Patron Update: Peltier Device and Travel

Mehdi so glad you're coming over to my country. I really hope you enjoy it here. I've made you a little list of places I think you would love to see. Talk soon and take care. Bletchley Park Charles Darwin's House The Faraday Museum The Royal Observatory Museum of Natural History The Air Radar Defence Museum The Lovell Telescope and Centre The National Museum of Computing History  Kelvedon Hatch Secret Nuclear Bunker NEAR ME 😁😁😁😁😁 The Lizard Wireless Station, Marconi Centre and Wireless Field, Cornwall James Clerk Maxwell House and Foundation

Robs Repairs

Please need a 3D printer

GIMME DA PRINTER

Bring me back a printer

Feed some squirrels for me :)

Have fun

UK you say ? You can meet Boris with your taser ;)

Go to the Edinburgh Military Tattoo and meet up with Big Clive!

You could check out some of the FAF claims about Stonehenge

Try to measure how much current you can draw from an UK outlet before de breaker trips. That could be glowing test.

elias

3D printers!!!

Visit Bristol Robotics Laboratory if you haven't done so already!

Shock one of those guards that can't move. Lol

A collab with Big Clive? :P

A good explanation on 3 phase motors would be cool. I know that information is easily found online but I bet you can jazz it up a bit.

Brandon P Bauer

How about another eddy current demonstration? If it's powerful enough, could it make the Brit's food taste better?

You should definitely hook up with BigCliveDotCom if you can! That would make a great mash up video!

Just don't try shoving something into the live/neutral terminals without retracting the shutters properly. I don't think the hotel will appreciate actual physical damage to the sockets ;)

Kemp

Stonehenge! If anyone is going to crack its mystery, it's you.

Maybe you can show the magic of a Vortex cooler ^^ I learned about it from work yesterday.

What I like most about your videos is that you teach with truth and humor. You knowing your limits gives you the ability to "safely" show what not to do. As an industrial mechanic I have only been able to show what what not to do a very limited number of times. Especially considering dangers can extend to wiring 50 amp breaker live from the substation at 4.6kv. Which I can say gives off one hell of an arc flash hahaha.

Pop all the RCDs!

Adam Nash

How about showing the difference in safety with outlets having fuses in the plugs vs breakers in American homes. Possibly by building your own plug circuit and or breaker circuit with a FULL BRIDGE RECTIFIER to charge a phone showing the flaws or potential shorts. Ending the show by having the peltier over a boiling pot because it is safer.... well other then burns... much better then death tho.

Go to Bath, Prior Park. To see the Morningrise Bridge :)

I want to add a device to my electric clothes dryer that replaces the heater. Instead, run the air through a Peltier-cooled tube to dehumidify it, then run the cooled dried air back over the hot side of the thermocouples and back into the dryer. Should be far more efficient.

Enjoy your travels! Looking forward to videos from you trip. Those UK outlets are something else! HUGE! (from the U.S. perspective anyway 😊 )

Keep in mind that the better they get at converting electricity into temperature gradient(hot/cold) the worse they get at generating electricity from gradients. Maybe try to build one yourself?

Get together with BigClive and do some colab. Would be awesome to see the two of my favorite Youtube channel guys together.

Have proper high tea with scones and cream !

Yeah stay the hell out of London.. really nice places to visit are Matlock, The Black Country, the Peak District, Mount Snowden.. If you do go to Matlock, go to Matlock Bath, find a pub called 'The Midlands', and go out the back to the river.. you'll notice the river flows from left to right, on your left, but on your right, a lot of it flows from right to left. If you figure out why, you'll also figure out how I nearly died last year :P

London is just like pretty much like any major city around the world; full of tourists. The science museum in London is worth a visit. Away from the capital heading north, A +1 for Bletchley Park from me too. I live pretty close and have been there several times and it's always an interesting day out especially if you've got a nostalgia streak in you. The weather here is odd to say the least right now. You will need t-shirts, mankini, artic gear and a rubber life raft. East of Bletchley A trip round historic Cambridge can be interesting, including punting on the Cam river (you can hire a student to do the dangerous and hard work). A visit to the Baron of Beef pub there is a must if you're a fan of Sinclair or Acorn computers/electronics history (it's a nice pub in any case). Further north up near Manchester we have Jodrell Bank. I also, would enjoy seeing you and Big Clive get drunk together and blow stuff up. Safe journey. Oh, and if you want to experience pain like you've never felt before, stand on a UK mains plug.

