Awesome Low Head High Flow Grid Tie Micro Hydro 530 watts!
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 1 ก.ย. 2020
- I travel to a summer home in the mountains of Western North Carolina to meet Bill. He has come up with a way to pull a lot of water over a dam and into a permanent magnet alternator. He feeds the power to the house to supplement what is used. Bill is using Langston Alternative Power for his setup and makes around 500 watts.
www.langstonsalternativepower.com
The interesting thing about this micro hydro setup is the way that the system is started. There is a lot of water that needs to flow over a dam. To get this system going Bill uses a simple shop vac to pull the water over into the 6" pipe.
No batteries or charge controller is needed. Simply a grid tie limiter inverter.
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The SethCraft Channel !!!
www.youtube.com/@sethcraftworkshop
Nice Video👍🏻
Where can i buy this types of generators? Thx
Thank you for sharing your channel, SethCraft! By the way, if you're into outdoor activities like camping or RVing, I highly recommend checking out the Segway Portable PowerStation Cube Series. It's an amazing power backup solution with a massive capacity of up to 5kWh, fast recharging, and a waterproof design. Perfect for powering all your devices during your outdoor adventures! 😊
anti-vortex-airsuction-device: one old tennisball... Genius!
It's funny there's all this crazy hydro power stuff going on and tossing a Tennis ball into the mix makes everything that much cooler
My favorite part
I’ve used balls, coffee cups, anything that will float. When you’re drafting up to 1500 gpm with a fire engine, you get creative. Buckets even work.
@@davisemergency Precise....there is no limit to our imagination when we start using our head and heart this combo makes Magic ! every time again.
And I love that,......freethinking makes the world go around with no borders at ALL......
We need 2 thousand dollar vortex stopper.
Him : tennis’s ball
When I seen him bust out the vaccuum I thought.... he should call it Hoover dam.
That’s a good one!
Lol
Amazing
Lol
😂😂😂
The tennis ball vortex destroyer is the most unique aspect of this. That's a pretty elegant fix!
As an electrician, my only issue with this system is the male plug from the inverter plugged into a general outlet underneath the distribution board.
If you trip over that and expose the plug or a child pulls it out, those plug ends are a potential death trap.
When the grid is removed from the inverter it actually turns off.
I came here looking for this comment
Its the primary concern with this install. I personally keep my two grid tie limiter inverters locked up so nobody can get to them.
@@LandtoHouse If the sense wire is still energized but the cord is pulled does the inverter turn off the output anyway? If so then it is ok. If not it is a code violation of 406.7(B) Attachment plugs shall be installed so that their prongs, blades, or pins are not energized unless inserted into an energized receptacle or cord connectors.
you know he could put a regular switching panel in and have power when the grid goes out... The Plug thing is so wrong in so many ways ~!
Not only did they produce electricity, they helped reduce the erosion rate of the dam itself. Now that's productive.
I was just about to say that, you can tell just from how much quieter the water got how much strain its taking off the dam.
never thought about it that way, but certainly a great point if we take in mind that the dam maintenance is also your responsability. great combo, lol I wish i had a pond
No, they didnt produce energy 😜👊🏼⚡, they transformed it
@@pablofrancogarcia1617 lmao you so pedantic so cool bruh 👊pedantic assholes rule
@@pablofrancogarcia1617 well, that's true.
I'm glad you are friends with John Locke, he's done a lot on the island
Yes. Yes he has. haha
@@kickseek the numbers. The numbers are bad!
Island to house.
Hahaha island to house.
so much anger just resurfaced that i completely forgot about.
Could have a float sensor that detects the lake level and controls a 6" valve near the intake. That would prevent the level of the lake dropping too much and loosing the siphon.
Actually it's probably easier to regulate it with a device on the priming side. You could T off to an automated valve to allow air in and on the other side of the t an automated shut off valve connected to suction (also automated). You could control it with some relays and a pii / arduino. When the float detects the level lowering it would start to let some air in, more and more as the level drops untill the system stops, then when the level returns to the max the air valve would close and the valve to suction and suction would activate for a set amount of time before shutting off to restart the system. That was there are no valves reducing peak efficiency
I'd be careful restricting the inlet.
With all that vacuum it could cause cavitation which would knacker the turbine.
Better to let a bit of air in downstream to partially disrupt the siphon.
I would bother with an Arduino. Too temperamental and fiddly.
You basically need an old toilet. Use the ballcock and valve as an air bleeder.
You may need a larger valve, or use several ballcocks at different levels so the system ramps up and down.
It's a tune and forget system.
