thanks, im glad you like it! good luck on the repair, let me know if you have any questions. also, as a side note, i used this repaired Biolite while camping a couple weeks ago; the new battery is still functioning properly.
Just in case anyone is wondering... The Campstove2 has a 2600mah 18650 cell... I just changed it to a NCR18650GA 3500Mah (Only for the hinger capasity)
nice! thanks for sharing. i would imagine that the 18650 cells would be easier to replace and more readily available... not to mention higher capacity.
@@Revyloution Was there any space left for a bigger battery? Otherwise a LG Chem 21700 battery would be perfect. 2 times the capacity (5000MAH) and just a little different dimensions. A 21700 battery is 70mm long. Please advice. LG Chem M50T link www.nkon.nl/lg-inr21700-m50-5000mah-7-3a.html?___SID=U
Tested it and can confirm the repair! Nine euros in stead of a new unit. This is so much more sustainable than a new unit. Note, your screwdriver needs to be quite long.
The Biolite Campstove (gen1) uses an ICR17335 rechargeable lithium battery. The dimensions are similar/same as the CR123A that he uses in the video. The current replacement for this, with all the wiring/tabs (he uses a holder, but it's better to use soldered tabs) is the 7.4v RC Boat battery for the Skytech H100, H102 boats. There are several vendors who make that pack. It should be 19mm deep (thick) and 35mm long. It uses two 18350 cells internally (18mm x 35mm). The packs come with silicone wire and a SM-2P connector, and an extra XH-3P charging connector. You should only need a soldering iron, solder, flux, wire cutters and kaptan tape. You will simply cut the pack apart and use one of the batteries. Your existing connector can be swapped onto the second battery. You can buy individual 18350 cells with tabs, but they are more expensive than the 7.4v 2-Pack.
thanks for sharing! in the video i considered the idea of using a battery holder, but scrapped it due to space issues and ended up soldering the existing connector onto the new battery like you describe. cheers!
Rechargeable 3.6V CR123A. Batteries+Bulbs had a 4 pack for $30 & the tech there soldered the old wires onto the new battery without charge. Everything reassembles best if you put it face/belly down and fill the guts. Mine definitely needed a TLC Cleaning! Thank you for the video!
Great video and a nice and easy fix :) To sum some comments and my own experience: The symptoms of a failed/failing battery - orange light never stops blinking when charging CampStove from external power source - no power on the USB port even when the green light is on - fan turning off quickly even when the stove is seemingly charged from external power source - the stove being dead, not starting and not charging If you have any of those you should apply this fix as it's easy and cheap. As for using a bigger capacity battery - there is little space inside the case but this could actually be useful. Per standard an USB port should provide at least 500mA of current at 5V. Some devices will try to pull this much current and won't charge if they don't get it. CampStove 1 thermoelectric cell can provide 300mA in best conditions. When you try to pull 500mA from the stove you will get it - 300mA from the fire and 200mA from the battery. When battery voltage drops below certain level the USB light will go orange and internal battery will be recharged. To sum it up - when your device is power hungry, BioLite will charge it in pulses. Installing a bigger internal battery could make these pulses be longer.
saw & split your wood into small blocks or thick branch pieces so you can put tinder& small twigs on top, for a 'TOP DOWN BURN', will last about half hour. empty the coals back on top.. super efficient.. awesome content!
@@DavidVonk biolite has kinda bad reputation for being a novelty item & having to fill often. I love this product & will probably have to replace battery soon. Had it a long time & haven't had to charge it yet.
That is a great idea! That is how I start my wood burning stove. I should have thought about that!! Top down would be SO much more efficient with such a small burning chamber. You certainly wouldn't have to worry about extinguishing your pilot. Thanks for the tip!!!
Thank you for noticing metrics :) I bought 4 of those. Faithfully served my trips as well. I'm planning similar addon. I'm planning to use it as a backup-power without using heating at the time.
My battery/charging point is basically dead after 10 years. The fan still works so it's still a great cooking device even without the charging capabilities.
you're right! it is a good cooking device even without the USB charging, which is why i decided to try repair this old one instead of tossing it out and getting a new one. long live your old Gen 1 BioLite! :)
Thanks for posting this! I've had a 1st Generation for about six or seven years now, too (with the kettle and grill - so sweet!) and while the battery is still functioning, I definitely notice a decrease in capacity and expect that I will have to switch it out sometime in the near future (which is what brought me to this video!) In any event, thanks for posting . . . now, I'm just wondering if I can find a 3.7V with an ampacity greater than 800 mAh (you know, soup it up a bit!! :-) ) In any case - Great video, David!
thanks, I'm glad you liked the video! good to hear you're going to keep your 1st Gen Biolite in service. as for increasing the battery mAh capacity, it should work fine, as long as you use the same voltage. be aware, however, that the battery in the Biolite only powers the fan during startup, so upgrading the battery will only let you run the fan longer while starting the fire, and thats all (its not like the 2nd Gen that can be used as a power bank without an active fire). if you have any questions about the battery replacement, let me know. cheers, and good luck!
