A Canadian Tech company wins National Award.

[Ferrari]

An Edmonton Tech company wins National Award.

A Canadian company “Growing Greener Innovations” has developed a “rechargeable battery powered generator” which has just won a Canie Digital Award for Innovation for their invention.

Not sure of the all potential marine applications as I’m still a diesel and shore power guy but it does sound intriguing.

110v 60 cycle and 220v 50 cycle models may not be targeted for marine use, but may solve many problems for the sailing community!
https://grengine.com
F

[Pelagic]

Originally Posted by Ferrari

An Edmonton Tech company wins National Award.

A Canadian company “Growing Greener Innovations” has developed a “rechargeable battery powered generator” which has just won a Canie Digital Award for Innovation for their invention.

Not sure of the all potential marine applications as I’m still a diesel and shore power guy but it does sound intriguing.

110v 60 cycle and 220v 50 cycle models may not be targeted for marine use, but may solve many problems for the sailing community!
https://grengine.com
F

Did not read any details on battery type and efficiency in "Nerdy" section

[denverd0n]

So, this is basically a lithium ion battery. It's not really a "generator," as we would normally use the word. It has to be recharged using some other power source. The breakthrough here is how easy it makes it to combine and stack batteries. But it still has to be recharged using solar, wind, fossil-fuel, or some other energy source.


I'm not really seeing any advantage to cruisers, who are already pretty familiar with creating a battery bank of whatever size they need.

[smac999]

So it’s a battery bank and an inverter. Which every boat already has.... still need a way to charge it. Like With a real gen.

[StuM]

ROTFLAO


That is NOT a generator regardless of what the marketers call it.
(A genertor converts mechanical energy to electrical energy)

Seems a bit expensive for a small 480Wh battery and inverter pack.

Like a lot of these wonder products, there's critical info missing.

I'm guessing it's a 300W modified sine wave inverter.


(The greenies and tree huggers will love it )

[StuM]

Originally Posted by denverd0n

The breakthrough here is how easy it makes it to combine and stack batteries.

Nope, that's vapourware.


The "stackable" batteries are only for the "coming soon" 1000W version according to their FAQ.

[Ferrari]

Calling the invention a generator may be a stretch but it does provide similar duties to a traditional generator which provides power “off the grid”. Hence the description.
The design objective of Growing Greener was to provide power to construction sites without traditional power supply, with unique specific advantages over traditional fossil fuel generators.
Which in certain applications it does very well.
As it can be connect to ANY power source I thought possibly it could be used as a buffer between a sailboat using 220v 50 cycle 3 wire to a dock supply of 110v 60cycles. And vice versa. Either temporarily or permanently..
Possibly solving the pesky interconnection problems of 3/4 wire 20/30/50 amp European and North American power supplies.
I’ve no reason to promote or defend this product which is in its infancy. Just curious.
F

[skipmac]

Originally Posted by StuM

ROTFLAO


That is NOT a generator regardless of what the marketers call it.
(A genertor converts mechanical energy to electrical energy)

Exactly. I have been getting pop up ads for this kind of "generator" for the last year or so. Also claims to run your home appliances and comes with a very small solar panel.

The ads don't mention that it might run a refrigerator for 15-20 minutes or so. One of those missing bits of information. Feel sorry for the uneducated that fall for this and buy one, they aren't cheap.

[joelhemington]

Originally Posted by smac999

So it’s a battery bank and an inverter. Which every boat already has.... still need a way to charge it. Like With a real gen.

Agreed, why would I want one or these? Just add a couple of big solar panels and a couple LIFPo4 batteries if you need more power - sounds like a reinvention of the wheel to me.

[warrior 90]

What a bunch of BS
Another over priced green camping battery

[skipmac]

Originally Posted by Ferrari

Calling the invention a generator may be a stretch but it does provide similar duties to a traditional generator which provides power “off the grid”. Hence the description.
The design objective of Growing Greener was to provide power to construction sites without traditional power supply, with unique specific advantages over traditional fossil fuel generators.
Which in certain applications it does very well.
As it can be connect to ANY power source I thought possibly it could be used as a buffer between a sailboat using 220v 50 cycle 3 wire to a dock supply of 110v 60cycles. And vice versa. Either temporarily or permanently..
Possibly solving the pesky interconnection problems of 3/4 wire 20/30/50 amp European and North American power supplies.
I’ve no reason to promote or defend this product which is in its infancy. Just curious.
F

Battery feeding power to an inverter to generate ac power is pretty old technology. I first saw marine units about 40 years ago.

One big downside is that these units will not produce much power, at least for very long. You can power something very small like a cell phone charger or portable tool charger for a few hours but any kind of power tool or appliance will drain it in minutes.

[LittleWing77]

Geez Louize.

So what was the "award" for? Snazzy re-branding?

Sounds like the jurors were out to lunch!

LittleWing77

[skipmac]

Originally Posted by LittleWing77

Geez Louize.

So what was the "award" for? Snazzy re-branding?

Sounds like the jurors were out to lunch!

LittleWing77

I guess the innovation was putting the inverter, batteries and a charger all in the same box?

The CAD$750 unit claims 480 watt hours so 4 amps at 120VAC for one hour.

That means it would run a power tool for 15-30 minutes, refrigerator for maybe 20 minutes. Would run a small radio or TV for maybe 3-4 hours.

[basssears]

Originally Posted by skipmac

I guess the innovation was putting the inverter, batteries and a charger all in the same box?

Even this though, Goal Zero has been doing this for years.

I actually blame Goal Zero a bit for this whole "generator" thing, they were the first company I saw that started using that phrase when they really just meant a battery pack... confusing to lots of people, leaving the people who have some knowledge of what's going on having to explain and explain and explain...

[denverd0n]

You know, the more I think about it, the more I think it is pretty fraudulent to call a battery pack a "generator." It is not a generator, by any normal definition of that word. I might just as well sell D-cell batteries (for $30 each, of course), and call them "Mini Power Generators."


And, yeah, I have to agree that this "award" they won is a complete joke. Unless it is an award for "Best Deceptive Marketing," that is. I mean, how do you give an award to someone who sells a battery and calls it a generator!?!