@@JonoClarkey a piece of PVC mounted vertically with holes drilled in it. As the water drops more and more holes are exposed, allowing more and more air.
Daisy chain two or three turbines. Gain enough restrictions to slow it down and totally not have an electric bill. Connect the system to a nice set of supper caps, could possibly power two homes.
@@itslegit7362 you can't daisy chain them. Well you can, but the headloss across each turbine would be reduced so each one would produce less power.
You would have to run them in parallel but then you would likely drain down the dam.
Great little setup and looks like a beautiful property. Bill seems like a really genuine guy who is interested in doing it for the right reasons and with the right expectations. Offestting small amounts adds up. Good video
Lets admire what a gorgeous backyard this guy has, freaking awesome.
YES! It is really great.
With a lot of bugs and snakes.
@@bigbt.v8707 even better
One word, Mosquitoes.
Drake Docson water that flows especially at that rate doesnt provide much breeding ground for larva. They are ever present anyhow given his location.
As a power lineman I love the fact that he has protection for us workers in a emergency situation, back feed from generators is our worst enemy
I have used these inverters and they turn off immediately when the grid goes down. Its really nice.
Backfeed is bullshit. No lineman has ever been injured or killed from it
@@alabastardmasterson You are correct. That little invertor would blow its breaker or fuse immediately when trying to power up miles of loads.
@@Cotronixco That depends on where the break is, say a tree has come down onto the power line. If it a rural area, you and your neighbour might be the only customers affected. Could a 5kVA generator power two houses? Probably. Especially if the major electrical appliances are switched off.
Edit: This comment is more addressing @w.w was saying. Sorry, wrong person.
@@alabastardmasterson lol. that's a bold statement that everyone knows is false. why are there 3 likes on this? wtf
Well done Bill, even just a hobby, but its great to see your technical aptitude.
I work in the pumping industry and right before he pulled out the tennis ball I was going to mention that he needed to get one! Smart man!
Thats cool! Yes the vortex destroyer is an important addition.
Ive got no clue why this was in my recommendation but I enjoyed it
Thank for watching! This video is popular right now haha.
So how much power does it produce? Enough to run a fridge or two?
Neat, everything is so much easier when nothing freezes annually.
One option is to put together a woodgas setup for the time when it is too cold to have water flow; electricity would be more scarce but still accessible
@@Pink_Noodle would a steam turbine be easier? Just boil some water to spin a thing that has the power transferred via an axel to the generator? You get distilled water and potash as byproduct.
@@SickWheyfu that sounds like a worthwhile idea to me. Water based power seems to be the best
@@SickWheyfu Pero al calentar el agua necesitarás combustible para calentar y eso es lo que se busca evitar hoy en dia, usar combustibles para producir energía eléctrica.
@@SickWheyfu ejejejeje Yo tampoco hablo ingles, pero hoy no es un problemas con el traductor Google. Pensaba que iba a usar una caldera de manera exclusiva para generar electricidad, lo cual no seria distinto al principio de las termoeléctricas, que tanto contaminan los paises hoy en día.
Va a usar su estufa que siempre usa y ahora la utilizará como intercambiador de calor, eso es buenísimo asi aprovecha toda la energía de la combustión.
th-cam.com/channels/ILyV80Rnb4BTKg0CslCarA.html
Le recomiendo ver los videos de este hombre que implementa tecnología a la combustión, saludos y compartamos todos por un planeta mejor, me aburrieron los abusos de los grupos que manejan las naciones, espero que paguen esos infames que sólo se preocupan de las ganancias y no por el hábitat de todos los seres que habitamos este planeta.
Espero tenga una excelente resto de semana.
That's a pretty amazing system. Add all these alternative systems up and it adds up to a lot of free energy that normally would be wasted.
Cool project :)
Amazing to see home much water is going through the system instead of over the dam!
Great! Now I just need to find a waterfall
Or a creek with lots of head pressure as in my 10 part hydro power series.
th-cam.com/video/zPIec9VCrOY/w-d-xo.html
Surprising how many watts he is getting from such a low head. Goes to show the high power potential from a low head hydro.
I think the formula still holds true for low head power.
(Gpm x head)/10 = watts
So (350gpm x 15 feet)/10=500 ish watts
I’m guessing the fact that he has the outflow under water creating suction is a big contributing factor. If you think about it it’s kinda like the entire creek is pulling the water through not only relying on the fall of the water to the turbine itself. It’s genius!
a turbine that big with that good of plumbing should be able to power your entire house, maybe if you gut the alternator out of high amp gas generator and built a plate to belt ot in, cool setup
Yea but look at the supply of water volume you need that is unsustainable almost every were !
