WaterLily USB. Charge Phone With Water Field Use Review.
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- čas přidán 27. 03. 2019
- This was sent to the channel for purposes of review. The WaterLily is a portable turbine to power USB devices such as phones and powerbanks.
Gear Used.
WaterLily USB
waterlilyturbine.com/products...
www.amazon.com/Waterlily-Turb...
USB Detector.
www.amazon.com/X-DRAGON-Multi...
#WaterLilyUSB #WaterLily
Great review. Certainly tried it in a lot of different spots to see how it impacted charging. Not that fastest, but certainly a great way to get some juice when camping and when trees take solar away.
Thanks for watching!
Fantastic piece of equipment. First time i have seen this. Thank you so much for doing all that testing. It seam's to do a really good job.
Thanks for watching!
What a unique product! Great idea for the preppier and backwoods traveler.
I think it would shine as a preparedness thing IMHO. I also have a biolite basecamp which was purchased back in July. Used it during the summer and now want to do a review. It can generate power better than the Biolite Campstove2. My home solar bug in power generator is a Goal Zero Nomad 14 V2 and Sherpa 50. I gotta review those as well. Thanks for watching brother!
Thanks for taking the time to learn how to use the product and providing an honest review :)
Thanks for watching!
Fun review! Always wondered about this product. Probably won't ever get it myself, but it was neat to watch!
Thanks for watching!
I like your video because you measure actual electricity generated, speak simply and to the point, not a lot of rehashing jargon….
Good video & thanks for the review. I really like that USB detector too!
I did notice you had a lot of instances where you try to plug the USB in & then have to turn it around. I used to have the same issue, then I used a liquid paper pen & just put a tiny dot on the top of the jack and another dot on the top of the plug (on all my USB items & cables). Then I just line up the dots & never have to flip the plug after trying to plug it in.
That sounds like a good idea. It's always a problem for me. Thanks for watching!
Thanks MGW for doing this review, Im going to share this on my Facebook page so other folks know about it.. I bet in the right area and elevation it could be used as a solo wind turbine..
Keep Walk'n.. Hoobilly...
Thanks for watching!
Maybe I'm unreasonable but for 200$ I would've expected something a bit better.
agree me too atleast 2amps was perfect
Thanks for watching!
Awesome! I just got mine today!! Great video can't wait to get it in the field, wilderness S&R and prospecting!
Hi, may I ask what your experience of the water Lily has been? Did you manage to get a good charge from it?
Regards, Jon
@@legendaryjonblue now that I have the wind capability it did give me the additional power to keep a charge, the water test I was in very heavy mineral ground and it would hold the black sands on the plates outside the magnets. I hope to have the wind setup again and will be making a short video. Overall it's one of the better ones on the market, good customer service ect.
@@rockymountainlifeprospecti4423 That's good to know. I have a river at the bottom of my garden, so I should be able to set it up in good conditions with some tinkering. The only problem is they're very difficult to get hold of here in England.
i liked your review cos you showed voltage etc.. i will be definitely buying one now. i already have a portable usb 24w solar charger and the infinity usb wind turbine charger.
You re a bag of never ending inventions mate !!!!
Thanks brother!
Mate what's that
Great review video! Well done and quite thorough. Useful information.
Pretty awesome piece of kit!
Thanks for watching!
Excellent review, thank you.
Well let me tell you Walker that's one hell of a gadget you got there 😁😁😁😁😁😁 I always enjoy your videos
Thanks!
Thanks for the review. I am in the market for one of those.
Thanks for watching!
great idea, versatile and compact...an adapter to strap kids to it would be good
Man, this looks really cool. I must have this
Thanks for the vid! I carry a 26k Anker. And the other one I have is solar 20k. I only carry that when I’m out at least a week or with another person. I wouldn’t want to add 2.5-3 lbs.
Gostei muito desse produto !
