New Jersey Institute of Technology engineering students used a K-Tor Power Box, paired with a bicycle frame to create a human-powered cell phone charging station for a remote village in Haiti. K-Tor founder, Ken Torino, consulted with the students about incorporating the Power Box generator into their design. See the article about their experience.

We have had this fall an unprecedented series of Hurricanes effect the US and Caribbean. K-Tor is in a unique position to assist as the leading maker of Human powered Generators. We have had many orders from private individuals in the effected area. In addition, Late Friday afternoon Oct. 6 the Red Cross asked for all our stock as soon as possible. After a massive effort that weekend we had 1620 hand cranks and 240 pedal generators on four pallets ready to ship Monday morning which were air freighted to Puerto Rico. On subsequent weeks we shipped an additional 1980 hand cranks. K-Tor thanks the Red Cross for this opportunity to be of assistance and the several individuals who gave up their weekends and worked 18-20 hour days to make this possible.

We received a photo and feedback from an individual customer on the US Virgin Islands who has been without power for over a month and is shown charging his cell phone with our pedal generator.

Our best wishes to all those impacted by the recent spat of hurricanes and we hope for a speedy recovery.

Ken Torino

President K-tor

The first portable generator of its kind, the K-TOR Power Box delivers 20 watts of electricity at 120 volts DC.  This revolutionary product provides access to electricity in any environment or situation. Designed for continuous operation, the K-TOR Power Box can directly charge almost any modern electronic device. The Power Box can also be used to charge 12 volt batteries. Many devices can be driven directly off of 12 volt batteries or an inverter can be hooked to a 12 volt battery to provide 120 volt ac and run a wide range of devices.  Such batteries are a great store of energy and can be used to power larger appliances which cannot run directly off of the Power Box.

Folded up in storage mode, the generator weighs less than five pounds and is smaller than a shoe box.  In a few quick steps the generator is converted from storage mode to generator mode.  In generator mode, power is delivered via a universal outlet, simply plug in a compatible electronic device and start pedaling (90 rpm maximizes power output and efficiency).

For more information visit the K-TOR Power Box product page.

“The Pocket Socket has been a successful product for K-TOR,” comments founder Ken Torino, “We have customers all over the world using our hand crank generator in a wide range of environments and it’s been fascinating to witness the places our products have been and the purposes they have served.”

New packaging, labels, materials, and molded grips are just a few of the updates that have been made to this second generation Pocket Socket. A yellow color scheme for the label and rubber band match the primary use of this product in emergency situations. Also visible to the customer, the top and bottom of the case has been patterned to make it easier to grip.

Other, less visible, updates include a newer stronger polycarbonate plastic, a stronger power train and improved electronics.

The patented technology inside the Pocket Socket 2 and all K-TOR portable generator products enable the efficient conversion of human energy into a 120 volt power source. A 124% increase in blackouts annually in the US in recent decades has left more and more Americans looking for a backup power supply for when the grid goes down.

K-TOR believes no one should have to be without access to electricity. Our portable, affordable, human powered generators feature a standard outlet interface that provides alternative, backup and emergency power to a wide range of compatible devices.

The Pocket Socket 2 retails at $64.95 and is available online at www.k-tor.com.

In addition to the Top Holiday Seller ranking, K-TOR’s customer satisfaction was 97% positive which earned an A+ rating.

Thank you to all of you who have left positive feedback on our K-TOR Amazon Store or on our product page. We are dedicated to providing you with a positive customer experience and a versatile, dependable product.

The recently issued patent contains 22 claims that identify the innovations featured in the portable power generator. The uses of high voltage DC at standard AC voltages as well as the use of standard AC interfaces are just a few of the groundbreaking features found in K-TOR products.

The issuance of this patent is an important milestone for K-TOR and validates the years of R&D it took to bring this technology to market.

The IAEM Annual Conference provides a forum for current trends, topics and information about the latest tools and technology in emergency management and homeland security.  Emergency managers, homeland security officials, first response coordinators, private industry risk managers, contingency planners and many more will be in attendance as this year’s 60th Annual IAEM Conference & EMEX.