@@rhom5180 the load would bring the turbine to a standstill with a high power generator head.
I know that there are limitations on location and practicality, but the turbine would last longer if it was placed down the flow path (low water pressure will cause cavitation on turbine blades and increase wear & tear) but all in all great job for making something green out of household materials !
@Artificial Hobos hmmm, don’t know if there are of the shelf self contained (with generator) solutions for that around. My only point was that if they are running it through submerged turbine, I would place the turbine assembly at bottom end and slightly restrict the exit nozzle (5% maybe) which would increase internal pressure and eliminate cavitation. But if the use something (like pelton wheel) which is built for air in the housing than my point is very much DOA :) but to your point pelton wheel might be more robust if stones get captured in the pipe. But going back to the placement - it better to extract energy from positive pressure which can come in many BAR than negative pressure that can only get to -1 (well 0 for vacuum but I’m referring to pressure expressed on working part).
@Artificial Hobos I love the ghetto style with washing machine motor :) Old engineering paradigm: "if it works, it works". In regards of Australia - I'm not sure how anybody could build any hydro there, one it's pretty flat, second water is a bit of luxury. But if one is so lucky to have both (river and decent elevation change) go for it. Thou in Australia, I would think solar would be better solution since sun exposure is a greater and land prices cheaper, but again all depends on what's ones circumstances. Going back to turbines, alto I think Fransic would be better than Pelton, I like the idea of aerator for a small pond and having some fish as well. Mist from Pelton could also provide nice cooling effect on hot days, so three birds with one stone :)
@Artificial Hobos Do you remember the name of that series ? I would watch it and maybe drop him some info on bearings if I found something obvious ?
It needs to have a floating needle and seat in the intake pipe to reduce the flow automatically if the water in the pond drops. That way he can avoid draining the pond and sucking air into the intake.
Respect for bill...
Wish him health...
Really nice and happy guy..
The vacuum you pull with that flow is insane. The venturi effect usually leaves a lot to be desired in denser fluids (water rather than air) but on a scale like this with a 30% increase in volume at the tailwater you are getting a massive vacuum. Its actually beautiful. You could increase the flow but that could lead to several issues in other areas, and fixing those might require some shotgun science. Patch it all and hope for the best. Guess the issue. You have a beautiful setup, sure it could be improved but why do it.
He doesn't need a vacuum on that pipe. He has a downhill drop of 15 feet. Once that water begins flowing, gravity alone will "pull" water from the pond. But here is the real point. He could easily have drawn his water from below the water line at the damn face. No siphon needed. Also I am certain that this flow rate could easily produce over 2,000 watts, ending his need for any power from the grid until winter.
I’ve been wanting to make one, we have a cabin near sa stream, this would help to illuminate our small and poor community. I just do not know where to start and who to ask
Brilliant ideas! I believe that there is a small voltage drop on the line that can be reduced by doubling the size of the conductors of the line. Greetings
The tail tube allows the turbine to be mounted up high where it is easier to work on, and still use the entire drop from the dam to the tailwater. The pressure at the turbine's exit is below atmospheric, elegant!
Exactly. It reminded me of the draft tubes fitted after turbines from my old engineering days..I never fully understood what was the exact reason for them until this video and your comment. Thank you
@@danalex2991 Glad to help. Many moons ago in high school, I was put into the national honor society (much to my surprise) because I did a good job of translating several teachers' garbled explanations into something my classmates could understand. Nice to know I haven't lost my touch.
The pull is as good as the push.
Why is the turbine at top. Wouldn't it be better, if it uses the entire drop of the water from the bottom.
@@julianblacksmith8539 The tail tube pulls suction on the back side of the turbine so that the full head of the dam IS used. If you punch a hole in the tail tube right below the turbine, it will suck in air!
If you put a valve (ball or butterfly) in that 8 inch pipe, you could turn it off, this would store water in the upper pipe (potential energy), so when you open it again it would start up the genny again with out the need of a shop vac.
Do you know how much an 8" valve costs?
i made a knife gate valve from scrap for free, knife box below waterline in lower pool. so there you go
Not only is fun to see all that invention you guys have sparking there but it's also a wonderful and beautiful pawn-damn there that is just incredible that is not only a great idea but also something that nobody else have it elsewhere. That's amazing Guys, you have something that everybody would like to see. Congratulations!
Great channel ,good to see people putting up alternative ways of doing things
I love the clean organized simplicity in the basic turbine and plumbing set up.