Eu vou comprar um para mim !!💪🏽💪🏽🇧🇷🇧🇷🇧🇷🇧🇷
i saw this product before and was interested in your review
Thanks for watching.
That's a nice product. Could definitely keep you online for extended periods of time.
Thanks for watching!
Good in depth review.
Thanks for the review Walker, I’ll go to their website and check it out further. Seems a bit heavy for backpack camping trips but would be a big asset in extended stay nighttime charging applications. I need to see what the minimum flow rate required for reliable output since I currently live in a flatland environment with mostly slow moving water.👍
They have listed flow rates over on the manufacture's site but can say slow moving water is a no go. Thanks for watching!
That definitely could be a helpful device. Nice, Thumb's up~John
Thanks for watching!
Super handy if you're in camp for any length of time. Mark
Thanks for watching!
Great product Kevin!! I've never seen one of these before. You got me thinking now.
Thanks for watching!
Great information thanks.
Thanks for watching!
This thing is awesome bro another good video👍from me
Thanks for watching.
Thanks for the info. To summarize, you got 1.4 to 2.5 Watts out of the Waterlily. That's a far cry from the 15 watts that waterlily claims. I would love to hear someone speak to this discrepancy.
The max a USB port can output is 10 watts unless mistaken so it will never output 15 watts no matter what for this model. This issue is also common place with solar panels for example a 14 watt panel with only 1 USB port can only transfer 10W (truth be told 7W would be good for a 14W panel in the real world). I think they have a flow rate to watt output chart on their site so it's all spelled out. My charge rate was based on my flow rates however don't have any instruments to measure flow rate only the output of the device. Thanks for watching!
i don't see 2.5w i only see 1 to 1.8w when is on 0.5A voltage drops to 4v
I read some comments about how a solar charger is superior? I.M.H.O. the WaterLily is going to be generating power whether its sunup or after dark, 24-7 as long a you have flowing water. The faster the flow, the faster the turbine spins putting out more power. I like it, I like the review, and I can see me picking one of these up when the funds are available. Thanks MegaWoodswalker for another one of your informative video's!
Pretty cool gear , perfect for base camp , does the turbine work eater way ? maybe the grill side goes first . any way tanks for watching !
This is the correct orientation per the manufacture waterlilyturbine.com/ however given the nature of a Turbine it will produce electricity regardless of direction. Thanks for watching!
Very Interesting video.man!
Great review, gives us ideas on what we might need or want for our equipment.
Thanks for the review. In my day we called it baby puke green. !:- )
Good VDO from thailand
Great for a permanent camp near A stream .
Thanks for watching.
Good one Worshipful !!!
Keith
The Alabama Bushcrafter
Thanks brother!
I would think a simple cone shaped debris screen (think dunce hat on head) would be helpful to avoid leaves/sticks (or small fish 🤣) from entering the blades
I would love to know what its like after 12 months of semi regular use
No doubt.
With this turbine and a good powerbank you can go for camping for weeks! Charge powerbank at night and when u get back charge the phone!
Not bad ,it’s very neat
Thanks for watching!
Awesome little gadget there...now that is needed in a real camping adventure to keep the batteries charged for recording videos...if one has a running stream near-by...lol.
looking at the way the metal wires are connected It seem like you had the upstream side facing downstream. I think the metal guard is supposed to be on the upstream side. The only pain about this is you have to deal with debris but I like it. It might require you to check it a lot to make sure no debris accumulates and stops it. Also that stream has good volume and it seems as though it charges slowly and you have to monitor it. As slow as it seems to be you might need to throw it in the water right away when you get to the stream. Of course camping by a stream on a flood plain is not a real good idea. Just a few random thoughts.
Thanks for the video. It looked like you had some really good placements but struggled to get more than 500mA. Have you ever managed to do better? The Waterlily specs suggest up to 3A charging current in the regulated USB version and double that in the 12V version.
