Stove Lite – A lantern powered by the heat of your stove.

Written by Ben

May 19, 2014

Do you have a hunting cabin that has a stove but no power. Don’t want to keep lugging white fuel or kerosen to your camp for lighting. The Stove Lite is a traditional style lamp that gets it’s power from the heat of your wood burning stove or other stove that produces heat. Lighting comes from LED’s that get their power from the heat of your stove. Tegpro is offering two versions of their Stove Lite. On is light on and off, the second features a dimmer, built in battery, and USB Charging. Check out their KICKSTARTER PROJECT and drop them some cash to help fund this great idea for hunting camps or for your prepping bunker.

Convert the heat of your wood stove into usable light and electricity with this attractive, innovative lantern.

The Stove Lite is a traditional looking lantern that is anything but conventional.  Place it on your wood stove and light your home with beautiful and efficient LED light using the power generated from heat – as long as your wood stove is hot, the Stove Lite generates electricity and light.

The Story of the Stove Lite

For the last few years, a close group of engineers from Vermont Technical College has been experimenting with new technology that allows heat to be converted to electricity. The idea for the Stove Lite first came to us when we found a rusty old kerosene lantern in an antique shop. Hurricane lanterns, as they were once known, were an essential tool for homesteaders with their simplistic design, robust construction, and aggressive light output. We felt this design could be preserved if retrofitted with modern technology.  We brought the lantern back to our shop, painted over the rust, and outfitted the cavity with a thermoelectric module, custom electronics, and LEDs.

The first Stove Lite! (Yes, that's a plastic Dixie cup).
The first Stove Lite! (Yes, that’s a plastic Dixie cup).

The first prototype worked, but we knew we could improve the reliability and light output. Several drawings were created to produce the next generation. We focused on affordability and ease of construction, so that we could assemble efficiently once we had the materials. We found a quality source of classic kerosene lanterns, and gave the lantern a new look with black paint and brass trim.

Slick new design in black
Slick new design in black

Our friends with wood stoves volunteered to become Stove Lite beta testers, which hastened the development process.  After months of testing and revisions, we developed an efficient circuit that made the Stove Lite brighter.  The lantern would even continue running for a few minutes after removal from the stove top!  The newfound efficiency yielded enough excess power to charge a battery, paving the way for the Stovelite Pro.

Testing Stove Lite circuitry
Testing Stove Lite circuitry
Early prototype with logo etched on glass
Early prototype with logo etched on glass

Whether you occupy an “off-grid” home (a house without infrastructure electricity), are preparing for a power outage, or are simply trying to make your home more efficient, our patent-pending Stove Lite is an attractive and effortless solution to turn your wood stove into a miniature power plant.

We are offering two versions of the Stove Lite

Stove Lite Basic – Illuminate your room using heat from your stove.

Stove Lite Basic
Stove Lite Basic

The Stove Lite Basic edition is very straightforward: when you’ve got a fire going in your wood stove, place the Stove Lite on top. Within a few minutes, heat is absorbed by the Stove Lite’s built-in thermoelectric generator and the LEDs come to life. Enjoy the warmth of your stove with the soft and surprisingly bright light provided by the Stove Lite.  The Stove Lite can be removed from the stove and the LEDs will continue to emit light for a few minutes as a portable lantern. As an added advantage, a small fan will help circulate the heat from your stove.

Stove Lite Pro – Adds a battery, USB charging port, and a dimmer

This version has all the features of the Stove Lite Basic, with the addition of a dimmer, built-in battery, USB charging outlet, and a micro USB charging jack.  The built-in battery stores power, allowing the light to be even more portable.  It can also be used to charge your smartphone, tablet, or other devices via the USB charging outlet.  Charging the Stove Lite can be done by either a.) placing it on a hot stove, or  b.) plugging a standard wall adapter, lighter outlet cord, or other micro-USB charging cable (not supplied) into the charging jack.  Once the battery is charged, you can plug a smartphone or other device into its USB charging outlet.  You can also use it as a portable lantern, running off its internal battery.  The Stove Lite Pro charges in a couple hours and provides light for hours, or enough power to charge your smartphone.  Finally, the Stove Lite Pro features a dimming control so that you can adjust its light output to fit the mood of the room.

Accessories

To make the Stove Lite’s even more practical, we have developed some accessories that are often essential to wood stove owners.  The below accessories are included at certain pledge levels:

Stove Lite Trivet

The Stove Lite base plate may get hot during use.  You can place your Stove Lite or other hot objects on this awesome trivet to protect your surfaces from burning.  It’s also useful for kettles, pots, pans, etc.  Every wood stove owner should have one!

Stove Lite Hanging Bracket

This handy metal bracket can be attached to the wall to offer a convenient place to hang your Stove Lite.

Stove Lite Stove Pipe Thermometer

The official Stove Lite Stove Pipe Thermometer attaches to your stove pipe, telling you the stack temperature.  Knowing this can help you optimize your fuel usage, and keep your chimney cleaner!

Stove Lite Keychain Light

When you’re walking out and about (away from your Stove Lite), you still won’t be in the dark if you have your Stove Lite Keychain Light!

Fulfillment Timeline

We have perfected the aesthetics and optimized the electronics of the Stove Lite so that it is as beautiful and easy to use as possible.  More than a conversation piece, it is ready to be the centerpiece of your living area – while providing valuable functionality as a source of light and power.

Now we need your help to build the Stove Lite in numbers.  With enough backing, we hope to take our prototypes into production, getting them into your home in time for next winter.

Here’s an overview of what needs to happen and when, for Kickstarter rewards to be delivered to you.

Before June 20th– Order materials to build Stove Lites (lantern shells, LEDs, thermoelectric modules, parts to make circuitry).  Order bundle trivets, brackets, stickers, keychain lights, and thermometers.

June 20th-July 31st – Receive the materials.  Send out glass for engraving.  Paint the lantern shells and prep them for assembly.  Customize Stove Lite accessories.

August 1st – September 15th – Stove Lite assembly: Install heat plates, thermoelectric modules, LEDs, boost circuitry, batteries, USB ports, and dimmer (for the Stove Lite Pros).

September 15th – September 30th – Quality control review of all Stove Lite products before we ship them out to the backers.

October 1st – October 31st – Shipping of all products and final review of Kickstarter campaign fulfillment.

We welcome (and need) your feedback throughout the entire process!

Reviews

The Stove Lite is currently being reviewed by some independent parties.  We are compiling a list of them on our website.  Here is a recent one from Tiny House Listings:

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