I love his honesty about the rectifier. "I don't know how that happens, but that's what its doing."
Three diode bridges with a common output.
@@Cotronixco They would have to be high power diodes. But then again, 500 watts ain't all that much.
@@josepheasey1114 Off-the-shelf diodes. Bridge 3 phases to DC. Nothing to it.
@@Cotronixco yup you already said that; you could drop a capacitor (to ground) in there too to smooth out the voltage levels
@@josepheasey1114 Depends on the load.
Do you enjoy micro hydro? Check out a Turgo system here:
th-cam.com/video/Flz4_OE4CGI/w-d-xo.html
I would hire a different electrician. Neat project but with many electrical code violations. I would be surprised if you didn’t wake up one day to find your meter pulled.
Is it possible to install multiple turbine in that single pipe to produce more power?
Brilliant work the entire World should follow both of you as Energy Saving Pro's
Agreed, using ground as a load line? Why not run 10/3, rectifier in a sealed box? Surprised it hasn't burned up, could see the toasted insulation, but hey he is doing it.
you wouldnt need a siphon if you used the falling water to flow thru the pipe, catch it with a gutter type intake.!
Amazing! I will be working on a system similar to this in the future. Thanks for the video
Obvious upgrade projects: meter the water level, add an automatic valve in there, make it self-prime - all fairly trivial and then you could just leave it running, then fix your meter.
Screaming for a Tesla powerwall battery system!
I was thinking the same thing. Could be a simple as a float actuated potentiometer controlling a gate on the inlet. Heck, if you really wanted to, you could use a float on a lever to mechanically control the gate if you didn't want to mess with switches and motors near the water.
Also switching the 90s for two 45s to reduce the loss of velocity thus increasing the energy generation, better yet, move the drop to the other side of the stairs
@@MacroAggressor An old toilet float would do nicely.
@@dukeman7595 Sure, that would be the simplest solution. My only concern would be with the on/off operation of it, you may induce unnecessary wear and reduce efficiency to boot. But, as far as a simple off switch, that would be a great way to go.
Everybody should have a hydroelectric system, it’s really efficient and cool.
How? A lot of us live in a big city with no rivers close
@@daddyyddad1 I’m talking about when you have to leave the big city because of the nuclear war that will happen on November 11 2020.
@@kennethakin6322 we have a date here on November 12th
@@kennethakin6322 how did you know? Did John titor tell you?
@@kennethakin6322
Well Holy Goly you expect everyone of us to just move into the woods, build house and a hydrodam in what like 2 and a half week???
the rectifier, also called DC bridge, is such a simple and logical piece. It gets hot because of the surplus of energy in the process, get transformed into heat
This is brilliant. With the vacuum pressure you're creating you could probably stair-step a couple more turbines into the system - cover all your needs. Might also create enough drag to slow the drain some - so you have less worry with draining the pond.
- Would a smaller pipe configuration slow the flow while still producing sufficient pressure to spin the turbine at optimum efficiency? - 3" or 4" to 6" pipe, instead of 6" to 8" ?
Some Ram Pumps could be used at the outlet to reclaim some of the water as well. Maybe? Thoughts?
This is probably one of the coolest thing I’ve ever seen
beavers watching this like: ha, 530 watts, how about 40 kilowatts (laughs in maple syrup)
It was the laughs in maple syrup for me 😂
@@viatori5566 it was the 40 kilowatts for me. Imagine, a beaver making electricity but not being able to do anything with it. Stooopid beaver.
Could you please explain the joke? I didn't understand it
Aluminium refineries would like to disagree.
Beavers are underrated.
I must say, it is very cool - I've always been fascinated by Hydro power.
Absolutely beautiful land!! And major benefit is you can make electricity if the system goes down :) I’m so jelly
If he replaced each of those 90 elbows with two 45's he would get significantly more velocity.
That is likely true!
Positive 👍
but would that not put extra load on the turbine ? does that matter ?
The creek might not have enough flow to allow more velocity to pass through turbine
a 90° eblow can restrict flow up to 12% always use swept bends may be possible to do this with 4" pipe . running the syphon tube to a larger dia destroys the syphon.
As I write this, TH-cam says you're at 99.9k subscribers. Congratulations on hitting 100k any minute now! You've put a lot into it, so I hope you celebrate this milestone. :)
Yes! Looks like 73 people away from 100k. Today is the day. The channel has been a slow growing but well worth it adventure.
And the option to have a blackout, but still have some power. Super cool!
