# Battery Charger that uses water to generate power



## timo5150 (Jan 22, 2012)

I found and tried out this battery recharger a couple of months back and thought I would share with you. All you need to do is add water and it recharges your batteries. I was skeptical but it works. You can read about it in the article below

http://www.squidoo.com/portable-battery-charger-that-runs-on-water


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## jeff47041 (Jan 5, 2013)

Timo, did you only use the batteries that came with it or did you try regular store bought rechargables in it? If you don't mind, did you have to add new salt? This looks interesting


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## timo5150 (Jan 22, 2012)

jeff47041 said:


> Timo, did you only use the batteries that came with it or did you try regular store bought rechargables in it? If you don't mind, did you have to add new salt? This looks interesting


The first few times I used their batteries but I had some higher mAh ones from my solar kit and found I had to run it twice as long for the bigger batteries ( 4 instead of 2 hrs.) They say you can reuse the salt but I have always used new mix.

I wouldn't use this as my everyday recharge method as it has a limited number of uses 15 I think but for camping or for an emergency kit, its perfect.


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## hiwall (Jun 15, 2012)

Thats cool but wouldn't a small cheap solar one be more practical?


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## timo5150 (Jan 22, 2012)

hiwall said:


> Thats cool but wouldn't a small cheap solar one be more practical?


Yes I have solar also but find me a 30 dollar solar that will charge 6 batteries at a time or even one that does not take 10 hours in direct sunlight for this kind of price. Also there are many times when it is overcast, raining or night when you need to charge batteries.

I would not use this for all my charging needs but for 30 bucks its great to have around the house for disaster preparedness or just when the lights go out and you find your batteries are dead. Its also great for camping trips for the same thing.


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## hiwall (Jun 15, 2012)

timo5150, you make very valid points! Just the 15 time usage was a turn-off for me(where solar lasts for years).


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## LincTex (Apr 1, 2011)

hiwall said:


> Just the 15 time usage was a turn-off for me(where solar lasts for years).


There has got to be a way to clean the corrosion off of the electrodes and make it work again... or replace them. If I had one I could take it apart and see what metals are used.


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## timo5150 (Jan 22, 2012)

hiwall said:


> timo5150, you make very valid points! Just the 15 time usage was a turn-off for me(where solar lasts for years).


Yes I understand but its not really for everyday use even though you could but I figured it out to be about 33 cents per battery and the ability to charge anytime makes it worth while to keep in my disaster kit and to take camping. I haven't got rid of my solar but I do own 2 of these. Makes for a good power supply having both. I use rechargeable batteries in all my battery operated devices so it is handy.


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## timo5150 (Jan 22, 2012)

LincTex said:


> There has got to be a way to clean the corrosion off of the electrodes and make it work again... or replace them. If I had one I could take it apart and see what metals are used.


I am not the expert on it but I think after awhile you deplete the magnesium that the salt reacts with. Not real sure about that but you could probably research magnesium-air fuel cells (I think that's what its called) and learn a lot more.


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## LincTex (Apr 1, 2011)

timo5150 said:


> ....but you could probably research magnesium-air fuel cells (I think that's what its called) and learn a lot more.


If I had it in my hands, 5 minutes and a screwdriver would tell me more than enough about it to understand how it works and how to make it stay working.


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