@@DavidVonk Right on, brother! :-) The only reason I would want greater ampacity is to counter-act the capacitance leakage that occurs as a battery sits and waits for its next use. Otherwise, in order to properly maintain the battery, it has to be brought up to a full charge every month and before each use. Thanks again!
Here's a tip: cut a 3/16" or 1/4" steel plate the shape of the grill but slightly smaller. Transfer the oblong football shape to the plate using the grill body upside down. Drill lots of 5/16 or 3/8 holes in it. Throw away that cheap heat spreader that gets clogged, and say 'Hello!' to a searing grill surface. You can lift one leg of the grill to offset it, resting the opening underneath on the lip of the stove, to refill the chamber below. No dinky soy hatch needed - time for real steak!
I HAVE THIS SAME ISSUE WITH MY CAMPSTOVE GEN 1, INTERNAL BATTERY CAN NEVER FULLY CHARGE THREW THE USB, WHICH LEADS TO IT NEVER BEING ABLE TO TRICKLE CHARGE THE USB POWER PORT WHEN YOU GET THE FIRE GOING - THE HIGH SETTING OF THE FAN WINDS UP AND DOWN - BACK N FORTH REPEATEDLY...I THOUGHT THE VERSION 1 DIDN'T HAVE A BATTERY AND BOUGHT IT FOR FEAR OF THE INTERNAL BATTERY OF THE VERSION 2 DEGRADING OVER TIME...SMH AT LEAST THE REPLACEMENT IS NOT TO EXPENSIVE OR TO COMPLICATED OF A INSTALL...I'M GONNA HAVE TO ORDER A 900mAh BATTERY THEN REWATCH THIS VIDEO A FEW TIMES FOR THE INSTALL PROCESS, SEEMS SIMPLE ENOUGH, THANKS AGAIN FOR TAKING THE TIME IN SOLVING THIS PROBLEM AND SAVING THESE CAMPSTOVES FROM ENDING UP IN A LANDFILL
Nice video.i just picked up the Biolite 2 at a pawn shop with the grill attachment for 75 dollars.im liking it.do they come with a power cord for home charging ?.thank"s
my original Biolite came with that little yellow USB cord you see in the video for charging. not sure about the Biolite 2, but i imagine it did as well.
My power bank still running fine after 4 years of heavy use. But the metal burning cup has finally seen its end and need a new one. Contacted Biolite and they said they do not sell replacement parts. So I am going to make a new one for myself
nice! yeah, despite what some people think, stainless steel isn't "stainFREE," its just "stainLESS." my combustion chamber has some oxidation on in as well, but i still has plenty of life left. good job making a new one for yourself to keep the ol' Biolite alive!
@@DavidVonk This disappointing part is they presented themselves as a company that helps the 3rd world countries and reduce the carbon footprint. while the company is doing all that. Forcing consumers to purchase a new unit and dump the usable part is just a big red flag to me.
Yo , used my campstove about 200 times and had it about 3 years now , battery still ok , 9 months ago we bought a biolite basecamp stove , used it about 90 times and the battery is not holding a charge or the unit is not charging , I used to stove in below zero condition and even at around - 5 C .......I'll guess the battery is bad , so my question is can I plug in to the USB port and supply the fan . The fan does come on for about one minute then goes out at the same time as the battery level led .....thanks for your video and time
hello, i do not have a BaseCamp so im not really sure how they work, but have you tried charging it through the usb port? i'd imagine they would design a way to input power if the battery dies, like you can do with the CampStove. that said, i did read this negative review on BioLite's BaseCamp webpage: "There is no warning that the fan will not run if the battery is dead/empty. The result is that the entire thermo-electric assembly overheats, solder melts and wires disconnect, and the plastic air duct melts. BioLite could have printed a warning to charge the battery first with a special cable, but they didn't." does that sound familiar? searching around on the internet, it appears the BaseCamp has been discontinued... maybe this was a recurring problem?