.75 amps at 5v was about the best for my conditions. I am not sure how well it would work in higher flow rates. Their stated output and charge times seemed accurate based on said conditions but have no way to verify the faster flow rate claims. In the future will update the comments if the opportunity should occur. Thanks for watching.
MegaWoodswalker
Waterlily claim it will output 3A in a 3.6mph flow. The setups which you tested looked like good, strong flows easily as fast as this.
Perhaps it's something to do with turbulence? In real-life the swift water you need will almost always be a turbulent little run where the water drops in height and/or is constricted in some way. That might make it harder for the Waterlily to extract energy compared to the smooth flow in a lab-test.
Did you change your pin on your phone after this video?
Cannot comment on this product on Facebook because they seem to have disabled “comments”. Also on their website. This is a hand crank portable turbine; that they have ingeniously coupled with a water flow substitute for hand cranking. That’s genius. The whole system after that is worth like; $30.00
2-3 watts at that price, size and weight? Unless you are staying out for weeks: Just bring a couple of 100 Wh power banks. Each will hold about as much charge as running WaterLily for 48 hours.
How would this compare to a 15 watt solar panel?
"Invaluable planet wide winning Architecture, 'a perfect engineering solution', all an ancient Bain and wealth of mankind"... Should this finished turbine /windmill be held hostage by profiteering syndicates, the critical sum /whole of the good Waterlily principle will never bloom weighed against the gravity of syndicates unnecessarily inducing poverty. Give yourself this dignity; never sell out for "cheap pride" make quality and quantity so it is common overnight & the next day planet wide.YVO PS. Thank you for the work you do this video.
What is the mat you are using!?!
0.3 ampers per hour. 300 mAh/h , a small powerbank has 10000mAh so that will be 33hour of charging .
The one thumbs down, probably tried to use a ceiling fan to charge their solar panel. 😁 This is very cool, definitely would be handy. If you combined the bio stove, solar panels, and this, you could recharge your car battery 🔋😁👍 I’m waiting for some environmental activists to file a law suit against you, claiming that the blades are killing small fish and plankton.
I am working on a review of the biolite base camp I bought last year so can add harming dead branches and producing smoke into the mix. Thanks for watching brother!
Now THAT'S a good review! Could you provide a link to the usb reading device with the clear coat cover?
He's dead, but you can look up his Amazon review account to see all his gear
The little yellow knob that he initially took off from the center of the turbine blades and is sitting on the ground is intended to screw back on the handle he attached; which makes the hand cranking of the turbine more useful and efficient. :-) Also, he could have charged the phone directly rather that charging the power pack and using it to charge the phone. Charging directly is much more efficient.
I know about that but didn't even bother spending the time to put the knob on the cranking thing because it's a waste of time. Tested it that way and per the instruments and observation it's worthless. In fact I think the phone would actually drop in power as the input can't keep up with the base system requirements and as the device turns on and off because of the low input. The hand crack proved to be basically useless no matter what. Knob or not. Also I did run both the phone and powerbank direct connect tests as shown in the video so not sure what's up with that. On a side note there are more factors to consider than the conversion loss of transferring energy when it comes to charging a phone directly from this, solar or other variable means. A phone can develop a charge error and require manual re connection or get stuck charging at a lower rate which requires a reset as well. Powerbanks are cheep, basically disposable and seem less prone to a shut down from heat or cold. The electronics are much more simple etc etc than a smart phone. It will always take a charge. Also it frees up the use of the phone. My preference based experience s always to charge a powerbank first unless I can baby sit the phone
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Where can I buy that thumb drive that read the mah over time?
You did an awesome job on your test but the product sucks they should come up with the wind mill or just stick it out your car or on top of your car and you could charge phone that way.
For same space you could just take few fully charged power Banks.
You showed 16 percent charge after 30 min how does that compare to its regular charge time at home???
How does it fair against salt water? as this could be a life saver at sea for emergency sos torches and so on
I don't know.
Im sure if you used rocks to direct flow it would charge a little better too.
