waterwheel project

[damoc]

i have been experimenting with a small waterwheel in one of the gullies
on my place.it only runs when i get good rains so for me its just for fun not serious power production.i have 2 small ponds above it which i can use as coffer dams to effectively store energy.

youtube vid of the going but still uncompleted waterwheel

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yNJ00g-Sl98

my ongoing log on building

http://www.damoc.com/data/waterwheel/waterwheel.html

[12vman]

Great project! I like the double wheel idea. Do the chains ever fall off?

[damoc]

no never had any chain trouble even with the loose bike chain. i have been
using the looseness on the bike chain to change gear ratios to experiment
with different speeds.

maybee no chain trouble because it is so slow a couple of times per year i spray with wd40
its about 4 or 5 years old now

eventually i will put a reworked auto alternator on it with PM rotor and rewound stator

[prometheus]

Nice application. It looks as though it could use more drop, though.

[fishhead]

Interesting. I wonder if you could increase output by making it so it captured the weight of the water temporarily by making the sluice higher at the discharge. I've thought that might be a way to use a slow moving stream and very little drop.

[damoc]

dont know? i think prometheus is right in that some more drop would have helped.

i only have 1 of the 2 ponds piped all the way to the wheel i think when i get that finished it wont matter so much about the drop because the pipes will be outleted directly at the wheel.

the 1 i have done now made a huge difference to the performance

my original intention was not to need piping and head presure just capture the energy from a slow moving but highvolume stream.i think more drop would have helped a great deal with that.

[prometheus]

Originally Posted by damoc

dont know? i think prometheus is right in that some more drop would have helped.

i only have 1 of the 2 ponds piped all the way to the wheel i think when i get that finished it wont matter so much about the drop because the pipes will
be outleted directly at the wheel.

the 1 i have done now made a huge difference to the performance

my original intention was not to need piping and head presure just capture the energy from a slow moving stream.i think more drop would have helped a great deal with that.

How about a larger diameter breast-shot wheel? I've got a pelton, but looking at what you've done has got me thinking about all that "wasted" water.

[damoc]

if i had good prospects for hydro i would probably build another similar
one but increase the drop and add another couple of wheels to the causeway

its pretty amazing how much power those little wheels can generate if they have the water flow.

[mightybooboo]

VERY nice!

[tamo42]

I forget the specific numbers, but I believer overshot water wheels are far more efficient than undershot. Would it be possible to convert the placement of the wheels to compare styles?

[prometheus]

Originally Posted by tamo42

I forget the specific numbers, but I believer overshot water wheels are far more efficient than undershot. Would it be possible to convert the placement of the wheels to compare styles?

Here ya go:

Efficiency of Different Water Wheel Types

Flutter wheel............................................. ....................20% or less
Undershot water wheel............................................. ..............................15% to 25% or less
Low breast shot water wheel............................................. ................................30% to 35%
Middle breast shot water wheel............................................. ..................................35% to 45%
High breast shot water wheel............................................. ................................45% to 65%
Pitch-back water wheel............................................. ...............................55% to 65%
Overshot water wheel............................................. .................................55% to 70%
Modern water turbine........................................... ..................................45% to 83%
Modern Fitz I-X-L steel overshoot water wheel
(depending upon the type of bearings)......................................... ....................73% to 93%