@@DavidVonk Thanks for your fast reply ...your scenarior is probably right , I'm pretty sure I can hook a fan somehow maybe the fan is still ok ....a long time ago I graduated as a EET so I'll be ok . The dome cover has a mechanical thermometer so I can monitor the heat ......I have accidentally overheated the stove a few times and got about 60 days at 4 hours a day usage usage , anyways I use small bike agm batts so I'll supply the fan with 5 volts and all will be ok.........I use it for heating and cooking and it gets mounted on my trailer which is pull with a three wheel drive velomobile .....I also have a Campstove , used it about a hundred times burning coconuts for 3.5 months in Dominica camping and still works after four years of usage....will let you know what I find inside the orange housing of the Basecamp ....thanks again for your time
@@DavidVonk about two months ago my vapourizer stop working and it was still under warranty .....because of the smell of the unit , my wife told me to keep outside the house and the litium battery was being charged in the freezing cold weather . I did get a free replacement but I was told not to charge my litium battries in the freezing weather cause it was causing premature failure of the battery.......the technician told me the action of charging did the damage , have you heard of this action causing premature failure to lthium batts.....I use 12 v agm batteries in my electric trike and charge outside and it seems to be ok , I get about 4 years out of them...reguardless I'm very happy with my Biolite stoves and they are repairable
i hadn't heard that, but i dont claim to be an expert on battery tech either. i wouldn't be too surprised if they have a range of temperature tolerance.
I know this is an oldie.... but I have the Gen 1 too, STILL rocking the SAME FACTORY blue 3.7v 500mah cell.... how do you keep it alive? DO NOT RECHARGE WITH EXTERNAL POWER..... ONLY the internal system.
very impressive, and thanks for the tip! i mistakenly forgot mine in the non-insulated attic for several years where it slowly discharged while suffering under *extreme* temperature swings; not good for batteries. oops. oh well, im glad i was able to revive it... this battery i installed in this video years ago is still working though!
hello, the RCR123A batteries are apparently also referred to by their size, 16340, so you might have more luck searching for that. here is a page i found (no affiliation) with a bunch of brands, if you just want to see what is out there: www.batteryjunction.com/batteries/shop-by-size/16340-rcr123a in this video i used a soldering iron to attach the leads which dumps a whole bunch of heat into the battery and can damage it and reduce its life, and if i did it again i would get a battery spot welder to attach them properly; they start at like $40 on amazon. that said, i did this battery replacement 6 years ago and my old Gen1 BioLite still works fine and holds a charge.
thank you! im honestly not sure what the charging output of the thermoelectric generator is, but i do know that it is pretty low. you have to keep the fire pretty hot to have it generating enough surplus electricity just to power the USB port. i would imagine you would need to modify or replace the circuity to make it work with 12v, but i have no idea how or what you would need. i just wanted to get mine working again. perhaps someone with some electronics knowledge will chime in.
The saddest part of this stove (gen 1 & gen 2) only on the motor fan. They just use brushed DC motor instead of brushless! I recommend to add more peltier element to increase the way harvested electricity, then replace the fan with 5V brushless 150mA blower, and make the 18650 twice for capacity.
i couldn't tell you. if the battery is dead the fan won't work, which greatly reduces the combustion speed & efficiency, which it turn will limit the amount of heat that actually reaches the thermoelectric generator. i dont know what temperature the thermoelectric generator needs to function, or what amount of input power is required to activate the charge circuitry.
Great vid!!! Thanks a lot mate. One question, is the battery a rechargeable ? I have found both types of batteries and I just want to be sure so I don’t mess it up. Thanks a lot again!!!! SUPER LIKE!
from what i can find, the TEG generates 2 watts at 5 volts continuous, with a peak of 4 watts at 5 volts, dependent on the strength of the fire. of course priority goes to the fan first, then to topping off the internal battery; when that is full, excess power is then diverted to the USB port. ive read the fan uses about 1 watt and the USB port gets about 2 watts on average.
@@DavidVonk cheers mate really helpful, I am doing a project that is similar to the biolite but on a bigger scale. I bought 7 cheep teg's but can only produce around 2v from them using an electronic radiator to test them.
hello, i do not have a NanoGrid, so i couldn't say for sure how the battery replacement would be performed. i imagine it would likely be a similar process: disassemble, desolder old battery, resolder replacement battery, and reassemble.
hello, i do not have a PowerLight, so i couldn't say for sure how the battery replacement would be performed. i imagine it would likely be a similar process: disassemble, desolder old battery, resolder replacement battery, and reassemble.
theoretically yes, you could upgrade the battery to a higher capacity... however, in the Gen1 stove, it seems the sole purpose of the internal battery is to power the fan long enough for the thermo-electric generator to create excess power. only after it has exceeded that power generation threshold will it use the USB port to charge external devices. the onboard circuitry does not charge anything without the fire being hot enough (i.e., the battery alone will not charge anything). it would seem that upgrading the battery would only allow the internal fan to run for longer while you are stoking the fire. the only other possible benefit that comes to mind *might* be that an internal battery with a larger capacity would stay above the "power threshold" longer, thus allowing the circuitry to divert excess power to the USB port sooner. this, however, is merely a guess.