456mah in over 1 hour considering the cost is poor.
I agree that the output, as demonstrated, is low. About 5 volts at 450 mah is 2.5 watts! That's a far cry from the 30 watts advertised. I would have expected this to produce say 10 watts, even in non-ideal situations. It's performance is poor even compared to a tiny $50 20 watt solar panel. That is going to make the claim that it can produce as much as a 100 watt panel in 24 hours, highly unlikely. ............... But it is an interesting idea and got me thinking about building a small turbine (larger than this). Look for Water Lily to come out with a larger version, that's always what happens when a company finds out people are not satisfied with it's real world performance (AKA Yeti).
why cant this hook up directly to the phone to charge it??
I wouldn't mind doing reviews, but like you I would be very honest,..
After doing the different types of set-it-up" in different types of water., I then would start looking for ways to improve it's performance.!!! If you attach a hose ( like a sort piece of dryer hose), to the front of it" useing a "water-proof" tape, Then attach the front end of the dryer hose" OR "something like that" to a wide mouth piece of duct, work, it should be so much easier to catch a ton more water, finding the places where the water flowed into a small passage way".!! Then weight it down, in a way that the ductwork can catch as much water as possible.!!! Then the actual unit, "water Lilly" can just lay across a large Rock.!! As the ductwork" was catching and directing the water" into the unit, it would spin so much faster & easyer, that it should be enough power to run a small tent light, and charg anything else at the same time.!! Of course that is all just theory" until tried & proven. Now, as one might think it may have to be hooked up to a battery Bank" a little better that what you had come with it for you're reviewing., OR perhaps if Someone had Two units, one for regular use and another for use as I have stated. But eather way" this seems like a better way of having power, in the Backwoods.!!! I've even seen a portable wind power device" set-up on a "Tower like"
Tripod. Where everything is portable, and ment to be carried in a BACK pack" set-up in minuets, and provides enugh power to a tent" to power almost everthing one might have that needs electricity" to operate.!!! But I wanted to thank you for the review" Thanx!!
So after some quick math, it seems like the charge rate dropped with the higher current for some reason. Your first charge of 456 in an hour is a bit slow but decent enough for a phone like mine to get 75% charge over an 8 hour night. You readjusted and got 527... even better!! But when you put it in the heavy current I noticed bad things. 178 over 38 minutes is 4.6 a minute or about 281 an hour. When you readjusted again and got 76 in 15 minutes thats only about 304 an hour.
It looks like your optimal charge was in the beginning.
i had one of these - i paid $200 for it nd i only ever got 1000mah out of it in 2 years ..... mine must have been damaged or broken as i used a volt meter on it and it takes a lot of water energy to get 0.2 amps out of it . When it finally broke ( i cut the usb lead off it , as it just was not working ) i was using it in a river going 10 times as fast as the one in this video and still got absolutely NO power from it - it turned the lights on as if to charge but nothing .
when new - it will not charge up almost any devises .... only a phone maybe - it will not (NEVER) charge up tablets or large battery banks...... i used to charge a bike light it and a set of hair clippers ..... 1000mah was all i ever got going into a easy account ( e enegery ) battery bank
Seems that’s the story for portable devices that are supposed to generate electricity. They’re always moody and unreliable.
Where to order this
What meters are those?
Where can this be purchased?
Currently unavailable on Amazon.
What is that iPhone case bro?
Hi loved your video and your dedication to testing it outdoors through the night in winter no less. Would you recommend it tho as opposed to solar? It seems pretty bulky and the availability of running water is an issue. Thanks.
He sadly died
@@petercampbell1287 So sad, great review - best i have found on youtube! Rest in peace
He he he dry sack. Guess that happens at that age🤣🤣🤣
The Walker will be truly missed! Rest In Peace!
Wait he died???
@@SophieHesper Sadly yes he had a heart attack after coming in from a hike in January this year 2020
@@TheSimplecanadian Aw man... well, at least he was out doing what he loved...