I’d like to know how well they handle current flow. NEMA 5-15 will get pretty warm/hot if used near its current limit for a couple hours. Are the UK outlets better at their current limit?

Safe travels!!!! Enjoy, have fun!!!

For tech, history and knowledge: Bletchley Park is great - definitely a +1 from me National computing museum is very interesting Cambridge has a lot of history and museums around science and technology Greenwich (London) has a lot of astronomical and maritime history Views and culture: Loads to see and do around the country, not just the South East and London. Cornwall, Peak District, Lake District Head over to Wales and Scotland too Perhaps try to arrange a meet-up with someone like Big Clive? He could certainly help explain the wonders of our electrical systems. I'd love to see the two of you blow some stuff up! :-) We have a number of good electrical Youtubers as well like John Ward, Thomas Nagy, DSS Electrical and several more. They might be able to help / collaborate.

Ooooooooooooooooh 3D printer <3 I like that draw :D

João Gouveia

Does the UK power line are more painful to touch than the US one ?

Bletchley park is brilliant isn’t it? And the national computing museum is there as well with the rebuilt colossus which is just so good to see

Pete Golding

Clive will be doing his annual Edinburgh Military Tattoo thing I think.

+1 on Bletchley Park. I visited 8 years or so, and really enjoyed it. I must go back... Yes, why not experiment with our beautiful 13A sockets and plugs. They might be chunky, but accordingly they don't tend to catch on fire! Our voltage was harmonised with Europe 15 years or so from 240V to 230V. In reality nothing actually changed, other than the tolerances by which the voltage was specified. So you will get 240 majestic volts, or even a few more if you're lucky. Be careful! :) Other things worth doing - a visit to the Royal Institution might be nice, but I think in August most of the events are for kids during school holidays. The science museum in south Kensington is another good place to go. As suggested by some people, why not get out of London and explore some other parts of the UK. Cambridge and Oxford are both beautiful cities a short train ride from London.

Visit Blechley Park. And please get a tourguide. I skimped out on one when I was there years ago because I'm cheap. I still feel the regret.

UK mains supply testing: The supply RCDs are supposed to trip with usually 30mA differential - I would be interested to know what current they actually trip at. Also, it would be interesting to do a pull-force test; how much force does it take to yank the plug out of the wall by snagging the cord? The design of the plug is supposed to keep the appliance earthed until after the power pins have been pulled out - does this really work? Visiting the UK - skip London. OK, well sure, spend a day or maybe two there doing the usual stuff, but do please see some more of the country - there is sooo much more to see outside the capital; go see the New Forest, the Peak District, the Lake District, the Highlands, The Yorkshire Dales. Go enjoy the accents and culture of Liverpool, Birmingham and Newcastle. Visit castles - there are hundreds of them, everywhere. Visit a couple of stately homes - again, everywhere. Have a Full English Breakfast (without the baked beans - urgh..) an Afternoon Tea and a Fish Supper.

Please bear in mind that London ain't the UK or even England. Like most capital cities I guess

Demolished Man

I’m an electrical engineer and have lived in the UK all my life and grew up electrocuting myself on almost a daily basis, although failure is sometimes the best way to learn it does hurt when that’s 240v of failure haha! Electricity is electricity whatever country you’re in and regardless of how safe things are if you get someone curious enough like yourself or me as a young lad you’ll always find a way to have fun.........oh I mean get hurt haha! Have a great trip, please let us know if you’re making any special appearances at any point :)

Pete Golding

Residual current detector RCD in consumer unit or as an adaptor. Probably

Demolished Man

Get an oyster card instead of regular ticket. Also, visit camden :)

UK plugs are only safe when plugged in. Once unplugged they dedicate all their energy to destroying your sole.

I want a printer. Travel safe!

Totally play with the sockets. They have little safety doors. However.... they sell these “baby proof” plastic covers for them, which actually make them less safe by forcing the doors open, and you’re more likely to get a shock!! Check them out.

The LHC is a bit of a trek away though. The UK has the Diamond Light Source.

MikotoLover

We have one in ours. Shaver sockets are also common.

MikotoLover

I'd just like to know a bit more on why we use 50Hz 240V and the implications of that. For example in adapters for phone chargers etc, do they need higher wattage parts to dissipate the extra heat from the higher voltage? Is there even any extra heat? Keep doing what you do it's awesome!