David Vonk thanks David. I picked up a second hand bnib gen 1 for $100 CAN plus $14 CAN shipping on Kijiji, (its a sale site across Canada where people sell used items).
@@Bondo843 - nice, good score! the gen 1 is a decent, functional product... however, i do see the allure for the refinements with the upgraded gen 2. i considered upgrading to a gen 2 since my gen 1 battery was dead, but now that its working again (successfully field tested on a week-long backpacking trip since the repair), ill keep my gen 1 around for the time being.
barbara, thank you for concern! i had burned my hand prior to shooting this video and due to the location on my knuckle it had healed with a rather bulbous scar... since this video the scar has continued to shrink and has now all but disappeared. :-)
the manufacturer says it will burn wood pellets, yes. i have not personally tried them, but i am sure you could burn them for an hour if you keep adding pellets when the fire gets low.
hi there, according the manufacturer's website, the Biolite is "...designed to burn solid biomass only: sticks, twigs, firewood, pinecones, wood chunks, etc." i do not imagine that liquids (e.g., white gas, candle wax, etc.) would work very well. the combustion chamber requires air circulation around the fuel for complete combustion, and liquids would stay at the bottom of the chamber.
admittedly, i haven't been in the market for a new thermoelectric generator camp stove, so i am unaware of other alternatives. what's your favorite camp stove? im sure other people here in the comments will see your recommendation(s) and check them out!
@@DavidVonk the metal part of the BioLite is actually quite nice, just the TEG part is so expensive that is makes the whole product unreasonable. I prefere a simple Hobo/Bushcraft Box from Stainless Steel. They are arround 30$ and do a great job :)
Awesome video! My just went after roughly a decade and good to know I can repair, rather than create more garbage. Thank you!
thanks, im glad you like it! good luck on the repair, let me know if you have any questions.
also, as a side note, i used this repaired Biolite while camping a couple weeks ago; the new battery is still functioning properly.
Thanks! Huge help. Mine finally died after about 10 years. Good to know it can be fixed.
yes, it would be a shame to just throw it away if all it needs is a new battery. good luck!
Just in case anyone is wondering... The Campstove2 has a 2600mah 18650 cell... I just changed it to a NCR18650GA 3500Mah (Only for the hinger capasity)
nice! thanks for sharing. i would imagine that the 18650 cells would be easier to replace and more readily available... not to mention higher capacity.
Did you wire the battery directly, or did you solder the strip component that came with the original battery?
@@Revyloution Yeah, please let us know.
@@RocketRiderToTheMoon I wired the strip component on the 18650 battery. It's been working great.
@@Revyloution Was there any space left for a bigger battery? Otherwise a LG Chem 21700 battery would be perfect. 2 times the capacity (5000MAH) and just a little different dimensions. A 21700 battery is 70mm long. Please advice.
LG Chem M50T link www.nkon.nl/lg-inr21700-m50-5000mah-7-3a.html?___SID=U
Tested it and can confirm the repair! Nine euros in stead of a new unit. This is so much more sustainable than a new unit.
Note, your screwdriver needs to be quite long.
good job, glad the repair worked for you!
The Biolite Campstove (gen1) uses an ICR17335 rechargeable lithium battery. The dimensions are similar/same as the CR123A that he uses in the video. The current replacement for this, with all the wiring/tabs (he uses a holder, but it's better to use soldered tabs) is the 7.4v RC Boat battery for the Skytech H100, H102 boats. There are several vendors who make that pack. It should be 19mm deep (thick) and 35mm long. It uses two 18350 cells internally (18mm x 35mm). The packs come with silicone wire and a SM-2P connector, and an extra XH-3P charging connector. You should only need a soldering iron, solder, flux, wire cutters and kaptan tape. You will simply cut the pack apart and use one of the batteries. Your existing connector can be swapped onto the second battery. You can buy individual 18350 cells with tabs, but they are more expensive than the 7.4v 2-Pack.
thanks for sharing! in the video i considered the idea of using a battery holder, but scrapped it due to space issues and ended up soldering the existing connector onto the new battery like you describe. cheers!
didn't watch the video
and comments like he da king
Thanks for posting this video. Getting ready to replace the battery in my stove which died recently. Great to see your experience.
youre welcome, and good luck! the Gen1 Biolite was a solid & functional design. here's to your refreshed stove lasting for many more outings!
Thanks for the video! My biolite died right in the middle of motorcycle trip last week, and now it's burning like hell again!
awesome, im glad the video was helpful!
