Make a great piece of survival eqiupment from a big screen TV

[Urban Survivalist]

Have you ever seen a big screen TV (rear projection type) setting by the trash or someone tring to sell one for cheap because the lights in the back cost more to repair than to replace the TV. I say scoop that thing up and use the lens as one of the best pieces of survival gear you can have.

First remove the front lens cover and it should contain 3 lenses. the front one is going to be a clear piece of plastic that is a protective cover. Next is a black and white screen that is difficult to see through. that last lens is called a Fresnal Lens. It is a semi clear lens with lines going in circles from the center outward.

If you place this lens into a wooden frame and place it in the sun it acts like a magnifiying glass and can reach 2500 degrees. You can now boil water with ease or start a fire, melt metal or what ever floats your boat. Now you can get the mirror that is located on the back of the TV and then place it on a flat surface and then place a rack about 8 inches above the mirror. place a pot or pan on the rack and bounce the beam off of the mirror and on to the bottom of the pan thus cooking or boiling anything you want. I have 4 of these Lens and got three of them for free from people who were throwing the broken TVs away.

It takes 787 degrees Farenhite to metlt a 1982 or newer penny. It took less than 30 seconds to melt the penny.

It comes down to this: If you are without power and running water but the sun is shining then you can cook or boil water with a free source of energy and save your other resources for a rainy day.

[barfife]

Cool idea...no pun intended. Is there a concern of melting a hole in your cooking pot?

[Urban Survivalist]

With this you can boil water in a coke can. If you placed a empty can in the beam then it will melt. If there is water in the can, the heat will be transfered to the water. I have even boiled water in a plastic bottle. The bottle warped and after the water boiled for a few minutes then the bottle melted. If you focus the beam where it is not in perfect focus you can keep the tempature around 300 to 500 degrees. At the focal point is where you get crazy tempatures.

[Matt In Oklahoma]

Thats too cool, oh man gotta find one! Cant wait to set some stuff on fire.. i mean try out my new "survival tool"

[Urban Survivalist]

Here is an example of the Fresnal lens starting to boil a pan of water.

[monkeybird]

Ok, I confess ignorance. How do you remove the lens from the TV?

[Matt In Oklahoma]

Ok, I confess ignorance. How do you remove the lens from the TV?

give it to any 6 yr old and leave him alone for an hour :)

[Urban Survivalist]

Ok, I confess ignorance. How do you remove the lens from the TV?

Monkeybird Most TVs you can pop off the bottom screem where the speakers are and then you will see 3 to 4 screws that hold the screen on. Once you take out the screws and pull the screen and srceen frame off then you can remove the corner tabs and then the three lens will be free to harvest. Have fun

[monkeybird]

This is fascinating. Does it work as well as a Fresnal lens?

[Urban Survivalist]

The lens in the rear projection big screen TV is a Fresnal lens.

[Matt In Oklahoma]

Hey how good does that work on a large container of water say, trash can, hot tub or pool? I'm seeing alot of application and my son and I were discussing it

[Urban Survivalist]

Hey how good does that work on a large container of water say, trash can, hot tub or pool? I'm seeing alot of application and my son and I were discussing it

The focal point is between 1 to 2 inches that is almost 2500 degrees so it comes down to anything you can do with a blow torch you can do with a Fresnal lens. the best way to heat larger things is to place the focal point on a 2 inch pipe and use a pump and circulate the water through. or use a parabalic reflector with a pipe in the focal point and you will have a consist heat for up to 8 hours aday without adjustment. Go to youtube and check out the channel Greenpowerscience. There you can see people cooking with a lens and many, many other things, its really cool.

[Matt In Oklahoma]

The focal point is between 1 to 2 inches that is almost 2500 degrees so it comes down to anything you can do with a blow torch you can do with a Fresnal lens. the best way to heat larger things is to place the focal point on a 2 inch pipe and use a pump and circulate the water through. or use a parabalic reflector with a pipe in the focal point and you will have a consist heat for up to 8 hours aday without adjustment. Go to youtube and check out the channel Greenpowerscience. There you can see people cooking with a lens and many, many other things, its really cool.

Thanks, got my son activley looking for one!

[barfife]

Found my fresnal lens today. Someone had dumped a big screen projector tv on the roadside in a ditch. Five minutes later I had the front off and loaded. I will be soon traveling into the world of fresnal lens heating and cooking and any other things that I might find uses for.

My question is:
this unit is 60 inch diagonal (39 x 53 inches)...it's huge! Any downside to cutting the lens down to a more manageble size? Any advice would be appreciated.

[Urban Survivalist]

My question is:
this unit is 60 inch diagonal (39 x 53 inches)...it's huge! Any downside to cutting the lens down to a more manageble size? Any advice would be appreciated.

The little lines on the lens is what collect all of the light and focus it to the middle. If you cut the lens the focus will be off or deminished. "Bigger is Better" Big gives you a larger focal point and thus more heat. Do not cut. Great find and now frame it and go out and have lots of fun with your new piece of survival equipment.