Today K-TOR announced the release of the second generation Pocket Socket hand crank generator, the Pocket Socket 2. The Pocket Socket 2 incorporates the learning from long term testing and customer feedback since the launch of the original Pocket Socket.
“The Pocket Socket has been a successful product for K-TOR,” comments founder Ken Torino, “We have customers all over the world using our hand crank generator in a wide range of environments and it’s been fascinating to witness the places our products have been and the purposes they have served.”
New packaging, labels, materials, and molded grips are just a few of the updates that have been made to this second generation Pocket Socket. A yellow color scheme for the label and rubber band match the primary use of this product in emergency situations. Also visible to the customer, the top and bottom of the case has been patterned to make it easier to grip.
Other, less visible, updates include a newer stronger polycarbonate plastic, a stronger power train and improved electronics.
The patented technology inside the Pocket Socket 2 and all K-TOR portable generator products enable the efficient conversion of human energy into a 120 volt power source. A 124% increase in blackouts annually in the US in recent decades has left more and more Americans looking for a backup power supply for when the grid goes down.
K-TOR believes no one should have to be without access to electricity. Our portable, affordable, human powered generators feature a standard outlet interface that provides alternative, backup and emergency power to a wide range of compatible devices.
The Pocket Socket 2 retails at $64.95 and is available online at www.k-tor.com.
Can this be used with other devices, like an inverter, to convert the DC to AC? I would like to use this on other things with heavier demand that run off AC current (i.e. laptop, or blowdryer).
All the small/portable inverters i see available only hook up with a car cig lighter plug…..
thanks in advance
It can but the limitation is the human body. there is just so much you can crank with upper body. For heavier applications I recommend the power box as you can pedal for long period of time. You can use it to charge a battery like a small 12 volt and run directly off of this or run an inverter and so run higher power devices like laptops and appliances.
Im confused about this comment and reply.
Doesn’t the Pocket Socket 2 supply a 120vac, 10 watt, .08A output? It is coming no where near running a 1500 w hair-dryer. Right?
We supply 120 volts DC. This is because it is more efficient and chargers that are designed to work over a range of voltages like cell phone chargers work on DC anyway. Yes we supply 10 watts for the hand crank and a hairdryer of 1000 watts or more is too much to run directly. In fact over 10 watts is too much. For over the 20 watt limit of the power box look at support and advanced power box guide on our website on how to run devices over 20 watts with the power box. Basically you use the power box to charge an external battery and run the device off of the external battery directly or through an inverter.
Might I ask can a 220v charger work with this? I’m.in the Philippines and the chargers here are rated at 220v, also would a charger exceeding 2amps still work with the pocket socket? Hope to hear from you soon
Chargers designed for 220 volts, like cell phones, will work with our devices. You will just need a converter available on our website. The power box has a universal converter built in.
Does it have a built in capacitor or storage battery to even out the power output, such as when the pedal moves slightly slower at the bottom of the crank or if the user doesn’t keep the pedal speed the same all the time? Not currently having one I’m really not sure if this would even be an issue on either one of the units. Also the original K-Tor looks like it really isn’t hand crank friendly in the event a user might want to simultaneously crank one up on a table or dresser in the event multiple accessories need charging. A small portion of people would be able to hand crank a unit to generate and might actually enjoy the workout. If it actually generates 12 to 14 DC volts that is stepped up to 120v DC then an output jack at the lower voltage would be really be handy as not having to waste energy transforming power up and back down again to charge a storage battery.
Dear David
Yes it does have capacitors to even out the power flow precisely because of the top and bottom, dead spots. Internal generator puts out 18 volts and it is stepped up with a highly efficient, 85% dc to dc converter to 120 volts. They it is delivered via a wall outlet as this is the most universal interface with the most established standard. Wall outlets have been around for a long time and will continue to be at the same standard. A 12 volt interface would require a dc to dc converter to 12 volts with the same efficiency. This would be more convenient for 12 volt but it is not as universal as the wall outlet.the hand crank is designed to be used with two hands rotating hand over hand. Sincerely Ken