Rechargeable 3.6V CR123A. Batteries+Bulbs had a 4 pack for $30 & the tech there soldered the old wires onto the new battery without charge. Everything reassembles best if you put it face/belly down and fill the guts. Mine definitely needed a TLC Cleaning! Thank you for the video!
nice, good deal! you're welcome-glad to hear the video was helpful.
Great video and a nice and easy fix :)
To sum some comments and my own experience:
The symptoms of a failed/failing battery
- orange light never stops blinking when charging CampStove from external power source
- no power on the USB port even when the green light is on
- fan turning off quickly even when the stove is seemingly charged from external power source
- the stove being dead, not starting and not charging
If you have any of those you should apply this fix as it's easy and cheap.
As for using a bigger capacity battery - there is little space inside the case but this could actually be useful.
Per standard an USB port should provide at least 500mA of current at 5V. Some devices will try to pull this much current and won't charge if they don't get it. CampStove 1 thermoelectric cell can provide 300mA in best conditions. When you try to pull 500mA from the stove you will get it - 300mA from the fire and 200mA from the battery. When battery voltage drops below certain level the USB light will go orange and internal battery will be recharged. To sum it up - when your device is power hungry, BioLite will charge it in pulses. Installing a bigger internal battery could make these pulses be longer.
glad you liked the video; and thanks for the tips!
There enough room in there to put two lifepo4 batteries in parallel! Going to upgrade mine!
Thank for the video!
awesome, good luck!
Там вольтаж 3,6в а лифепо 3,3вольта че ты чешеш?
saw & split your wood into small blocks or thick branch pieces so you can put tinder& small twigs on top, for a 'TOP DOWN BURN', will last about half hour. empty the coals back on top.. super efficient.. awesome content!
thanks for the tip! ill have to give the 'top down burn' a try next time i fire up the Biolite!
@@DavidVonk biolite has kinda bad reputation for being a novelty item & having to fill often. I love this product & will probably have to replace battery soon. Had it a long time & haven't had to charge it yet.
That is a great idea! That is how I start my wood burning stove. I should have thought about that!! Top down would be SO much more efficient with such a small burning chamber. You certainly wouldn't have to worry about extinguishing your pilot. Thanks for the tip!!!
I almost threw mine away! Now I know to replace the 🔋!
Thank you for the video
youre welcome, glad i help you save your Biolite from the landfill!
Thank you for noticing metrics :) I bought 4 of those. Faithfully served my trips as well. I'm planning similar addon. I'm planning to use it as a backup-power without using heating at the time.
you're welcome! good luck on your project :)
Thank you so much. Mine is working again, thanks to you!
awesome, good job! enjoy :)
My battery/charging point is basically dead after 10 years. The fan still works so it's still a great cooking device even without the charging capabilities.
you're right! it is a good cooking device even without the USB charging, which is why i decided to try repair this old one instead of tossing it out and getting a new one.
long live your old Gen 1 BioLite! :)
Very well explained of how to do it! Even I could understand it! :-)
thank you, im glad it was easy to understand!
Thank you. Very informative.
I really wish you had recorded the assembly....I am having to watch it over n over to locate what wires went where
Thanks for posting this! I've had a 1st Generation for about six or seven years now, too (with the kettle and grill - so sweet!) and while the battery is still functioning, I definitely notice a decrease in capacity and expect that I will have to switch it out sometime in the near future (which is what brought me to this video!) In any event, thanks for posting . . . now, I'm just wondering if I can find a 3.7V with an ampacity greater than 800 mAh (you know, soup it up a bit!! :-) ) In any case - Great video, David!
thanks, I'm glad you liked the video! good to hear you're going to keep your 1st Gen Biolite in service. as for increasing the battery mAh capacity, it should work fine, as long as you use the same voltage. be aware, however, that the battery in the Biolite only powers the fan during startup, so upgrading the battery will only let you run the fan longer while starting the fire, and thats all (its not like the 2nd Gen that can be used as a power bank without an active fire).
if you have any questions about the battery replacement, let me know. cheers, and good luck!
@@DavidVonk Right on, brother! :-) The only reason I would want greater ampacity is to counter-act the capacitance leakage that occurs as a battery sits and waits for its next use. Otherwise, in order to properly maintain the battery, it has to be brought up to a full charge every month and before each use. Thanks again!
Here's a tip: cut a 3/16" or 1/4" steel plate the shape of the grill but slightly smaller. Transfer the oblong football shape to the plate using the grill body upside down. Drill lots of 5/16 or 3/8 holes in it. Throw away that cheap heat spreader that gets clogged, and say 'Hello!' to a searing grill surface. You can lift one leg of the grill to offset it, resting the opening underneath on the lip of the stove, to refill the chamber below. No dinky soy hatch needed - time for real steak!
