EnviroGadget

Clip-On Wearable Mosquito Repeller

Anita (EnviroGadget Writer) — Mon, 06 Sep 2010 09:00:44 +0000

This Clip On Mosquito Repeller requires no artificial chemicals, it uses a natural essential oil to keep the flying pests away from you. The repeller gives off a slight floral scent unlike many sprays and creams. Because the repeller clips onto you your skin is left free of any sticky or greasy residues.

The Clip On Mosquito Repeller allows you to be free of flying pests such as mosquitoes and can prevent tick bites without needing to resort to chemicals such as DEET which can have a negative impact on the environment and can cause skin reactions to some people. The repeller uses geraniol which is a natural essential oil to keep the pests at bay. The clip on repeller should provide roughly a 38cm (15 in) radius of protection from mosquitoes and other such pests.

The repeller has a silent running fan within it that keeps a slightly floral smelling mist of geraniol perpetually surrounding you. To keep this fan running the repeller requires 2 AA batteries to function, we would suggest using rechargeable batteries, and if possible have these batteries charged from an eco-friendly energy source, such as a solar battery charger.

The Clip On Mosquito Repeller is supplied with two geraniol cartridges, each cartridge should provide you with around 120 hours of protection. The repeller measures 7.6 cm x 8.9 cm x 5.7 cm (3 in x 3.5 in x 2.25 in) which should prevent it from impeding on any of your movements while wearing it. This repeller allows you to be free of mosquitoes without using harmful chemicals and without having to spray or rub anything onto your skin. The use of batteries to power the device though could be argued to counteract any of the benefits that it provides the environment.

The Clip On Mosquito Repeller costs just $24.95, with refill cartridges costing just $9.95 for a pair.

Want to buy this gadget? Check out the Clip-On Wearable Mosquito Repeller article on EnviroGadget to see the lowest prices for this gadget.

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Emergency Solar Charger for the Apple iPhone and iPod Touch

Dan (EnviroGadget Writer) — Sat, 04 Sep 2010 13:34:02 +0000

Emergency Solar Charger - Charging iPhone

As the name suggests, the Emergency Solar Charger for the Apple iPhone and iPod Touch is a compact little solar-powered battery and charger, which can be used to charge up your iPod Touch or iPhone in an emergency. The charger contains a battery which is charged up via the solar panel. When you need the extra power, you just connect the charger to the iPhone. The charger will automatically charge the iPhone, giving it roughly 20% of charge.

Charging the Solar Charger

How It Works

You can charge up the charger using solar energy (so leaving it out on a sunny dashboard or windowsill) or you can charge it up via USB using the Apple USB cable (which could be via the PC, mains adapter, or via a car adapter). For the purposes of testing, I typically used the USB cable, as the charger was charged within just 2 hours. It takes a couple of days to charge the charger in sunlight, so really, you want to place the charger in strong sunlight when you’re not using it. That ensures you always have the emergency charge when you need it.

Once the charger is charged up, you just connect it to an iPhone or iPod Charger and it starts charging straight away. It takes about 20 minutes to charge up the iPhone or iPod to about 20%. If your device is completely dead when you start charging, then the charger charges the device up to around 16 to 18% (due to the power consumption when first switching on the iPod Touch or iPhone).

Emergency Solar Charger - on it's own

Feature Suggestions

The charger is very simple, it does exactly what it says on the tin. However, there are a couple of things that I suggest as minor improvements. Firstly, sometimes you need to wiggle the plug on the charger to get it to be recognised by the iPhone or iPod. I suspect there’s a microscopic difference in the connectors which means the charger is not always recognised as a charging device.

Secondly, it’d be good if there was an indicator to show how fully charged the charger is. Just a few small LEDs or a small LCD display to show if the charger is empty, half-full or fully charged. Currently, there’s no way to know how charged the charger is. Some attention here would be appreciated.

Conclusion

The Emergency Solar Charger for the Apple iPhone and iPod Touch is a genuinely useful little gadget. I can imagine that it’s going to come in very useful when out and about with no power source! And costing just $5.51, it’s not going to break the bank either! Thanks to Budget Gadgets for sending me the charger to review.

Disclaimer: Although I was given this gadget to review, it has in no way influenced my opinions in this product review. This review reflects my personal and honest perspective on this gadget, and this perspective has not been biased in any way.

