes of vibrations. The toy also comes with an on/off switch, so you can save it for later.

Apparently the The Earth Angel is just as good as any other sex toy, but it has the eco-friendly edge. Love Honey also have a range of 100% organic lubricants, so you can be completely eco-friendly in the bedroom!

If you want to read more on this theme, HandsIn.org have a recent article on 5 ways to be a green lover.

Have fun!

Source and Photos: LoveHoney

Want to buy this gadget? Check out the The Earth Angel Battery-Free Wind-Up Sex Toy article on EnviroGadget to see the lowest prices for this gadget.

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Self-Powered Safety Laser for Cyclists

Dan (EnviroGadget Writer) — Tue, 12 May 2009 10:00:27 +0000

The ‘Laser’ product is a gadget designed for urban cyclists. Since cyclists are very exposed on the road due to the volume of traffic these days, the Laser gadget is designed to create a light-based safety zone around the cyclists to encourage good behaviour from drivers. When a driver enters the safety zone, the light changes to a red zone, and several horns will sound.

The device projects an elliptical beam around the bike, which is roughly the size of a car. Essentially staying green when the cyclist is safe, and turning red when the driver is too close. Hopefully by making it easier to respect the space cyclists need to cycle safely, there should be fewer instances of harm caused to cyclists by dangerous drivers.

The Laser gadget is charged up by the cyclist via a dynamo, so requires no external power source. So the ‘Laser’ product is eco-friendly on 2 counts, encouraging environmentally friendly travel, and not needing loads of batteries.

Want to buy this gadget? Check out the Self-Powered Safety Laser for Cyclists article on EnviroGadget to see the lowest prices for this gadget.

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Roll Charger – Battery Charging with Chinese Therapy Balls

Dan (EnviroGadget Writer) — Wed, 06 May 2009 10:00:59 +0000

The Chinese therapy balls have long been used in Chinese medicine as a way to stimulate acupuncture points in the hand and to loosen stiff joints. As someone who suffers from hand pain on occasion, I think that they’re a great way to improve mobility in your hands and fingers. A product designer by the name of Jiang Qian has combine this hand therapy gadget with a battery charger!

Essentially the balls convert rotational kinetic energy (i.e. movement) into electricity that chargers the batteries internally. As you move the balls around each other, they drive a tiny dynamo internally. You can tell if the AA or AAA battery is charged or not due to the built-in LED light. I just wonder how long it takes to charge up a single battery!?

Source: EcoFriend

Want to buy this gadget? Check out the Roll Charger – Battery Charging with Chinese Therapy Balls article on EnviroGadget to see the lowest prices for this gadget.

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