Че написал про гриль я нихрена непонял
Great tutorial love it!
I HAVE THIS SAME ISSUE WITH MY CAMPSTOVE GEN 1, INTERNAL BATTERY CAN NEVER FULLY CHARGE THREW THE USB, WHICH LEADS TO IT NEVER BEING ABLE TO TRICKLE CHARGE THE USB POWER PORT WHEN YOU GET THE FIRE GOING - THE HIGH SETTING OF THE FAN WINDS UP AND DOWN - BACK N FORTH REPEATEDLY...I THOUGHT THE VERSION 1 DIDN'T HAVE A BATTERY AND BOUGHT IT FOR FEAR OF THE INTERNAL BATTERY OF THE VERSION 2 DEGRADING OVER TIME...SMH AT LEAST THE REPLACEMENT IS NOT TO EXPENSIVE OR TO COMPLICATED OF A INSTALL...I'M GONNA HAVE TO ORDER A 900mAh BATTERY THEN REWATCH THIS VIDEO A FEW TIMES FOR THE INSTALL PROCESS, SEEMS SIMPLE ENOUGH, THANKS AGAIN FOR TAKING THE TIME IN SOLVING THIS PROBLEM AND SAVING THESE CAMPSTOVES FROM ENDING UP IN A LANDFILL
youre welcome! i'm glad you found the information helpful and that you want to save your Gen 1 from the landfill. good luck on the replacement!
THX I'm also worried about the battery issue.
Nice video.i just picked up the Biolite 2 at a pawn shop with the grill attachment for 75 dollars.im liking it.do they come with a power cord for home charging ?.thank"s
my original Biolite came with that little yellow USB cord you see in the video for charging. not sure about the Biolite 2, but i imagine it did as well.
I got the Biolite 2 for Xmas. It comes with a usb cable and an LED light.
My power bank still running fine after 4 years of heavy use. But the metal burning cup has finally seen its end and need a new one. Contacted Biolite and they said they do not sell replacement parts. So I am going to make a new one for myself
nice! yeah, despite what some people think, stainless steel isn't "stainFREE," its just "stainLESS." my combustion chamber has some oxidation on in as well, but i still has plenty of life left.
good job making a new one for yourself to keep the ol' Biolite alive!
@@DavidVonk This disappointing part is they presented themselves as a company that helps the 3rd world countries and reduce the carbon footprint. while the company is doing all that. Forcing consumers to purchase a new unit and dump the usable part is just a big red flag to me.
yeah, that definitely sucks. i hate how "disposable" things are these days. give me the parts and i'll fix it myself!
Cool, thanks 👏
Yo , used my campstove about 200 times and had it about 3 years now , battery still ok , 9 months ago we bought a biolite basecamp stove , used it about 90 times and the battery is not holding a charge or the unit is not charging , I used to stove in below zero condition and even at around - 5 C .......I'll guess the battery is bad , so my question is can I plug in to the USB port and supply the fan . The fan does come on for about one minute then goes out at the same time as the battery level led .....thanks for your video and time
hello, i do not have a BaseCamp so im not really sure how they work, but have you tried charging it through the usb port? i'd imagine they would design a way to input power if the battery dies, like you can do with the CampStove.
that said, i did read this negative review on BioLite's BaseCamp webpage:
"There is no warning that the fan will not run if the battery is dead/empty. The result is that the entire thermo-electric assembly overheats, solder melts and wires disconnect, and the plastic air duct melts. BioLite could have printed a warning to charge the battery first with a special cable, but they didn't."
does that sound familiar? searching around on the internet, it appears the BaseCamp has been discontinued... maybe this was a recurring problem?
@@DavidVonk Thanks for your fast reply ...your scenarior is probably right , I'm pretty sure I can hook a fan somehow maybe the fan is still ok ....a long time ago I graduated as a EET so I'll be ok . The dome cover has a mechanical thermometer so I can monitor the heat ......I have accidentally overheated the stove a few times and got about 60 days at 4 hours a day usage usage , anyways I use small bike agm batts so I'll supply the fan with 5 volts and all will be ok.........I use it for heating and cooking and it gets mounted on my trailer which is pull with a three wheel drive velomobile .....I also have a Campstove , used it about a hundred times burning coconuts for 3.5 months in Dominica camping and still works after four years of usage....will let you know what I find inside the orange housing of the Basecamp ....thanks again for your time
ah yeah, it's likely the overheating did more damage to the battery than running it below freezing. best of luck on the repair!