The sound created by a minor waterfall is also a benefit for animals, plants, and people. White noise helps me sleep in extreme pain. This is a type of medicine with no downsides. I wish I had that in my backyard for sure!
This is awesome build, it's simple and yet so very much effective. Salute to Bill!
He did do a great job!
One of the best dam videos I’ve seen. You answered every dam question i had.
Haha that's funny
A fish is swimming down the stream and bonks into a set of vertical boards. What does it say? "Dam!" :-)
Yes that is exactly right.
Lol, my first dam video but it not only answered a few dam questions, it also planted this dam idea in my head, although our solar set-up has been able to cover our needs.
"A sucking goriila"
wierdest way to say "Very strong Vacuum" ive ever heard xD
I am going to use it, makes me think of super strong sucking power lol
The tennis ball vortex destroyer! Patent Pending... That's so awesome.
i like how he explain the payback time information, so detail 👍
Love micro hydro? Watch more of it here: th-cam.com/play/PLTrfbWw_mKRL5Ae_x1Q4-1pOs0NJGwnzi.html
What would happen if you put another turbine at the end of the system? Double the energy production?
When I was a kid, we had a generator system that fed power into our house backward through an electrical outlet. Even then I knew that was freakin' janky as hell.
He had an electrician sign off on a plug-to-plug extension? Prongs at 120V when someone accidentally unplugs it? I think not.
@@Moletrouser What electrician? This was a shack out in the woods powered by a generator. I would be surprised if an electrician had ever set foot in that place.
@@Moletrouser IKR - also running 3-phase over 2-phase plus ground cable is pretty, err, shonky. Would've expected the flex cable to be run in conduit as well. Love the turbine idea, however.
Thank you, gentlemen! Beautiful setup.
Very good this alternative! A fish ladder would be interesting, allowing migratory fish to pass over or around an obstacle in a river!
Screw the fish!
@@donraptor6156 Haha, yeah dude!!!!
Oh my God, this is John Locke!
Jajajaj lo mismo iba a comentar :'v lo siento si no te respondo en ingles saludo
@@fabiangualacovargas445 Todo está bien, el traductor de Google te ayudará.
He’s not Lost anymore. 😉
One of the coolest things I've ever seen! Reminded me of my dad when he said "I've been thinking about it for months"
Bill is a smart guy. Thanks for watching.
Congratulations, Bill!! Very nice your power station!
I mean, the hydro part of it is pretty cool...
But the electrical side is a bit wonky.
Yep. He is losing ~100W in cabling at full power. He should move the rectifier next to inverter and use three core 10mm2/ 8 awg for three phase run from generator to rectifier. Then serious health hazard! He is using plug to feed power to socket!!!
@@peto22 don't use a rectifier at all.. he's requiring ac for grid and has ac.. hes probably loosing like 200W for that conversion stuff
@@deadclan7796 in order to grid tie direct he would have to generate at 60 Hz and 120 v - doubtful he is
@@TheCanadaman1 watch the video... he's rectifying to 24VDC and has an inverter with grid sync and disconnect
th-cam.com/video/V82SVeVXKcA/w-d-xo.html
@@deadclan7796 His 3phase generator is is not sync'd to grid phase and frequency (it's rotational frequency and output voltage are flow and load dependent). rectifier electronics for only 528W are trivial to produce his 24VDC for battery storage.
This is one of my dreams. A house near a peaceful river or creek and has unlimited renewable energy attached to it. I wish I have knowledge to reproduce this kind of tech and assembly with respect to the owner of the video.
More power to you both, sirs
Ideal for stream or creek, not so ideal for a run off pond. Much depends on rainfall.
You're not going to power a whole lot of things with only 500 watts.
@@Mick_A_Knuckle you wont power shit with 500 watts. maybe a big fan or something
@@Mick_A_Knuckle it's better than nothing.
@@Mick_A_Knuckle 500 is not zero
That's awesome! Been looking for land with a creek, but those pieces of land are far and few between, and usually expensive.
Love this, very innovative and inspiring. Good work sir.
This is one of the most effective micro hydro setups I have seen. If 500 W is all you need or want this works. Good work.
exactly, the point is making a bit more than you want to use,not mainstream thinking,gota make it big to make rich people richer.
Bill put a lot of thought into this setup. Turned out well for a hobby.
Bill is happy with 500 watts. Working well for him.
Great work, you can increase your efficiency by installing transformers by the turbine to raise your maximum open circuit voltage to near the limit of your rectifier input.
Exactly. It's not efficient because it's AC. It can easily be made efficient because it's AC.