Want to buy this gadget? Check out the Emergency Solar Charger for the Apple iPhone and iPod Touch article on EnviroGadget to see the lowest prices for this gadget.

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Tin Can Recycling with the Frog Can Crusher

Anita (EnviroGadget Writer) — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 09:00:10 +0000

This Frog Can Crusher helps you to be able to crush your cans in style. By crushing your cans you can help save space in any recycling bin, or make it easier to transport the cans to a recycling center.

The Frog Can Crusher allows you to quickly and easily crush your cans safely. The fun frog shaped crusher helps to make the process fun for all while safely containing the can and easily crushing it when pressed.The frog design helps to keep the can safely contained through crushing, its smooth rounded plastic head creating the perfect surface to push down on.Designed for standard 330ml aluminum drinks cans, Frog Can Crusher measures 19 cm x 12.5 cm x 8 cm when it is in its crushed state and 18.5 cm when extended to take a can.

With the amount of materials suitable for recycling ever increasing, recycle bins and containers become filled quickly, many struggling to fit in everything, either in their main bins or in recycling bins within their kitchens. By crushing your cans you can help to reduce the room the cans are taking helping to provide you with more room within your bins. Crushing the cans also helps to reduce the room taken by cans for those who need to take them to a recycling centre. The Frog Can Crusher helps to make the task of crushing cans a fun one, and allows young and old to crush their cans safely and easily.

This Frog Can Crusher is just £9.95 plus a small delivery fee. It’d make an ideal gift for any family with young children too!

Want to buy this gadget? Check out the Tin Can Recycling with the Frog Can Crusher article on EnviroGadget to see the lowest prices for this gadget.

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Homemade USB Bike Generator

Anita (EnviroGadget Writer) — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 09:00:22 +0000

The DIY USB Bike Generator allows you to create your very own generator for powering your portable electronics from your bicycle. The bike generator can be used to provide power for any device that can be charged through a USB port, allowing those with interest in making their own environmentally friendly devices the ability to charge their electronics from their cycling.

Many readers have been impressed with the Nokia Bike Generator, though there are those out there who do not wish to use a Nokia phone, or wish to charge some of their other portable electronics in this manner. For those that have an interest in Do-It-Yourself projects the answer comes in the form of this guide on how to create your own bike generator.

The DIY USB Bike Generator can provide 5W of power to any of your portable electronics that can use a USB port to charge through. Once created the generator should be able to charge two such devices at once, though with no battery storage as soon as you stop cycling the devices stop charging. To those used to DIY and with a range of tools the generator should be relatively simple and cheap to build, however as a first foray into DIY or DIY electronics the device will be more costly due to tool costs, and does require you to be able to solder.

The bike generator uses the kinetic energy of you cycling to generate electricity using a stepper motor. Cycling at 7mph allows you to provide enough power to start to charge your devices, though speeds of over 12mph are preferable. The bike generator does not provide enough power for the more power hungry portable electronic devices, it can though be used to charge a wide range of devices out there allowing you to power your electronics in an environmentally friendly way.

Source: CrunchGear

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Casio Men’s Waveceptor Solar Watch Model WVM120J-1

Anita (EnviroGadget Writer) — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 09:00:31 +0000

The Waveceptor WVM120J-1 is a water resistant watch designed to be of use to a wide variety of people. The watch uses solar power to keep the internal rechargeable battery charged.

The Waveceptor WVM120J-1 Watch by Casio comprises a tough, water resistant digital watch face attached to a resin band with a traditional buckle fastening. The watch has many functions that allow it to be useful to everyone, from a businessman to a diver. The watch has the ability for you to set up to 4 daily alarms and a snooze alarm. The watch has a world time function and it also includes a stopwatch function which can record elapsed time, lap time, split time and 1st-2nd place times. The watch has a built in calendar and features afterglow technology to allow you to clearly read the time even when its dark.

The watch uses Atomic Timekeeping Technology. This allows the watch to receive calibration signals regularly to keep the watch accurate at all times. The watch is water resistant to 100 meters (33o feet) which frees you from any worries over getting the watch wet or wearing it around water. The watch displays how much charge is left in the battery to inform you of when the battery requires the watch to have more sun exposure to allow it to recharge. The watch has a power save function, and can last around 8 months from a full charge.

The Waveceptor WVM120J-1 Watch by Casio is available for just $34.95 plus delivery.