K-TOR will be exhibiting at EMEX as well as attending the conference. The K-TOR booth number is 441 and its location is identified in the picture above. This will be the first emergency preparedness expo K-TOR has exhibited at and the company is looking forward to exposing the emergency management community to their products. During the expo K-TOR will be conducting live demonstrations and at 1pm each day the company will raffle off a free Pocket  Socket at their booth.

A critical tool in emergency preparedness, K-TOR generators provide an instant source of electricity via a standard electrical interface.  In an emergency situation, access to power or electricity can be scarce or non-existent. Powering critical electronic devices such as phones, lights and radios, K-TOR generators are an essential preparedness item.

About IAEM

The International Association of Emergency Managers (IAEM) is an international organization dedicated to promoting the goals of saving lives and protecting property prior to and during emergencies and disasters. IAEM is a non-profit, educational organization established in 1952 with more than 5,500 current members. Members are local, state and federal government emergency management/homeland security professionals; private industry/security executives; military; non-profit, healthcare; volunteer disaster planners; and others.

What You’ll Need:

• 1- K-TOR Pocket Socket
• 1- Lamp (remove lamp shade)
• 1- 60 watt incandescent bulb
• 1- 13 watt cfl bulb (60 watt equivalent)
• 1- Light meter (optional)
• 1 – Heart rate monitor (optional)

1. Plug the lamp into the outlet on the K-TOR Pocket Socket hand crank generator.
2. Screw the 13 watt cfl bulb into the socket.
3. Start spinning the generator at 2 rotation per second to generate full power. The bulb will light.
4. If using heart rate monitor or light meter measure data points before subject starts generating power and at various intervals while subject is generating power.
5. Unscrew the 13 watt cfl bulb from the socket and screw in the 60 watt incandescent bulb.
6. As in Step 3, spin the generator at 2 revolutions per second to generate max power.
7. If collecting data, record data as done in Step 4.

This experiment is a hands-on lesson in energy efficiency.  It enables those who conduct this experiment to feel the difference in work required to power a standard light bulb vs an energy efficient (CFL) light bulb. It also gives them a physical appreciation for the amount of work required to do something as simple as power a light.  The incandescent bulb is much harder to crank and won’t reach full brightness since it exceeds the power rating on the Pocket Socket.  It would take more than five Pocket Socket’s working together to power this inefficient technology.

Conversely, the energy efficient CFL bulb is relatively easy to power continuously at full brightness because of advanced semiconductor technology embedded in the bulb which makes it operate more efficiently. In fact, the CFL bulb puts out the same amount of light as the 60watt bulb while only consuming 13 watts.  Similar technology enables modern electronic devices to consume relatively little energy; although we typically come from the perspective that our devices use a ton of power since the batteries are always running low. The reality is that you could charge two iPhones with less energy than it takes to power the 13 watt cfl bulb.

Share your data with us on facebook and twitter! Stay tuned for another educational experiment next week.

Educational uses for the Pocket Socket include hands-on learning about electricity and energy efficiency. There are a variety of different demonstrations that can done in the classroom or lab by students of all ages which teach about electricity generation and energy efficiency.  Additionally, our generators can be used to help students with science and engineering projects.  We posted up an example of one such project earlier this summer when we highlighted the Sprocket Socket project.

Medical applications for the Pocket Socket include use in physical therapy and as a power supply for medical devices. We have heard from patients undergoing physical therapy that integrating our hand crank generator into their exercise routine can provide extra motivation, inspiration and drive. The action of generating energy and helping the environment provides additional incentive to rehabilitate for these patients.  Other customers have brought the Pocket Socket on hiking and camping trips to provide backup power to their medical devices should they run low.  Multiple customers have reported success using the Pocket Socket as a backup power source for their CPAP machine, an effective treatment for patients with certain types of sleep disorders.

What do you use your K-TOR generator for? Let us know on Twitter and Facebook!