It would be interesting if you had the opportunity to meet and make a video with Big Clive. :-)

Have fun on your trip. The Air Force stationed me there for three years of rainy, foggy, alcohol fueled clinical depression... it was a great experience. The Brits are really serious about their tea and those 220v outlets really get the water boiling quick. I used to have 8 transformers in the house to run my US stuff. I heard that older appliances with on-board clocks would use the power frequency to maintain their timing. So... using them on a different standard (50/60 hz) would cause drift. Maybe you can find some stuff that freaks out when the pwr freq changes.

I've been playing around with peltier units on the back of some solar panels. Solar panels are less efficient as they get hotter. So I wanted to try to generate some small current by placing a peltier unit on the back with a large heat sink on the other side. Trying to remove heat from the panel while generating current in the process.

Rabon Kyle Ragan

Definitely give Bletchley Park a visit! It's where Alan Turing worked, really interesting stuff there.

3 prong outlets there are apparently wired so ground is the last wire connected when a connection failure happens when yanking hard on the cable. Try to do something on that and even when live wires come out, do breakers flip or will they still be hot?

I’d love to see your personal touch on the differences!

I believe a lot of Americans don’t really understand the difference in how the America’s and the European countries differ in their household electrical.

Bovington Tank Museum is a amazing place to visit!

Sprutkit

I'm very curious what camera you'll get to replace your old one. Maybe you can take your camera apart and make use of the sensor for something? Near the UK, maybe you can use your status to get a behind the scenes tour at the LHC?

Do they have power outlets in their bathrooms?

I went to Candem Town once, lovely place. Rcommended :)

Single malt whisky !

Yasha Azar

Is it safe for you to visit a country with 220v outlets Mehdi?

Dylan

work or vacation? work: colaboration with Brady (who films the periodic videos, I;m sure you know him) or James Bruton (of robot building fame?) Definitely visit the royal society in london.

Marco Vujevic

I'm sure you are aware already, but many UK power systems have NO fuses in the wall circuits (other than the main fuse), and depend on the fuses in the plugs themselves for protection. You will find lots of ring/spur circuit topologies, at least in residential wiring.

Scott MacLean

I don't think you can transport electronics easily in planes. Check laws.

Marcelo Henrique Gonçalves

My wife sent this to me just yesterday: https://theculturetrip.com/europe/united-kingdom/england/london/articles/17-unusual-things-you-should-do-in-london/ - maybe there's something in there for you too, Mehdi. :)

Matt Walters

Hi, you are more than welcome to mess up my smart electricity meter. Hope you manage to meet Big Clive and Mr Ward.

Wife always makes fun of me for it, but English breakfast is awesome!

How does the difference in frequency affect the current your body can flow as a capacitor? I also understand most converters change the voltage but leave the frequency 50hz, which might affect some gadgets in interesting ways.

If you trip a breaker in a hotel, check behind the picture frames for the room's consumer unit. I had a faulty travel adapter knock the room's power out and asked a staff member to get the power back. She lifted a picture off the wall next to my room revealing the room's consumer unit and flicked the RCD back on. Thinking it was just a bad connection, I plugged the travel adapter back in, sparks flew out and of course the lights went out again. In another hotel, getting access to the consumer unit proved useful as the room's AC was stuck on max (remote control wouldn't respond), so tried flicking off each breaker until the AC switched off.

Seán Byrne

They have tidal power plants there (e.g. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SeaGen ... not sure how exiting this particular one would be, though). And there is another plant in planning that would cover 10% of the UK power requirements alone. And as a topic for a video: As a German I found it very weird, that they don't have electrical outlets in their bathrooms by law. Instead they have a special outlet for razors :D. Not sure when the last time was that someone got electrocuted in a bathroom. I certainly did'nt notice any news.

by the way love the content as always

Maybe test the advantages / disadvantages of their supply outlet voltages compared to American outlet supplies, might be a fun thing to talk about! Especially if you bring your scope with you and test different components. If you don’t get kicked out of the hotel before that, you should also try to make something weird out of little components from the UK shopping malls! That would be quite interesting!

One of the neat bits is how they're wired. There is always an earth but the wires are made so if you were to pull it out of the plug, the earth would be the last one to disconnect. Or something.

