# Thermoelectric Generators



## Jayhawker (Jan 3, 2019)

From what I understand a thermo-electric generator can be purchased very cheaply compared to most other types. There are models that are designed to fit onto woodstoves that sell for less than $200. Most cheap ones wouldn't run something like a fridge, but could be used to charge small electronics and batteries. It seems to me that having such a device could be a great thing for preppers to have. There are TEG models that are light and can easily be taken in a bug out bag. Although there are solar chargers for phones that are easily carried, most of them take a long time to charge and don't provide the strong on demand electrical charging that a TEG can. Good luck trying to charge a laptop with a small solar charger, it would take days. With a mini TEG, you can charge a laptop in the same amount of time it takes to charge it from normal grid power. 

If your budget is a little larger, the Biolite camp stove is a great little tool for preppers. It's a portable rocket stove with a generator built into it. Because it's a rocket stove it takes way less fuel than your average cooking fire. I've had mine for years and used it on several campouts. I've known many preppers who plan on using wood to heat their homes and cook in SHTF. Well if you're burning wood anyway, why not have a way to convert that heat into electricity?

If prepping for an EMP a TEG could be buried in a faraday cage easily. The great thing about thermoelectric power generation in SHTF is that it doesn't make you look like a target in the same way that a fancy solar array would. Lots of folks would be burning wood in SHTF, and the whole generator can be hidden easily due to their small size. Unlike a solar array, a TEG would help you to maintain "grey-man" status with the people in your local community. Nobody would be showing up at your door to charge their gadgets because as long as you didn't talk about your generator, nobody would know you have power. 

The price point is my biggest reason for preferring this power generation method at the moment. Eventually I would love to have a solar array or wind tower, but this is what I can afford now. Not only can I easily afford to have one in the house, I can afford to have a few backups hidden, all for less than $300 total.


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## Illini Warrior (Jan 24, 2015)

https://theepicenter.com/blog/about-thermoelectric-generators/

https://theepicenter.com/blog/videos/thermoelectric-generator-reviews/


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## Back Pack Hack (Sep 15, 2016)

Someday I'm gonna order some LM7805s and TEC1-12706s and build my own.


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## Kauboy (May 12, 2014)

Solar is all well and good, but the big benefit to TEGs is the fact that you can get electricity while keeping yourself warm at night, and it lasts as long as the fuel source.
With the right circuit, certainly a BOB contender.


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## Elvis (Jun 22, 2018)

I've got some thermoelectric generators built into the fans that sit on my wood stoves. They really don't make much electricity compared to the heat they require to really get things spinning. 

I suspect that a hand or peddle crank generator would make a lot more power than the energy required to cut the wood to make the heat.


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