One hundred feet is a very long run with high loss for 24 Volts. Put a step-up transformer to 48 V or maybe 120 V near where the turbine now is, and move the diodes (which need to be on finned aluminum heat sinks with convective heat flow) to near the inverter. If you pick 48 Volt step up, you'll need an inverter that expects 48 Volts, and there are some. If you pick a higher voltage, there will be lower line losses, but you may need another step-down transformer just before the diode rectifiers that feed the inverter, and losses from the second transformer may negate the higher 120V (or what ever you choose). 48V probably ends up being the most efficient. You also might consider Silicon Carbide rectifier diodes, since they are more efficient than ordinary silicon diodes, but more expensive. Since you've only got about 500 Watts to work with, it is silly to give up a significant fraction to avoidable line losses and diode losses. There is a very good reason power companies use high voltages . You can also use heavier cable for your long run, but heavy copper cable is expensive, and raising the voltage is the cheaper and more efficient way to achieve the same thing.
@@dwbogardus If he moved the rectifier beside the generator, another benefit would be using the cable properly: +, -, and a safety ground. At such low current this setup technically works but, if I was his electrician friend, I wouldn't want anybody talking about that! (For that matter, I'd probably insist on a dedicated breaker and ditch the suicide plug)
PV inverters work with higher DC inputs, an MPPT would be a decent fit for an asynchronous generator. One drawback would be cost, however: If he's pulling about 530W on 3-phase ~24V over 100', the drop over the ground wire - which is 12 AWG in a 10/2 cable - is over 20%. That's relatively quite high but at this scale it doesn't seem like much power, I'm not sure the ~100W or so would be worth the expense.
This location is so ideal, i want this kind of setup in my village.
Haha I install and repair rectifers as part of my trade, nice to see an applicable home use for one. Rectifier just flips the waves of alternating current to direct current using diodes.
Thanks for watching! This Dam has been here for a long time. Bill has taken advantage of this structure to make power! Please like and comment.
Really neat setup! Are there any fish in the area either downstream or upstream?
The only suggestion I would make for Bill is putting something over the spinning turbine so that a bird doesn't build it's nest over it or something like that.
Back in the late 70s I nearly built a 1.5 MW low head pressure turbine power station. I call it a station as it would have consisted of 4 separate turbines in series. The turbines were developed in Isreal.
Problem was the northern California utility's out spent me. I even had a DC based energy attorney doing the work pro bono. But I had to pay costs beyond his time. The old original wing dam is still in place.
Change the wire coming from the box to a 3 conductor plus ground has the ground wire is not meant to be used as a load wire has it is a size smaller so it can cause an electric fire. All 3 phase conductor's should be the same i.e. like you said #10 and the ground will be a size smaller.
Sweet super low environmental impact system.
Great video, really impressed with the suction power available on the outlet of the turbine. Instantly made me wonder if it would be possible to harness even more power by having another turbine which is driven by the negative air pressure being pulled through it? Could possibly even connect it to the house and have one of those old school built-in home vacuum systems, help further reduce his need to draw power from the grid.
Interesting! A problem with the idea is reduced efficiency from reduce water flow in the line. Reduced water flow would also reduce vacuum/negative pressure.... with the right sizing of pipe in the system, it could work.
I was thinking a paddle wheel at the end where the water flows out of the larger pipe.
Would be interesting to hear how the system works in winter. I suppose water intake should be placed deeper to prevent pieces of ice sucked into pipeline and damaging turbine's rotor.
It rarely if ever gets that cold in North Carolina, maybe once in 50 years.
Take the water falling over the edge and fill the line up with a valve close to the end. When you open it it will suck the water up and over thus it will self prime without anything.
I built mine to be automatic with check valves.
awesome comment
itd be better to design the dam this way to begin with with a channel on a ledge to prime the pump.
@Dane Duttry Not knocking your suggestion at all and have never built a hydro setup at all so this is only a suggestion that may be useless for reasons I don't know of but: I was thinking after reading your suggestion of an idea. How do you think it would go if he had something like a large ball valve at the bottom to hold the water till you're ready to run it, up above but just below the dam runover he had a funnel mounted in a section of the water ran into normally over beside his pipe and it fed into it. The ball valve closed the water would soon fill up to that point just below the edge and if you had a floating ball that fairly cleanly sealed off the funnel when you opened the ball valve and things started sucking (in the best way) then you'd have only the ball valve to open to get the system running.
I know it wouldn't make a huge difference but, every little bit easier it is to operate and control has got to be a help. Anyhow, like I said, I have no experience, you do so I'm just throwing an idea at someone who has experience with this sort of thing to see what you think, useful or just a dumb idea that may even cause more problems than it's worth?