@@DavidVonk about two months ago my vapourizer stop working and it was still under warranty .....because of the smell of the unit , my wife told me to keep outside the house and the litium battery was being charged in the freezing cold weather .
I did get a free replacement but I was told not to charge my litium battries in the freezing weather cause it was causing premature failure of the battery.......the technician told me the action of charging did the damage , have you heard of this action causing premature failure to lthium batts.....I use 12 v agm batteries in my electric trike and charge outside and it seems to be ok , I get about 4 years out of them...reguardless I'm very happy with my Biolite stoves and they are repairable
i hadn't heard that, but i dont claim to be an expert on battery tech either. i wouldn't be too surprised if they have a range of temperature tolerance.
Thanks
you're welcome!
I know this is an oldie.... but I have the Gen 1 too, STILL rocking the SAME FACTORY blue 3.7v 500mah cell.... how do you keep it alive? DO NOT RECHARGE WITH EXTERNAL POWER..... ONLY the internal system.
very impressive, and thanks for the tip! i mistakenly forgot mine in the non-insulated attic for several years where it slowly discharged while suffering under *extreme* temperature swings; not good for batteries. oops. oh well, im glad i was able to revive it... this battery i installed in this video years ago is still working though!
well if you skip the battery and connect the cables direct to the usb "out" then you could charge the external units direct
The battery powers the fan, which strikes the fire. Also a direct charge would most likely fluctuate and destroy your device
これは参考になる。感謝です!
you're welcome!
W9uld you happen to have the link for the battery, trying to find on google woth the model but cant get any hits
hello, the RCR123A batteries are apparently also referred to by their size, 16340, so you might have more luck searching for that. here is a page i found (no affiliation) with a bunch of brands, if you just want to see what is out there:
www.batteryjunction.com/batteries/shop-by-size/16340-rcr123a
in this video i used a soldering iron to attach the leads which dumps a whole bunch of heat into the battery and can damage it and reduce its life, and if i did it again i would get a battery spot welder to attach them properly; they start at like $40 on amazon.
that said, i did this battery replacement 6 years ago and my old Gen1 BioLite still works fine and holds a charge.
I have the Biolight 2plus and I thought they could have designed the cover to be proof, not a cheap plastic cover
Great video! Do you have any knowledge of expanding the batteries to 12v? Would that require new parts?
thank you! im honestly not sure what the charging output of the thermoelectric generator is, but i do know that it is pretty low. you have to keep the fire pretty hot to have it generating enough surplus electricity just to power the USB port. i would imagine you would need to modify or replace the circuity to make it work with 12v, but i have no idea how or what you would need. i just wanted to get mine working again.
perhaps someone with some electronics knowledge will chime in.
Hola consulta lleva un solo peltier y la placa electrónica se puede conseguir,y el cooler con que voltaje funciona?
sorry, i did not measure the output voltage of the peltier. it will charge the 3.7v battery and power a USB port... maybe 10 volts? just a guess.
Nice watch you Sir
The saddest part of this stove (gen 1 & gen 2) only on the motor fan. They just use brushed DC motor instead of brushless!
I recommend to add more peltier element to increase the way harvested electricity, then replace the fan with 5V brushless 150mA blower, and make the 18650 twice for capacity.
nice, sounds like some serious upgrades!
How long does it take to charge the internal battery from dead using only the heating function?
i couldn't tell you. if the battery is dead the fan won't work, which greatly reduces the combustion speed & efficiency, which it turn will limit the amount of heat that actually reaches the thermoelectric generator. i dont know what temperature the thermoelectric generator needs to function, or what amount of input power is required to activate the charge circuitry.
@@DavidVonk it IS possible to recharge from dead to full in about an hour (or more depending on how hot you get the fire pot)
@@BeezyKing99 hey, that's good to know! thank you for sharing :)
But what about the battery indicator? Does it work properly after the battery changing?
since i swapped the battery with an identically-rated replacement, all original functions of the unit remain unchanged.
Great vid!!! Thanks a lot mate. One question, is the battery a rechargeable ? I have found both types of batteries and I just want to be sure so I don’t mess it up. Thanks a lot again!!!! SUPER LIKE!
hey thanks, im glad you liked the video. yes, the battery is a rechargeable lithium-ion. good luck!
David Vonk thanks a lot dude!
Does fire recharge the battery?
yes, the stove has a thermo-electric generator that generates power from the heat of the fire
Where did you get the batt holder?
as you saw i did not end up using it... but they are available on amazon. search for "CR123A battery clip"
do you know the rating of the TEG, would be very helpful. thanks
from what i can find, the TEG generates 2 watts at 5 volts continuous, with a peak of 4 watts at 5 volts, dependent on the strength of the fire. of course priority goes to the fan first, then to topping off the internal battery; when that is full, excess power is then diverted to the USB port. ive read the fan uses about 1 watt and the USB port gets about 2 watts on average.