Want to buy this gadget? Check out the Casio Men’s Waveceptor Solar Watch Model WVM120J-1 article on EnviroGadget to see the lowest prices for this gadget.

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Tony’s Farm Tough Moulded-Pulp Eco-Packaging

Anita (EnviroGadget Writer) — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 09:00:52 +0000

Tony’s Farm Eco-Packaging is a step towards a more eco-friendly packaging for the leading organic farm in China. The farm wished to use a packaging that was more in fitting with its environmentally aware philosophy. This pulp molded box allows the produce to be safely transported while being reusable, stack-able and sustainable.

Tony’s Farm Eco-Packaging has been envisioned by designer Matthias Burhenne to allow Tony’s Farm in China to be able to transport their organic fruit and vegetables safely to their customers. The molded pulp packaging created from sustainable sources is moisture resistant, helping it to safely hold the produce, it is suitable for reuse and once it has come to the end of its usefulness the packaging can be easily recycled, or composted. Tony’s Farm Eco-Packaging has been designed to allow it to be stack-able, so that the amount of space the empty packaging takes is kept to a minimum.

The boxes are designed to be used to take the produce to the customers, and to be returned for reuse. The packaging boxes though could be useful in a variety of ways in a home. These boxes could make a suitable alternative to plastic bags or plastic boxes often used to transport produce. Though many supermarkets do allow you to reuse cardboard boxes when in store those using online delivery find their produce transported in many plastic bags, carried in plastic carriers. Many stores will collect the plastic bags for recycling, though reducing the amount of plastic used would still be of significant benefit to the environment. It is not known however why the produce pictured has been securely encased in differing plastic wrappers, the boxes would allow you to place in fruit and vegetables unwrapped.

Source: Matthias Burhenne

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Solar-Powered Keyring Torch

Anita (EnviroGadget Writer) — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 09:00:18 +0000

This Solar-Powered Keyring Torch is a small but powerful LED torch. The torch can charge from both sunlight and ambient light to provide you with a powerful focused beam of light when required. The tiny size of the torch makes it practical to be taken anywhere with you in case you require it.

The Solar Keyring Torch uses 3 LEDs along the front edge to provide you with a focused beam of light when it is required. The 3 LEDs can be used to provide light for around 2 – 3 hours when the internal battery is fully charged. It can take around 6 hours to fully charge the battery. Though direct, bright sunlight is best for charging the torch quickly and efficiently the torch can charge from the ambient light within a room. This allows you to leave the torch keyring on a surface like a desk with the solar panel facing up in a room that is lit for use and have the peace of mind to know the torch is charging.

The ability to charge in even weak light allows the torch to be able to provide you with illumination whenever you require it with only a little forethought to ensure it has had some time charging. The solar panel and LEDs are housed in a shockproof rubber casing, which helps to protect the torch from any bumps and knocks that it might incur in a pocket or bag, especially next to keys.

The keyring torch measures only 5.9 cm x 3.4 cm x 1 cm (2.3 in. x 1.3 in. x 0.4 in.) which helps to ensure that it is always practical to take the torch with you wherever you are going secured onto your keyring, in a bag, or attached even to a coat. The Solar Keyring Torch provides you with a bright and powerful torch in a small and portable package, perfect for taking anywhere to ensure you always have a source of illumination on you in case it is required.

The Solar-Powered Keyring Torch is yours for just £7.95!

Want to buy this gadget? Check out the Solar-Powered Keyring Torch article on EnviroGadget to see the lowest prices for this gadget.

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SP300 – Super Slim Solar-Powered Bluetooth Car Kit

Anita (EnviroGadget Writer) — Fri, 27 Aug 2010 09:00:10 +0000

The SP300 is a slim 3-in-1 Bluetooth hands free car kit. The sleek and slim speakerphone is supplied with attachments to allow you to mount it onto your windscreen, sun visor or even seat-belt. The windscreen mount allows you to charge the Bluetooth kit through solar energy due to the solar panel on its rear.

The SP300 Bluetooth Car Kit allows you to use your mobile while in the car safely. The hands free kit uses a digital signal processor (DSP) which allows it to filter the surrounding noise and helps to reduce the echo that can be caused by your own voice. The full duplex mode is able to enhance the quality of the sound for clearer communication for both sides of the conversation.

