Self Powered Fan
When you want to move the hot air from the wood stove around the house, what better way than to use a Stirling Engine powered by the heat from the
stove? This little engine really moves, and moves 300 cubic feet of air per minute. It is quite robust, made of heavy gauge welded steel, aluminum and
brass, and stands up to abuse, although it doesn't get much abuse sitting on top of the wood stove.
We don't let our wood stove get above about 500 degrees Fahrenheit, for safety reasons, but this little gadget can easily take twice that. We have
played with it on a gas range that gets much hotter than the wood stove, and besides the steel getting a nice blue color, no damage was incurred. And
since it moves the air around near the stove, it helps to keep the stove cooler and the room warmer at the same time.
Batteryless Flashlight
The batteryless flashlight is the most practical ingenius invention ever!
* 30 Seconds of Shaking Produces 5 minutes worth of light!
* Waterproof - it even works UNDERWATER!
* Floats by itself in water!
* Completely sealed reed switch
Got any more unnecessary but extremely useful devices you'd like to have in a pinch?
[edit on 14-12-2006 by sardion2000]