World's first real Free Energy Flashlight - no shaking - no batteries! No Solar

[Nink]

A 'crystal cell' of the size which would fit inside the flashlight would never be able to deliver enough energy to operate a 120 lumen LED for 2-3 hours per day, as they claim.

We will know it soon... now that they have said they already have sent out all the ordered lamps, we can expect that they will arrive in the next days.
How long does it take from Australia to Europe ?  Maybe 2 weeks maximum ? 

When it arrives i will start testing it, but i will not open it before i have finished my tests. I will switch it on for 2-3 hrs every day and document the on-times.
If it only has some sort of battery inside, it will be empty after some days. The maximum time can be calculated by comparing the inside volume of the lamp housing with the energy density data of known battery types.

A commercial magnesium  copper crystal cell battery that size could deliver about 1.5V @ 100mA =  0.15W so you could charge a battery for 24 hours = 1.5*.1*24=3.6W now we need to run for 2 to 3 hours so lets say 2.5h so 3.6/2.5 = 1.44W but I also get an extra .15 as I don't have to charge battery while I am using it so 1.44W + .15W = 1.59W to deliver 120 Lumen with a Joule thief circuit.

[skywatcher]

A commercial magnesium  copper crystal cell battery that size could deliver about 1.5V @ 100mA =  0.15W so you could charge a battery for 24 hours = 1.5*.1*24=3.6W now we need to run for 2 to 3 hours so lets say 2.5h so 3.6/2.5 = 1.44W but I also get an extra .15 as I don't have to charge battery while I am using it so 1.55W + .15W = 1.59W to deliver 120 Lumen with a Joule thief circuit.

But how big is a crystal cell which can deliver 1.5V and 100 mA ?
I did some experiments with crystal cells, and a cell fitting into such a flashlight (minus volume required by accu) will barely make a single small LED glow.
It can deliver maybe 1 mW which is far away from the required 150 mW.

Or to say it differently: a crystal cell of this size delivering 150 mW continuously would also be worth 99$. 

[Nink]

But how big is a crystal cell which can deliver 1.5V and 100 mA ?
I did some experiments with crystal cells, and a cell fitting into such a flashlight (minus volume required by accu) will barely make a single small LED glow.
It can deliver maybe 1 mW which is far away from the required 150 mW.

Or to say it differently: a crystal cell of this size delivering 150 mW continuously would also be worth 99$. 

How big is relative.  Crystal cells are dependent on the surface area of the exposed magnesium. A simple trick is drill holes in the side of your magnesium rod and it will increase the surface area, increasing Amps.  The torch has a 2 year warranty / 5 year life ?? so I am sure they have given a lot of thought to creating a commercial magnesium anode with the maximum surface area that can last a minimum of 2 years and maybe up to 5 but they don't really care it is out of Warranty.  So they  probably used a star shape in a rod (again I am only guessing but this is what I would do) so you would significantly increase the surface area but you reduce the life.
The reason you could only barely light one LED was a volts issue not Watts.   Here is flyfishers video and even without a joule thief or a battery store he is lighting a bank of LED's directly from a 4.5V crystal cell (3 cells 2" tall each in series).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cV9waxkdw-Q&feature=youtu.be&t=288

[skywatcher]

The reason you could only barely light one LED was a volts issue not Watts. 

I used a joule thief, but under load the cell voltage went down to 0.6 V and current was only a few microamps max.

Here is flyfishers video and even without a joule thief or a battery store he is lighting a bank of LED's directly from a 4.5V crystal cell (3 cells 2" tall each in series).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cV9waxkdw-Q&feature=youtu.be&t=288

I don't know how much current this LED bank is drawing, but if we go back to our 150 mW calculation for the flashlight and a lifetime of only 2 years = 17500 hrs we would need 2628 Wh of energy. There is no battery in the world which can store 2628 Wh of energy and fits into a flashlight.

Regarding the ELFE flashlight, the most likely scenario is the following:
They can not afford sending nothing because then most customers will recall their money via Paypal. So they have to send anything to avoid this.
If they send a flashlight with normal batteries, most people will notice this. But not many of them will send it back because this costs a lot of money.
If you send it back they can say ok we will send you a new one (which of course will not be different) or they can say we are sorry but we told you that it will not work in all places...

[Pirate88179]

I used a joule thief, but under load the cell voltage went down to 0.6 V and current was only a few microamps max.

I don't know how much current this LED bank is drawing, but if we go back to our 150 mW calculation for the flashlight and a lifetime of only 2 years = 17500 hrs we would need 2628 Wh of energy. There is no battery in the world which can store 2628 Wh of energy and fits into a flashlight.

Regarding the ELFE flashlight, the most likely scenario is the following:
They can not afford sending nothing because then most customers will recall their money via Paypal. So they have to send anything to avoid this.
If they send a flashlight with normal batteries, most people will notice this. But not many of them will send it back because this costs a lot of money.
If you send it back they can say ok we will send you a new one (which of course will not be different) or they can say we are sorry but we told you that it will not work in all places...

Bingo!  I suppose we will see soon but, I do not think you are wrong.  They left a big out....may not work in all areas...like YOURS, ha ha.

Bill