Solar Back-pack Toting Hookah- No Coals Needed!

[TizaNabi]

Far from me to envolve my 2 left thumbs in making a DIY invention. I have made a few from scrap, but real metal work is beyond me. Maybe a maven can help.
I was looking online for wood quick lights which are made from saw-dust and power pressured in a mold. The better the wood, the better the coal. As I always say "Akhla is not "Akhla" (Terrific in Arabic).
I saw this back-pack made by the same Chinese company who makes coals.
"Solar Back-Pack". Here in the Middle-East of our area there is no one without a few solar panels to heat water on the roof. some for more uses. A solar-back pack?
I saw a year back a guy in europe toting a backpack with a hookah in it and smoking as he went. Actually, I think it was on a German hookah video. Now don't get me wrong, I have a good coal, but I'd rather not have it down the back of my shirt. So coals and myback-pack are out of the question.
but you in the know...: Can a solar back-pack generate enough power to warm well the shisha as you walk on your merry way?
I'd like to hear opinions.
Here is the WebbSite from china which also includes sources for coal from wood, coconut powders, many different options
http://www.isplc2006.org/b2b/energy/1/[attachment=1962:Solar_Backpack.jpg]

[kudomonster]

I would imagine it's possible if you're using a small bowl and a small heating element and a large panel, but at that point it's probably not worth it. I'm not sure how much electricity develops from a 1X2 foot square of solar paneling.. Any one know?

[SixPackSunday]

neat idea... would love to see people smarter than myself to make this work... in the meantime i'll smoke stationary... although i have seen people smoke out of a backpack with a wind cover on their bowl before

[wongxiao]

I kinda doubt that you'd be able to get enough emf out of it...the only success stories I've read about getting an electric heat source to work on a hookah is using the elements from soldering irons, which, from what I've seen run at 12V... which I don't think you'll get out of that panel

[kudomonster]

I kinda doubt that you'd be able to get enough emf out of it...the only success stories I've read about getting an electric heat source to work on a hookah is using the elements from soldering irons, which, from what I've seen run at 12V... which I don't think you'll get out of that panel

True. Also, it's not just 12V that's powering it, I'm sure a solar panel could do that, it's amps.it should be possible to attach a heating element to a 12 V battery (a big one) and see how much heat that produces. From that we can judge if it'll work.
So i guess solar paneling is out. Battery powered heating elements though...

[wongxiao]

I kinda doubt that you'd be able to get enough emf out of it...the only success stories I've read about getting an electric heat source to work on a hookah is using the elements from soldering irons, which, from what I've seen run at 12V... which I don't think you'll get out of that panel

True. Also, it's not just 12V that's powering it, I'm sure a solar panel could do that, it's amps.it should be possible to attach a heating element to a 12 V battery (a big one) and see how much heat that produces. From that we can judge if it'll work.
So i guess solar paneling is out. Battery powered heating elements though...

Yeah, I've given some thought to those brick type things...

I can't find any resistance ratings on those heating elements, just the emf rating. I imagine that any source which could provide sufficient emf could also provide sufficient current (isn't current is really only limited by the equivalent resistance of the circuit, and any back-emf or internal resistance in the battery?). I'm just not sure how long a battery would last.

[cptbjorn]

You probably won't find resistence ratings for the heating elements because the resistence increases greatly as the wire gets hotter. I just ran the numbers and assuming hookah charcoal has about the same BTU density as grilling charcoal (only info I could find), a charcoal weight of 8 grams, and a burn time of 1 hour, the charcoal is putting out an average of 72 watts over the hour.

For 12v batteries, this comes to a capacity of around 6 amp/hours per charcoal. This would get crazy expensive with lithium ion batteries, and with sealed lead acid batteries you are looking at carrying a 2x6x4" brick weighing 3.1 pounds per charcoal you want to replace.

Didn't check to see how big of a solar panel that would be, but I can tell you for certain that you wouldn't enjoy carrying it on your back. I'd look into ways of keeping the charcoal spillproof instead of replacing the charcoal.

[TizaNabi]

I kinda doubt that you'd be able to get enough emf out of it...the only success stories I've read about getting an electric heat source to work on a hookah is using the elements from soldering irons, which, from what I've seen run at 12V... which I don't think you'll get out of that panel

True. Also, it's not just 12V that's powering it, I'm sure a solar panel could do that, it's amps.it should be possible to attach a heating element to a 12 V battery (a big one) and see how much heat that produces. From that we can judge if it'll work.
So i guess solar paneling is out. Battery powered heating elements though...

Yeah, I've given some thought to those brick type things...

I can't find any resistance ratings on those heating elements, just the emf rating. I imagine that any source which could provide sufficient emf could also provide sufficient current (isn't current is really only limited by the equivalent resistance of the circuit, and any back-emf or internal resistance in the battery?). I'm just not sure how long a battery would last.

Thanks to all!!!!!!!!!!1