Wow very nice of them to send it for free
It was. I was surprised they even knew of me. Aw heck I hardly know of me. Thanks for watching!
@@MegaWoodswalker you have a great channel my friend
For free with expectations of a review and free advertisement. Spending a whole day in the woods reading directions messing with cables and wires. Kinda free but not really.
what hasn't been taken into account is if youre putting a turbine into a fresh running stream you will also be getting those elements such as floating sticks and garbage maybe so what happens when that hits the blades ? will the turbine stop or break...
Someone didn't watch the whole video
@@LeesChannel maybe you haven't done your research about these things. You'd be lucky to charge a phone be easier just to have a small solar panel or power bank lol
@@kohdetimetraveler I have no stance on the matter, but what you claimed hadn't been taken into account had all been addressed in the video.
@@LeesChannel if you have no stance on the matter than what is the point in arguing. Youre a special kind of person aren't you. As well there is a lot more problems than just sticks and things that are going to make this not really worth the buy but guess no point in mentioning or talking about this because clearly youre that type of person to watch paint dry. have a good one lmfao epic.
527 mAH is slow compared to my 2715 maH fast charger on iPhone XR or 900 mAH on old Samsung phone.
Too heavy for a single backpacker, perhaps a duo... I am going to see how well it can augment my 120V charger, dynamo-hub, and 300W solar panel used while bike camping. 3+ pounds for the bag, charger and (worthless) handle attachment is 3 more pounds. If she can pull her weight she gets to come along for the ride.
it can't be making anymore power than a AA battery can provide (3.6V @ 590 amp hours).
it's ridiculous but it's a fun thing to use so it has value there.
Omg, I thought this cracking mechanism had some gears to multiply the spinning action! But it doesn't and it's just overpriced piece of plastic...
Good video mate, but seriously its an over priced piece of crap going by those numbers. Should be in the high 800 - 1200's for what it is. I would suggest they release a MarkII and use a different diode and resistor etc to allow for more current draw to really be of serious use, Especially for the price of the unit. Gave you a thumbs up and a Sub anyway for presentation ;-) cheers from Western Australia.
Hello! It's a very efficient tool. But, a beat expensive, no?
Yes. It's expensive for sure IMO. Thanks for watching!
In that time it takes to set up, I could have been winding my own generator
They put Kevin as endorsing it with "two thumbs up" on their site which I don't feel is accurate, he said "...we're giving it a thumbs up."
Neat gadget but I have a solar charger the size of my phone. Easier less bulky. To bad it's not on a bigger scale for off grid living.
How does it work in salt water? I would love to throw it over the side at anchor and keep batteries charged up. Would the tide current be sufficient to keep it working in a 3-4 knot running tide?
This charges with wind as well? Neat. That's a pretty slow charge time, though. The way they advertise this in their video as "powering your entire camping trip" while showing an image of an entire family with this thing powering a bunch of LED lamps and phones and tablets.. yeah, no. You'd be hard pressed to keep one device charged, much less for an entire family. You'd need one for each person, and they'd still have to wait 2-6~ hours for a modern phone to charge 100% from dead, and I can't even imagine charging a tablet or a laptop.
It's a novel idea, and would definitely help in a pinch if you're stranded and need to charge a light or a phone, but I can't see this sustaining a "modern" camping trip for even one person. Primitive camping would be fine, between this and solar, you could keep a phone and a battery bank charged pretty constantly. Charge one bank during the day with the solar and another at night with the Lily, use the banks to charge your phone. It'd definitely help where there's little to no sunlight.
A more practical turbine would be one with much bigger blades that unfold and are made from a lightweight frame with a heavy duty fabric, or something like kite material stretched between, that you can hang from a tree or a limb in the ground and would turn with even the lightest breeze. Use a bigger generator and you'd make twice the power at half the RPM.
10x a lot!
Yikes, fast stream, and only staying around 4 volts??! Should never dropped below 5 v in that stream!