Scott Newby

Try the age old "just how much do they hurt when you step on one?" test! Lego has nothing on these.

Scott Newby

I would like to know if things are inherently more dangerous with the juice they have. Also is it more efficient? Are more people electrocuted? Are motors designed differently to take advantage of more power? Do vibrators go twice as fast? Will America ever switch? Why isn't everything designed to run on both voltages? What is the circuit that can take both voltages without a switch? Do things melt faster? Can I blend faster?

Love the idea of testing UK sockets, power lines, etc. As someone who knows next to nothing about them, I’d like to know why they’re considered to be so much safer than their US counterparts.

Zachary White

Try using the Peltier plates to keep your coffee warm. If anyone can do it, it would be you.

Don Rideaux-Crenshaw

Explore countryside of UK and see Aston Martin museum in Wallingford 😊

Go to Berkshire! It's very wonderful place, there is Castle of Windsor, a lot of museum and a lot of wonderful parks! Very very recomended

I've been working as an electrician for 10 years (in Norway) and I've always heard that the British 13 amp socket (British Standard 1363) is the worlds safest socket. Could you check if inserting socket covers would make these sockets unsafe?

Great that you are coming to the Old Country. Let me know where and I'll buy you lunch🤔🤔🤔😁

Oh nice, I have a micro-fridge that uses those plates. Interested to see what you do with them

Zephy Foxy

Maybe something about 110 vs 230 V?

If you don't know what to do with your old camera, just send it to me and I will dispose of it properly ;) While in the UK, you could try what happens when you replace the fuse in the UK plugs with other things. And of course the 110V vs 240V stuff others already mentioned.

So now if the lights flicker here at any point in the next few weeks, I’ll know why! Just kidding, it’ll be great to have you here in the UK. Will you be doing any events?

You should definitely do a piece on our three pronged plugs. They are a masterclass in design. Except not so much if you stand on one barefoot.

Here is a great idea, HAVE FUN! No just kidding we all just want to see you get zapped.

I suggest finding out the depth that the prong of the plug has to reach before contacting the live conductor. Having immigrated from Canada to Israel, I am impressed by the depth compared to North American sockets. To me, the deeper the live conductors are, the safer the socket.

Michael Mirsky

Radar was invented over there! Perhaps you can find something interesting to do a video on. Also correct me if I'm wrong but radar was a major step in inventing your precious microwave....

Just skip UK and come to Finland so I can give you a hug + we have proper oulets.

I can't wait this UK outlet video. I can almost smell that there will be discuss about some explosion in power plant or something similar. There's higher voltage so please don't try to "taste" this. Of course this can be hot experience, but I hope more videos.

Four 3D printers? Nah, that's okay; just one would be fine for me. I'm not greedy. While in the UK, you should see if you could meet up with Big Clive. The two of you in one video would be epic!

Karl Bunker

I was just thinking that I wished you would post something. Very interested in what you find in the UK.

You should visit Shakespeare's globe! I've heard its awesome.

My new build house has RCD controlled outlets. It's supposed to be safer but the breaker pops when I unplug something slowly. Would be interesting to know why

240v BOOM!

Another video like the Japan trip would be nice.

Remember that in Europe there is 230V outlets which means 400V three phase power line. Don’t hurt yourself. Btw if you want to see the safest stuff you have to come in Italy. We have differential breakers everywhere

Plug some 120v devices into out 240v outlets and see what goes BoOM! Oh and stay away from Luton!! Most of all keep making the great videos and have a blast!

Go check Greenwich museum of Time, it is really interesting !

Science Museum is London is worth visiting just to say you have, its somewhat underwhelming these days. Ripley's Believe It Or Not is well worth checking out though! For a sceptic, it's an entire collection of things begging to be disproved 😄

Yeah, for sure, do a video on their electrical system!

Enjoy the UK. Is it a holiday? Would be fantastic to meet you. My student pilots love your teaching methods. Oh and don’t kill yourself ,it’s 220 Volts 😊

Peter Begley

measure the resistance to ground in different places. also the trigger current for the fault current circuit breaker (I do not know how its called in English, maybe earth leakage circuit breaker?)

Come and visit me! Joking but stay away from the non-tourist areas of London. It's getting pretty rough there! Visit the smugglers caves on the south coast if you get a chance

Have fun!

Alessandro Casagli

Don't eat where the tourists eat.

Eddy Gurge