@@DavidVonk cheers mate really helpful, I am doing a project that is similar to the biolite but on a bigger scale. I bought 7 cheep teg's but can only produce around 2v from them using an electronic radiator to test them.
My stove seems to charge and run fine but no power output once the green light comes on. Could this sill be the battery or something else?
i couldn't say for sure, but that sounds like it may have something to do with the USB port or the circuit board.
Have you ever tried it change out the batteries on a nanogrid light?
hello, i do not have a NanoGrid, so i couldn't say for sure how the battery replacement would be performed. i imagine it would likely be a similar process: disassemble, desolder old battery, resolder replacement battery, and reassemble.
Thanks! I'll probably be tearing into it sometime soon just not sure how it comes apart. But thanks for the reply!
Have you done this on the powerlight
hello, i do not have a PowerLight, so i couldn't say for sure how the battery replacement would be performed. i imagine it would likely be a similar process: disassemble, desolder old battery, resolder replacement battery, and reassemble.
Do you know if you can upgrade the battery to a higher mAh so it has more power like the new Gen 2 stove?
theoretically yes, you could upgrade the battery to a higher capacity... however, in the Gen1 stove, it seems the sole purpose of the internal battery is to power the fan long enough for the thermo-electric generator to create excess power. only after it has exceeded that power generation threshold will it use the USB port to charge external devices. the onboard circuitry does not charge anything without the fire being hot enough (i.e., the battery alone will not charge anything).
it would seem that upgrading the battery would only allow the internal fan to run for longer while you are stoking the fire. the only other possible benefit that comes to mind *might* be that an internal battery with a larger capacity would stay above the "power threshold" longer, thus allowing the circuitry to divert excess power to the USB port sooner. this, however, is merely a guess.
David Vonk thanks David. I picked up a second hand bnib gen 1 for $100 CAN plus $14 CAN shipping on Kijiji, (its a sale site across Canada where people sell used items).
David Vonk was debating buying the gen 2 onsale locally and reselling the gen 1 but still pondering that.
@@Bondo843 - nice, good score! the gen 1 is a decent, functional product... however, i do see the allure for the refinements with the upgraded gen 2. i considered upgrading to a gen 2 since my gen 1 battery was dead, but now that its working again (successfully field tested on a week-long backpacking trip since the repair), ill keep my gen 1 around for the time being.
I hope you have had a doctor took at your hand. Looks (on video) like the skin cancer the dermatologist removed from my hand. Like your video!
barbara, thank you for concern! i had burned my hand prior to shooting this video and due to the location on my knuckle it had healed with a rather bulbous scar... since this video the scar has continued to shrink and has now all but disappeared. :-)
One more quistion if the fire of wood is good dose the biolight charging mobile like a charger of electricity?
yes, once the wood fire is burning hot enough, the stove will charge electronic devices via the USB port on the side.
If you put wood pellets in it it will burn hot enough to charge for an hour.
the manufacturer says it will burn wood pellets, yes. i have not personally tried them, but i am sure you could burn them for an hour if you keep adding pellets when the fire gets low.
David Vonk yeah i have used pellets one hour hot
Hello thank you for this viedo. Pleas i want to try work the biolight on cooking gas or some candle appreciate your feedback
hi there, according the manufacturer's website, the Biolite is "...designed to burn solid biomass only: sticks, twigs, firewood, pinecones, wood chunks, etc." i do not imagine that liquids (e.g., white gas, candle wax, etc.) would work very well. the combustion chamber requires air circulation around the fuel for complete combustion, and liquids would stay at the bottom of the chamber.
Hello thank you for this viedo. Pleas i want to try work the biologist in cooking gas or some candle appreciate your feedback
Seems stupid to me to have a plastic casing they could have done better
Charges when it reaches a hot enough temperature
yes, the USB charging port is only activated after the thermoelectric generator has recharged the internal battery and it has an excess of power.
Шляпа какаято
What a trash unit....they MASSIVELY rip people off with that thing :/
admittedly, i haven't been in the market for a new thermoelectric generator camp stove, so i am unaware of other alternatives. what's your favorite camp stove?
im sure other people here in the comments will see your recommendation(s) and check them out!
@@DavidVonk the metal part of the BioLite is actually quite nice, just the TEG part is so expensive that is makes the whole product unreasonable.
I prefere a simple Hobo/Bushcraft Box from Stainless Steel. They are arround 30$ and do a great job :)
nice! there are definitely benefits with having such a simple, minimalist design. thanks for sharing!
Look like a capacitor