Best Posts in Thread: Gravity Powered Lights

Brilliant idea.

 

I did donate $70 but as Hans stated it was a donation, not a purchase. I think the product is a good idea and it can help a lot of people. I also like that they are manufacturing these things in the local economy and providing jobs to the same people they are wanting to hep. I would like to do something similar here in the Philippines but I just won't invest in a country that doesn't let me own all of my investment. Not going to help a country that is basically refusing help. Only thing they are interested in here are handouts, not helping themselves. (Of course there are good people in the Philippines that would like to see the hostile environment towards investors to change....but there isn't enough of them to make a difference at this point.)

I think that the product has a market value (in the US) of about half of what I donated. I believe they would sell well in camping/outdoor stores for around $30-$50 (depending on location) and still give them good bit of profit so they can basically give these things away in Africa.

 

Except bullets cost money. Lifting 12kg on pulleys is not all that difficult....and it's free, unlike candles and kerosene.

I have a candle sitting on the coffee and kitchen table at all times....never know when the power is going to go out here, batteries for flashlights are expensive and the cheaply made Chinese solar lights available here are not very reliable in my experience (and at 1k/light they ain't cheap....or even close to being a good value).

Yeah, they still sell those here. I believe I've seen them at Handyman. Problem is they are next to worthless if you are doing something that requires both hands.....and I don't want to stand there and squeeze the thing while my SO is cooking.

I'll admit that for someone like me it just boils down to me being lazy/cheap/forgetful. I don't want to buy batteries, I certainly don't want to keep a flammable liquid in or around the house (or have open flames in the house), I forget to buy more candles until it's too late.....and I certainly don't want to sit there and squeeze or wind up dynamos by hand. But for the people this thing was designed for (the extremely impoverished) this thing could provide them with something we all take for granted....light. I think the only thing that would keep people from using it would be if the retail price was too high. I haven't seen anywhere on their site that says how much they will be charging for one yet. This seems to be the only thing they aren't covering on their website, everything else looks good to me.

 

Received a post rating on this recently and just had a short brownout so thought I would update. I have had this installed for a couple years now and it is still working great. I keep my fire extinguisher and a couple Tanduay bottles filled with water in it for the weight. The light stays on for about 25 minutes. A bit longer with less weight in there (resulting in a dimmer light) or a bit shorter with another Tanduay bottle added (but a tad brighter).

 

It's not intended to take you off the grid or be some type of solar alternative. I've watched quite a few videos of the product and they aren't trying to sell it as anything but lighting for people without power.

From their FAQs:

I really have no idea what those "other devices" might be (other than some small computer components that would be of no use on their own). Seems they don't really know and Google hasn't offered me much information either.

I should get one around December (assuming it ever makes it from Africa to my home going through the postal service here ). It's gotta be better than these crappy Chinese solar lamps I've been buying here in the Philippines.....considering all 4 I bought broke within a couple months.

I don't think it is very complicated at all. It uses gravity to turn potential energy into kinetic energy. The technology has been around for a very long time.

 

I only use it for brownouts. Not much use outside of that, much like a candle.

The physical effort of pulling the weight up is very minimal. Minus the disabled, extremely frail or vertically challenged (they have to be hung quite high and the cord you pull isn't all that long) I don't see how someone could consider it a chore.

That new product seems better suited for the disabled and vertically challenged folk...but I don't spend anywhere near 1 minute pulling the weight up. More like 10-15 seconds. Although I can see the benefit of not having to stop what you are doing every 25 minutes to go pull a cord for some light.

 

Manufactured in Africa (somewhere), shipped to London and then forwarded on to the Philippines. The shipping took 3 months to arrive in Valencia.

I was following the company and they made several announcements informing everyone who donated to the startup about what was causing delays. I'm satisfied that they decided to fix glitches instead of sending out an unfinished product to their contributers.

BTW: My $70 contribution actually turned out to be a pretty good deal:


https://www.walmart.com/ip/GravityLight-Self-Powered-Portable-Hanging-Lamp/601441565
$80 + shipping and handling on Amazon and Walmart.