[mabbo]

There's a lot of reasons why this is cool, but I'm skeptical about it's aims to get rid of kerosene lamps.

Kerosene lamps are made with garbage. They can be replaced in minutes if there's a problem. Fuel costs are high, yes, but capital costs and maintenance are low. Those matter.

To really make this a long term win, you need to make it indestructible and easy to repair with on-hand parts. I hope they can do that.

[metasean]

It looks like they are trying to make them in a locally sustainable manner...

>We're doing this in our approach to distributing GravityLight

>We are partnering with local networks of people earning a living by selling products such as GravityLight, rather than disrupting local markets and jobs with free giveaways.

>We're doing this in our manufacturing strategy

>We aim to create jobs and skills in the regions where GravityLight will be sold, firstly by establishing an assembly line in Kenya.

from http://gravitylight.org/our-approach-3/

---

And it looks like they've already run into robustness issues, but they weren't due to cheap plastic components, and it looks like they've modified the system to deal with them...

>GL01 had a protection mechanism that clearly indicated an overload with a red light, and helped reduce damage to the gear teeth by allowing it to run more swiftly, but this did not make it indestructible. An entirely novel way of protecting the system has been designed for GL02. It will allow an overloaded bag to descend to the ground in a safe and controlled manner, repeatedly.

>GL02 suspends the bag from a pulley, which reduces the strain on the cord and the gearing. This also decreases the loading on the drive system and permits a smaller gearbox ratio, which helps to improve efficiency.

from http://gravitylight.org/coming-soon-gl02/

[daenz]

> To really make this a long term win, you need to make it indestructible and easy to repair with on-hand parts.

That was the first thing I looked for. The materials, at least from this image, look plastic and very custom made. http://static1.squarespace.com/static/552aca94e4b0c75f5b87b0... If these parts get brittle and break/crack, how are they repaired?

[Vexs]

I can see that potentially being a problem, especially if dirt or something gets caught in it. However, the most delicate part of it is the most replaceable, that band could be easily made out of cloth or leather, and motors are usually fairly available. It's most certainly a better argument than "it's not much power" etc, but I'm not convinced it matters too much. I doubt just as much as the next guy these things will change the world, but it's a noble idea and a noble purpose.

[nwmcsween]

Yeah this seems to be a big issue just by looking at it and makes me wonder why they didn't use everyday parts like a chain or a sprocket off a bike.

Also I wonder if you could just do all this with a refitting of a rachet lever hoist or something similar.

[CodeWriter23]

Maybe folks over there keep a kerosene lamp and a night's supply of kerosene on hand just like we keep candles, flashlights and batteries handy.