The windscreen mount is simple to attach to any car and can be quickly and easily removed when necessary. The two suction cups secure the mount to the screen, the solar panel on the rear of the mount is then exposed to any sunlight that is hitting that area of screen. The internal 650mAh rechargeable lithium-ion battery requires 3 hours to be fully charged through the USB to car charger/cigarette lighter cable and can be charged fully from solar energy in around 18 hours.

By using the windscreen mount you can prolong the use time of the hands free kit while allowing you to use the device without any wires infringing on your view or getting in the way of you driving. The hands free kit can provide you with up to 14 hours of talk time and up to 1250 hours of standby time on a full charge without any solar boost. The Bluetooth kit has an operational distance of up to 10 meters. The SP300 provides you with a Bluetooth hands free kit for your mobile phone that can be powered solely by eco-friendly energy or use this energy to elongate the time between charges helping to provide you with a kit you can rely on to be ready for use whenever you require it.

The Super Slim Solar-Powered Bluetooth Car Kit costs just £29.95 plus delivery.

Want to buy this gadget? Check out the SP300 – Super Slim Solar-Powered Bluetooth Car Kit article on EnviroGadget to see the lowest prices for this gadget.

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50 Green Projects for the Evil Genius

Anita (EnviroGadget Writer) — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 09:00:05 +0000

The book 50 Green Projects for the Evil Genius is a detailed, step by step guide on ways to make your life more eco-friendly. The book contains many different Do It Yourself projects ranging from ways to improve your cars fuel efficiency to how to build your own solar water heater and many things in between.

50 Green Projects for the Evil Genius provides you with step by step instructions for how you can make your own environmentally friendly life improvements. The projects allow you to make improvements to your car, and even show you how to create other green methods of transportation. The book also provides many projects to help you make your home as eco-friendly as possible. The book covers subjects like transportation, alternative fuels, solar, wind, and hydro power, home insulation and construction and many more to help you achieve a greener way of life.

Each project comes with full instructions on how to design, build and install the creations that can be made to suit your particular needs. Most projects are made out of easy to find parts, and each project lists fully all the parts that will be required to create it. The projects range in complexity, from simple creations like creating a worm compost bin, to more complex projects like creating your own wind turbine. This range helps to make the book of use to anyone, from those wanting easy and quick creations to help make their lives greener in small ways to those who have ambitious green dreams.

50 Green Projects for the Evil Genius s is a book that is suitable for anyone with a passion for green living. Its detailed instructions and lists make it simple to create these home projects that help to make your life more eco-friendly. The book offers a fun way to get more involved with being greener. The book costs just $16.47 and is eligible for free shipping.

Want to buy this gadget? Check out the 50 Green Projects for the Evil Genius article on EnviroGadget to see the lowest prices for this gadget.

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Just Add Water – Encouraging Bottle Re-Use

Anita (EnviroGadget Writer) — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 09:00:29 +0000

Just Add Water is a concept for a bottle lid and flavour delivery system to help extend the amount of usage you can get from a standard water bottle. The Just Add Water idea is to allow you to refill bottles with tap water and add flavour to it to make the water more appealing.

Just Add Water is a concept designed by Plus Minus Design to help reduce the amount of empty water bottles that go to landfill or for recycling every day. Most people do not like the taste of tap water, and no matter how much they know that by refilling and reusing their water bottles they help to reduce the demand and waste of plastic they still cant bring themselves to drink the stuff. The Just Add Water lid steps in to make tap water more palatable. The lid is designed to fit on all standard water bottle necks, once in place securely the gelatin based liquid tab that is in the lid can dissolve on contact with the water, adding a burst of flavour to the tap water.

The Just Add Water lids are designed to allow you to be able to replace the gelatin based liquid tab, thus allowing you to reuse the bottle and its led time and time again. There is hope for the tabs to be made to add different things to the tap water to help make it more appealing, different flavours, maybe the ingredients to make the water into an energy drink, research into what the tabs could achieve is ongoing. The tabs would allow you to be able to add flavour anywhere, as they are small enough to be easily taken with you, all you would require is tap water to fill your bottle with.

The Just Add Water sports lid will be able to be recycled just like the water bottles when it is worn out. As the tabs will be sold in packs separately to allow you to refill your lid when needed, you would be able to buy and add the tabs without the lid, for those who do not like drinking from a sports lid or use bottles with a wider than standard mouth. The Just Add Water concept will help make it easier to reuse water bottles, refilling them with ordinary tap water and being able to transform it into something anyone would want to drink.

Source: iGreenSpot

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