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Upp Fuel cell USB charger

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mikeselectricstuff:
The Upp USB fuel cell charger - a product about as useful as ubeam (though it does actually work).
 

 

Fraser:
Thanks for another interesting teardown Mike.

You even included a firework display for our entertainment 😆

As for the product itself........ A solution looking for a problem maybe ?

In a specific emergency role like a life raft maybe but Lithium cells have a 10 year shelf life anyway so I can't really see a role for the unit in normal applications needing emergency power.

Fraser

SeanB:
For the price you can buy a small 2 stroke generator, a 5l can of 2 stroke marine oil ( more environmentally friendly, and smells better along with being water soluble) and a 205l drum of unleaded fuel, so you can run for a few weeks in the Zombie apocalypse in any case, and have power to run a laptop, lighting, power an electric fence to keep the zombies away......

BravoV:

--- Quote from: SeanB on December 20, 2015, 07:50:11 am ---For the price you can buy a small 2 stroke generator, a 5l can of 2 stroke marine oil ( more environmentally friendly, and smells better along with being water soluble) and a 205l drum of unleaded fuel, so you can run for a few weeks in the Zombie apocalypse in any case, and have power to run a laptop, lighting, power an electric fence to keep the zombies away......

--- End quote ---

Just fyi, the walking dead don't afraid of electric fence ...  :-DD

SeanB:
Electric fence does not need to only warn, it can be a lethal "drop you down dead even though you are already a zombie dead" type, which kils anything up to medium animals on contact.

As to the powder, likely a metal hydride, so the fine powder is going to be pyrophoric on contact with air in any case, likely a metal hydride powder.
 
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pyrophoricity

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nickel-metal_hydride_battery#Electrochemistry


The valve is simple, the large disc is a pressure regulator with a vent to atmosphere on the underside where the spring is, and it closes a metering valve when depressurised, in the bottom under another cover likely a needle and seat valve, while when the 2 push pins are pressed unmetered gas is allowed to flow from the main reservoir into the top, and as the 2 push valves are in series this only will happen if both are depressed. This pushes down on the needle opening it to admit hydrogen flow to the output, which then is regulated by the needle and seat further as it likely has a seal on the fully open position ( the shut off side) and as the pressure on the top side of the piston increases it reduces flow till it will eventually close on another seal at the design pressure. On a major flow ( disconnection) the valve will push back fully on the spring and close, so reducing flow in a fault. The bleed feed will only allow a small pilot flow to start the opening,

The labyrinth on the actual fuel cell is simply to prevent a flashback into the cell membranes, by disrupting the flame path in the long tube with the corners, and to provide a pressure drop as it flows into the fan area so a gradual mixing occurs with air so there is a very small area where the concentration is in the 5-95% range of H2 to air which is the explosive region. Entering is 100% H2, and only in the branching sections is there a gas concentration over 5%, and there the walls will absorb the flame energy of any blast preventing it from travelling further. At the fan outlets it will be under 5% so will not burn.

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