The wheel broke, and I fixed it, and then it broke properly to teach me a lesson! This was a fairly expected failure mode and hopefully I should have it up and running again shortly.
I did mention flotation devices (plastic barrel) last time. Though , I forgot to say to mount it round side facing the brook , otherwise drag can be a bit much for your mounting solution (especially with this speed of water). Some kind of wire mesh or grills in of front of a drum , wouldn't go a miss , in case that some branch , or stick comes down the stream (mounted at an angle , in order to shed off - self clean ). I still think that there is much more energy potential , for you to extract from the brook (those pedals are splashing ....) , but it is interesting to watch . Good luck !
Yes with the right amount of counterbalancing I think minimal floatation would be required. I even thought a simple hydrofoil might be enough. I was pretty sure such a thing would be needed, I just didn't expect to get caught out so quickly but you live and learn I guess. I need to pick up some cord and pulley blocks, probably from a chandlery, so I can set up a properly engineered and free moving counterweight. I agree there is more potential for improvement in efficiency here, its just baby steps at the moment! The good part is that the wheel and generator seem undamaged, it is just the rather dodgy arm I had put together to suspend the assembly from which broke. I am going to replace that with a much more sturdy and appropriate piece of material to get me going again.
Cheers! Yes energy is never won completely for free but at least it's me paying the lions share of the tab and not the atmosphere! Need to wait for things to calm down then will get the system back up.
Put small floats on each side to give it more bouancy and prevent the washout. An anchor upstream will assure it stays in place. I've built a fish wheel on The Yukon
maybee try a couple of small pontoons either side of the wheel , at least then the wheel will rise and fall with the water level in the stream , i would definatly add a drag line to the riverbank
Yes that is definitely a good idea. If I get the counterbalancing right then the floats wont have to do much work to maintain the right level. I even thought that a hydrofoil might be an interesting thing to experiment with as long as the balance was almost "neutral". Thanks for the comment!
Both would be sensible right now as things can get out of control very quickly! In reality I think I am going to wait for the level to drop back before I try to implement anything. I find not going in if it's over my wellies is a useful gauge!
I did mention flotation devices (plastic barrel) last time. Though , I forgot to say to mount it round side facing the brook , otherwise drag can be a bit much for your mounting solution (especially with this speed of water). Some kind of wire mesh or grills in of front of a drum , wouldn't go a miss , in case that some branch , or stick comes down the stream (mounted at an angle , in order to shed off - self clean ). I still think that there is much more energy potential , for you to extract from the brook (those pedals are splashing ....) , but it is interesting to watch . Good luck !
Yes with the right amount of counterbalancing I think minimal floatation would be required. I even thought a simple hydrofoil might be enough. I was pretty sure such a thing would be needed, I just didn't expect to get caught out so quickly but you live and learn I guess. I need to pick up some cord and pulley blocks, probably from a chandlery, so I can set up a properly engineered and free moving counterweight. I agree there is more potential for improvement in efficiency here, its just baby steps at the moment! The good part is that the wheel and generator seem undamaged, it is just the rather dodgy arm I had put together to suspend the assembly from which broke. I am going to replace that with a much more sturdy and appropriate piece of material to get me going again.
mother nature is a tough task master! Great to hear that you're already being rewarded with some useful energy, it's a lovely project!
Cheers! Yes energy is never won completely for free but at least it's me paying the lions share of the tab and not the atmosphere! Need to wait for things to calm down then will get the system back up.
Nice idea though
Put small floats on each side to give it more bouancy and prevent the washout. An anchor upstream will assure it stays in place.
I've built a fish wheel on The Yukon
Yes, that's the next thing when I get it back in the water. We are missing the power!
maybee try a couple of small pontoons either side of the wheel , at least then the wheel will rise and fall with the water level in the stream , i would definatly add a drag line to the riverbank
Yes that is definitely a good idea. If I get the counterbalancing right then the floats wont have to do much work to maintain the right level. I even thought that a hydrofoil might be an interesting thing to experiment with as long as the balance was almost "neutral". Thanks for the comment!
Great idea...
Look like the wheel went faster before you dropped it down too far lol
That's for sure!
That water is deep and fast enough to be a danger. I hope you are wearing a pfd and maybe a hard hat.
Both would be sensible right now as things can get out of control very quickly! In reality I think I am going to wait for the level to drop back before I try to implement anything. I find not going in if it's over my wellies is a useful gauge!