I bought the 12 v version...and bought a y connecter, with an auto USB plug on one side of y, and 12 v battery on the other. Obviously you can use USB plug on the battery. But I bought this to supplement power to aid a weather station that needed 12 and 5 volts, in winter with little sun and high winds...
Plus, the higher 12 v is better with power loss with long cord...
The auto USB (cig lighter adapter) is a great idea. If I had thought of that (I use one for my 12 volt Sherpa and in my truck ) would of tested the 12 volt model instead. But I didn’t think of it. Seems obvious now in hindsight. Thanks for watching!
I have the 12 volt version too worst $238 i ever spent. Barely got to 9volts in raging water then stop producing power after 35mim
"Invaluable planet wide winning Architecture, 'a perfect engineering solution', all an ancient Bain and wealth of mankind"... Should this finished turbine /windmill be held hostage by profiteering syndicates, the critical sum /whole of the good Waterlily principle will never bloom weighed against the gravity of syndicates unnecessarily inducing poverty. Give yourself this dignity; never sell out for "cheap pride" make quality and quantity so it is common overnight & the next day planet wide.YVO
That's very minimal amount of electricity
Can someone please explain to me how it generates electricity ??
The blades of the turbine spin and convert mechanical energy to electrical energy. Just like the alternator in your car that keeps the battery charged, or a generator that runs off gasoline that you use when the power goes out for your house.
Hmmm, those results are very dismal from the advertised rated output.
I think their advertised ratings IMO are accurate. The 15W is probably the output of the Turbine in best conditions aka higher flow rates etc etc. I didn't have flow rates that high so can't verify however we know a USB cable is only going to take 10W. Then real world conditions apply. Same thing when a 14w solar panel often puts out 5 to 7 watts to a device. Hypothetical output vs real world local conditions. Their website states the following. "Users get the most out of WaterLily in an overnight setup. Set up your turbine to fill a battery bank, and have full charge for your devices by morning!" This is true. The powerbank they provided was 6700 mAh. So even my 527 mAh would take 12.71 hours. Naturally it's not really 6700 mAh and the input slows near the end as the electrons stumble over each other but odds are overnight these smaller powerbanks would fully charge. They list a Gopro Hero 5 charge at 1.7 to 3.3 hours based on flow rate. I have a GoPro and the battery is 1220 mAh. So my testing showed that would take 2.5 hours in my conditions. Naturally the same rules pertaining to the powerbank apply. However you can bet it would be less than 3.3 hours. This is why I gave it a thumbs up. The actual measured results for my real world conditions matched their claims of charge times for devices. They kinda took a risk sending it to me as would of shown if those listed device charge rates were false claims and then be complaining about it on CZcams. LOL!
Video very long time
For the price it needs more power output. An advantage, it would work at night. Getting jammed up by debris would be a problem. For now l’ll keep my solar unit.
Thanks for watching!
Useful tool, but I think talking through the video would make it more interesting. You had a hard time plugging in the usb connectors. If you talk through the video we'd know what you're thinking. Was it hard to connect because you're no t use to using usb's or the tools you're using?
Everything is harder outside in the woods and micro USB isn't forgiving. I am very used to USBs however would prefer USB C which is easier IMO. Thanks for watching.
Check every site I could find on this thing. Not much out there so bought/ tried. Junk! I'm sure this post will be deleted somehow but not worth the money for this over priced pos. Definitely onto something though..
What was your issue with it?
They sent it to the perfect guy, not to many others that have your knowledge of batteries and portable charging systems, you might have to change the name of the channel to MegaWaterwalker
Thanks for watching!
The crazy russian hacker did a review on the water charger and it did not work for him idk if he was doing something wrong or what
He needed to use a USB detector or do more testing. I tested many more times than was actually recorded on video. The unit requires higher flow rates and position within the stream can effect the rate of flow. I think it was user error though I like his channel.