I pumped water a long way to a tank i would trap all the water in the pipe to prime the pump
Another thought, could you install another gate valve before the turbine to control the rate of intake so the suction doesn't drain the pond below the dam and ultimately the intake? I realize this would potentially slow the turbine but then he wouldn't have to worry about draining the pond down too quickly.
that was ingenious solution to use shop vacuum 👍
Awesome video! I just took a small micro-grid seminar through my college (Arizona State). Love to learn more about how to set my own microgrid up!
is it online
@@marsesola2696 no it was in person
Really cool. I would like to do something like that, but here in Quebec that would be at least 10 years to break even. Same thing with solar panel... Cool engineering project!
3:06 or at the end of the green pipe cover it up and then fill by hand some water until the green pipe is filled with water then once filled cover the hole then open the end of the green pipe
then suction will start and there ya go!
They did say the only other way to get it going would be to fill the pipe with water before he got out his handy dandy shop-vac lol
Priming a siphon basically
Clever system, very well thought out. Loved watching this.
Thank you for watching. The system has worked well!
I think you should add a guard to prevent birds from landing on it and getting injured. Very cool system!
Thank you, this is a very very informative video I learned a lot watching it.
I've bought an array of second hand solar panels and I spent 500$ for the set of 10x 190w 44v panels and I picked up 2x 250w 48v panels for free. Overall I have an off grid set up for around AUD$750 producing 1.57kw 21amps 57volts.
Your video inspired me to tinker with it some more.
Very nice! I have a solar panel installed series coming up soon!
The water still flows at night though.
With that sort of flow you could generate SOOO much more electricity.
Wow please tell
@Shawn Patricio Unless larger turbines are more efficient I don't think that would help. Bigger turbine would generate more per rotation but spin slower.
Please do a TH-cam video and demonstrate .of course there's some in efficiencies in this setup but it works for what he wants to do and as far as the flow rate couldn't make any more power this head unless it was at a much higher voltage.
Actually, I was thinking that you could run a second suction pipe as needed that would join in down line a bit. If the venturi is already running but you need more power for a short for something in the house, you'd just open the valve. Plus that would give you a back up if you wanted to take one down for maintenance.
Great to see that they decided to do a new season of Lost
Great! Now all I need is a 10 foot dam! I'll just trot down to the DNR, I'm sure they'll be excited to help!!
Only a true engineer would talk about head... :)
I think instead of using the shop-vac you can put a Ball Valve near to the Outlet and move your Shop-Vac Hose connection to a higher point under the turbine to use it as a filler pipe. To start the Syphon for the first time, you have to close the lower valve, open the upper one and fill the Pipe with Water until it overflows from the filler pipe. Then close the upper valve and open the lower one. At this point you can turn the Syphon off and on whenever you want, only by turning the lower valve.
I think that lower valve could be fitted with an actuator controlled by a simple Arduino device which could be used to monitor pond level and throttle water flow to ensure the pond stays full to the brink of spillover. Or at least not vacuuming the pond dry.
He mentioned that idea as the "regular way" which is inconvenient. The shop vac was a great way to very quickly start it up without getting yourself wet.
Price out a 6 inch ball valve.
@@kkarllwt Where I'm sitting a 6 inch PVC ball valve costs $113.
At 9:15 you state that you don't know how a rectifier works: It takes the positive side of each waveform on each phase to one terminal and the negative sides of each phase to the other terminal. Really its just like a bunch of one-way valves that direct the electricity to the correct terminal for each polarity.
Very interesting! I love this stuff. Thanks for the video.
This is really something, WOW! Game changer. I am going to do some version of this for sure. :)
I also want to try a smaller scale version!
Pick up a copy of the NEC and read it and reference it as you are designing and again as you are implementing such an installation.
paint PVC to prevent UV break down. and fix wires on outlet box. add a rain loop to prevent water from getting in there.
nice build!
Without being painted 6" will last far longer (decades) than the Alternator.
Looks like a winner but i would recommend some weather tight connectors in all the boxes from end to end.
Pure awesomeness, thank you 👍
The amount of suction that thing creates is insane. He could add at least 3 more turbines to that setup. I believe that might even make the flow slow enough to keep more flow over the wall. Even hook a float up to a clutch of some sort so when the level in the reservoir drops to a certain point it engages another turbine. I would do everything with arduinos, but it would be possible to do it completely mechanical.
Get a battery system hooked up and store that energy already created.
