Ice Powered TEC Light

Here's a light which is powered by Ice and hot water. It could be used in a remote mountain hut during a freezing winter.

It was made while exploring how to use Thermoelectric modules to create useful power. Its focus is on the cool side of the TEC module rather than hot side.

8 x TEC1-12706 Thermoelectric modules

Hot Water bottle

2 x 2mm by 10mm by 20mm aluminum plates

LED Flashlight / lantern

Extruded aluminum heat sink x3

1. Arrange 8 TEC1-12706 Thermoelectric modules on top of a one of the aluminum plates.
2. Add some small dabs of hot glue from a glue gun to lock the modules next to each other.
3. Have the printed side up, with the wires from the modules going to the outside.
4. Wire each side in series (positive lead to negative lead).
5. Update: After testing out this set up, you can cut the lengths of wire to be shorter, and solder together is series. Cover the soldered joins with some insulation tape. Then spread some heatsink paste/glue down and press in the TEC's. Run a strip of insulation tape around the edge - where the joined wires will be placed down. Place some more heatsink paste on top of the TEC' and place the second aluminum plate on top. Ensure the joined wire are tucked away. Once the paste has dried, insert some silicon slant into the gap - This tidies things up and makes for a neat finish. You will now only have two connecting wires going out.

1. Place the other aluminum plate on top and secure the two plates together with a little clear packing tape.
2. Connect the two sides in parallel.

1. Make some ice by filling an empty 1litre milk cartoon with water and freezing it (In a hut this could be done by placing it outside in freezing conditions)
2. Once frozen, cut the outside carton off the block of ice
3. Place the block of ice on a cloth on a kitchen bench
4. Place a light cloth on top of the ice (to prevent the aluminum plate from moving)

1. Place the aluminum plate sandwich on top of the block of ice.
2. Place a light cloth on top.
3. Fill up a hot water bottle with boiling water and place it on top of the plate.

1. Place a towel on top of the plate to give some insulation
2. Connect a 1.5-volt light (I purchased one from a Dasio store and soldered on a 1.5 meter leed and attaced a couple of alligator clips) to the sandwiched plates outputs
3. The light will run for about 3 hours before all of the ice melts and provides enough light for a small cabin
4. Update: The Dasio light is key for successful operation as it will operate at low voltage using a built in 'Joule thief' circuit. While a hot and cold source will give more output, using either just a block of ice or a hot water bottle with an (or even better 3) aluminum heat sinks (extruded aluminum fins) works well and is less hassle. If you are in a mountain cabin in the middle of winter, you probably will have a ready source of ice. or can make ice blocks by freezing water outside. While camping during summer, pouring boiling water into a hot water bottle is probably the way to go. I tested both while camping and my preference edges to the hot water bottle as ice is difficult to keep as ice in warmer weather. Another thing is when camping a head touch is of a benefit so you may like to fit the Daiso light into a head strap mount.

Another source of heat tried was placing boiling water into a 4-litre tin can. This worked well, generating 200mA of current and about 0.7volts. The light shone brightly and lasted for over an hour.