I use kerosene lights by choice in the winter in weeks like this one when there is no sunshine. So, here's my firstish world problems take on it. May not apply to people for whom a gallon of kerosine is a significant fraction of their monthly income.
I have a hard time seeing myself using something like this, except as task lighting. I'd be fine to have to lift a weight if I was only going to be using the kitchen for 30 minutes (it could even serve as a useful timer), or similar. But getting up every 30 minutes rules out using it anywhere I need longer duration light for eg, reading.
Also, anywhere I could use this, I could use any of the many inexpensive crank LED lamps available everywhere, which run for similar amounts of time.
The pity is that, with the right design, this could support a longer cord for a further lift distance, so it'd run an hour. Or multiple weights used in sequence or parallel so it can be primed for even longer (iirc that's how my grandparent's cuckoo clock worked). From what I can see, it's not designed to be very hackable, and something like this needs hackability.
The LED light is the other problem with it; I'd much rather have a well ventilated kerosine light than blue tinged LED for almost any task. (I'm curious to see studies about kerosine health risks however.) Since this light cannot be moved, it has to illuminate the whole area, and its light doesn't seem up to it, so I'd be doubtful about eg, reading by it either.
>a gallon of kerosine is a significant fraction of their monthly income
It's not just that, it's also extremely polluting (both for the immediate and greater environments) and dangerous. The kerosene isn't the most expensive part, it's buying a good quality lamp that won't tip over or leak toxic gases.
This idea just hit me, and it's so powerful I'm still reeling. What if someone built a battery-powered weight lifter that would go off every 1/2 hour? You wouldn't have to keep getting up to do it yourself!
Not sure if I should patent this, or just donate it to the greater good of mankind.
are you proposing propetual motion? if you have the energy to lift the mass, you have the energy to power the light directly and bypass the losses of setting up the dravity weight again.
I have a hard time seeing myself using something like this, except as task lighting. I'd be fine to have to lift a weight if I was only going to be using the kitchen for 30 minutes (it could even serve as a useful timer), or similar. But getting up every 30 minutes rules out using it anywhere I need longer duration light for eg, reading.
Also, anywhere I could use this, I could use any of the many inexpensive crank LED lamps available everywhere, which run for similar amounts of time.
The pity is that, with the right design, this could support a longer cord for a further lift distance, so it'd run an hour. Or multiple weights used in sequence or parallel so it can be primed for even longer (iirc that's how my grandparent's cuckoo clock worked). From what I can see, it's not designed to be very hackable, and something like this needs hackability.
The LED light is the other problem with it; I'd much rather have a well ventilated kerosine light than blue tinged LED for almost any task. (I'm curious to see studies about kerosine health risks however.) Since this light cannot be moved, it has to illuminate the whole area, and its light doesn't seem up to it, so I'd be doubtful about eg, reading by it either.