PDA

View Full Version : Power supply



Cleankill47
03-02-2009, 11:00 PM
I have noticed a lot of talk about generators, and I was wondering if anyone has thought of using the old water wheel that used to run grinding mills to power a generator without needing gas. I am sure it could work, but I just wanted to know if anyone thought of this before me and possibly used the idea so I could see if it'd be worth the effort.

crashdive123
03-02-2009, 11:05 PM
A few people have talked about it. I guess the first thing you would need is running water on your property.:boat:

laughing beetle
03-02-2009, 11:06 PM
Seems like it would work, provided of course that you are near a fast running stream or river.

gryffynklm
03-02-2009, 11:49 PM
It defiantly would work hooking up a generator to an old water powered mill, depending on the mill condition. The trick is working out the transmission of the water wheel to the shaft of the generator. There are small modern units that can run on creek flow. Here is a link I found by searching Home Water Power.

http://www.absak.com/library/hydro-power

Nativedude
03-02-2009, 11:58 PM
Cleankill47 wrote:I have noticed a lot of talk about generators, and I was wondering if anyone has thought of using the old water wheel that used to run grinding mills to power a generator without needing gas. I am sure it could work, but I just wanted to know if anyone thought of this before me and possibly used the idea so I could see if it'd be worth the effort.

Yes Cleankill it would be worth it, but. . .you must be near a water source that is on your property. Even a lot of the old Grist Mills don't run their water wheels because of local restrictions and (State & Fed) governmental laws which prohibit the use of water wheels for generating power (electricity). Why? Because the City, State and Fed, Gov't want control of everything and have instituted laws to govern us to death!! :fuk2:

Where we live, we have a 65' waterfall 30 yds. from our cabin and a water wheel would be perfect. Not only could we produce electricity from it, we could also channel water right to the back side of the cabin for use inside. Unfortunately the waterfall is "owned" by the Dept. Of The Interior/BLM, which forbids us from doing this.

But if you have access and water rights that allow you to do this, then by all means it is a very practical way to produce electricity.

wildography
03-03-2009, 01:14 AM
Never have known anyone to use a waterwheel for that purpose; however, I had a friend once that rigged up a waterwheel to irrigate his garden from a small creek that ran on his property... when he wanted to water it, he'd just flip a lever and start the wheel going... used some pvc pipe and garden hose to deliver the water.

Rick
03-03-2009, 08:24 AM
There is a working mill not far from us (Adam's Mill) that has a flow of water that runs beneath the mill. A vertical turbine was moved by water flow to generate electricity which ran the mill. Excess electricity was sold to the local power company. It worked for several years until a recent flood damaged the turbine.

As mentioned above, there are several turbine/generators that can be run from home. They are rather small and require only a specific water flow and pressure to work.

Mountaintrekker
03-03-2009, 03:03 PM
Sure! Lookup micro-hydro power. There are some great books out there on the subject. You will be generating DC power so you need to be close to the moving water to prevent too much line loss. If you did some sort of uber-insulated shack, you could convert it over to AC with an inverter and run it hundreds of feet to your home or barn etc. Several people use them out here. Lucky buggers!
You need a DC motor capable of generating 20 to 30 volts at low RPM. Some vehicle alternators work like the ones for big Ford diesels. You just need to get the wheel spinning fast enough. Same principle applies for wind generators and yes, the kits or do it yourself instuctions are using these types of generators/motors.
Good Luck! :)

SARKY
03-04-2009, 01:43 AM
A water wheel will work, and the nice thing about a water wheel , especially a big one, is lots of torque. Which means no matter how slow it turns you can gear up to optimize your generator!