Would be a good backup system for a short time if the system were to go down.
Schönes Video, vielen Dank.
Gute Idee, durch die Sogwirkung scheint auch eine höhere Effizienz erreichbar zu sein.
With energy prices raising this could prove a very good return on a small investment - well done. Altough this particular one is likely not repeatable it may serve as inspiration.
Would love to see a fully integrated deployment of this hydro-turbine configuration feeding large battery array coupled with a similarly manageable size solar array that would then resolve the low water periods. If not a completely self-sustained, efficient system; it would be "dam" close.
Good work! I like that you did it as part of a hobby/curiosity exercise and not a zealot attempt at "green" veganomics.
The problem on this is the payback on just the equipment in the video is 10 to 13 years. 500 watts at 24 volts is only 100 watts at 120 volts. The real issue is you cant do much with 100 watts other than run LED lights or perhaps a iPad or lap top. I detailed the calculations in a comment I just posted starting with the word “SORRY” in caps. Residential hydro is just not a money maker. The practical side of all alternative energy does not have “real use value” for home use until it passes an acceptable tipping point of at least 1500 watts at 120volts production stage with consistency. Inrush must also be factored in on motorized appliances, although mitigated with a capacitor bank.
@@jerryrobinson7856 Agreed. There is no, practical, abandonment of the electrical grid. I don't see storage and load dampening solutions in my lifetime. And I REALLY don't see how I could be running a 240v Mig welder from the voltages discussed in any of these solutions. They're nice hobbies for "domestic living" but I enjoy metal and woodwork hobbies too. :)
@@jerryrobinson7856
No offence.
500watt is... 500watt no matter the voltage is.
Probably it is the effiency of the inverter but this is ~0.95 so that it would be 500w input and 475w output.
Maybe this seems to be not signifiant but having 500w permanently, you can draw 12kwh in 24h.
All you need is to accumulate the energy somewhere (battery, capacitor) if you wish to have available bursts of power over 500W without consuming from the grid.
My house is drawing 200-350W during daytime and only during nightime it goes below 150W.
Of course I have other home appliances 1500-3000W power running for short times not permanently.
All of these consumptions brings me to a 6-10kwh daily energy usage.
"I don't know how that happens but that's what it does."
-Science in a nutshell.
Also when your camera decides to focus on the background instead of your subject, and completely blurs your subject instead.
Is there one full bridge for each rectifier and the return for each is the earth? MB Hydro does that with one of their long distance DC HV power transmission lines. I know how a single phase full rectifier works, but how does a three phase work with only three wires.
@@GeeEmJay 6 diodes
It was a smart camera, the background was better looking.
@@johnwythe1409 www.electronics-tutorials.ws/power/three-phase-rectification.html
I really like what you did here and I don't see any negative environmental impact. The folks in the comments that seem to have invented reasons to disparage the set up don't seem to have watched the same video that I watched [SMH]. I can see that the OP does not respond to comments but it seems obvious that with that much drop a second inline turbine could be installed to yield more power. The greatest cost to the system is the control/convert/regulate and storage components. I hope you add to the system and sell the excess power back to the grid. You're an environmental hero and naysayers are just sour grapes.
This guy has either watched a million youtube tutorials on self sustainment or he’s simply a genius. Most likely the latter.
Let's go with genius. Bill is a smart guy.
@@LandtoHouse Amen brother. He seems like it.
Low head High flow - you could take the discharge from your existing microhydro and run that through a low head high flow turbine for more generation capability.
Essentially the turbine spins using suction instead of the head (weight of the water). I’m sure there is a loss of efficiency but it is very small. It a good setup for a DIYer to offset the cost of electricity ⚡️ which will only increase in price over the years. Much better plan than solar or wind which are intermittent.👍
Neat installation, simple and effective: Simplicity is a good key to get long mtbf and lifetime in mini hydro plant. Are there some kind of ballast resitor to prevent turbine overrun in no-load or low load condition ? (I'm not native english, pls excuse my poor language skill)
What you are proposing is a "Dump load" control. I used to follow an Electrical Engineer blogger in Chile who built a much higher output dual micro-turbine system in the Andes mountains for his off grid homestead. He used his electric water heater to absorb excess power and control generator speed & voltage to close tolerances, and allow time for the remote valves to close down. He seemed quite happy with it!
That is very awesome and renewable energy
Really wonderful full project
Seems like a self-starting siphon would be really beneficial to use in this situation. 👍
With that long drop and such a small head requirement to start the siphon, it could probably be started with a second of dam flow diverted down through where the suction port is.