Weird Ways to Charge Your Cellphone Without Electricity

What do hurricanes, tornados, wildfires and blizzards have in common? What about physical and cyber attacks on the grid, windstorms, and animals getting stuck in power stations?

I’m sure you know where I’m going with this. They all result in power outages. Almost every time.

We can’t always rely on having electricity flowing in our homes. Blackouts are inevitable. And these power outages make it virtually impossible to charge our cellphones.

Our phones could be our lifelines in an emergency. We store and access valuable information on them. We use them for directions. They even hold some of our treasured memories. 

Good tips to know

Fortunately, there are ways to charge a cellphone without electricity. I want to share a few of them with you today. Hopefully you’ll never need them. But you may rest easier knowing what they are. 

First and foremost, it’s important to keep your cellphone has fully charged as possible before an outage occurs.

Of course, we usually don’t have advance notice for a blackout. That means keep it fully charged just in case. 

But there will be times when your cellphone’s battery is wearing down and you need power to charge it. That’s where these tips will come in handy.

Plenty of options 

Invest in a solar-powered, wood-burning camp stove. While you’re cooking or heating food, you can enjoy the warmth from the flames and power up your cellphone simultaneously. All you need are some sticks to burn in the stove.  

Keep a power inverter in your car. This will enable you to turn the DC (direct current) from your vehicle into AC (alternating current) for your phone and other communications devices.

A solar phone charger is something you can keep fully charged and ready to power your cellphone when you need it. They are very compact, but they take time to charge. It may require seven or eight hours in the sun to charge your phone about 50 percent.

If you’re a hands-on type of person, you may prefer to own a solar and hand crank radio charger. It will require your manpower, but when you don’t have other methods at your disposable, it will work.   

Charging power on the move

Also available are portable smartphone battery chargers that you can wear and that charge as you move. Another device that also uses kinetic energy will charge your phone with a spinning motion.

Yet another is a bike phone charger attached to a pedal. The longer you ride your bike, the more you can charge your phone. 

Some backpacks are now being equipped with mini solar panels to generate power for your cellphone. Take an invigorating hike while carrying your backpack, and don’t worry about your phone losing power.

Another option is a solar-powered lantern. Not only will it provide light you need, it will also power up your cellphone after you plug it into the charging port.

Off-beat ways to charge 

Hot and cold drinks can also help power your phone. Setting a cup of coffee or a cold beverage on this round device in the shape of a hockey puck with a USB charging port can charge a phone.  

In development are small wind and sun-powered devices to charge cellphones. My suggestion would be to wait on this type of item until the technology for them improves.

If you do an Internet search for “charging electronic devices with fruits and vegetables,” you’ll find a variety of videos and articles.

Due to their electrolytes, it is possible to partially charge a battery by connecting your phone to a lemon, potato, etc. It’s also possible to damage your phone. I would not recommend it.    

Power-saving tips

Once your cellphone has been charged, it’s time to work on keeping it charged for as long as possible. Here are some ways to do that.

Turn the brightness of your phone’s display to its lowest setting.

Keep your phone out of the hot sun, which will wear the battery down quicker.

Your ring tone may be louder than the vibration mode noise, but it actually uses less energy.

Turn off whatever features you don’t need. Such as WiFi, GPS, Bluetooth, etc. You can always turn them back on when you need them.

Patriot Power Cell your best bet 

Getting back to different ways to charge your cellphone, I saved the best one for last. 

A portable solar power pack is the ideal way to keep your cellphone and other electrical devices charged.

And when this power pack does eventually run out of juice, simply use the free power of the sun to charge it back up. Our recommendation is the Patriot Power Cell.

This breakthrough backup power device fits in your pocket, and charges in the sun. So you'll never have to worry about the internal battery running out.

See more on this pocket-sized power charger here