As a practicing Electrical, Electronic and Mechanical Engineer I congratulate you on your pluck. Who doesn't enjoy playing with water and power tools? However, I feel I must add some comments in the spirit of making this project really great. 1) Get rid of the windowscreen. Use something like hardware cloth, with larger openings. You lose a lot of flow trying to get water through those itty bitty holes. Since you have the sump in the collection keg, you are pretty well protected against debris. Why do I think your barrel reminds me of a thump keg? Add another feed or two, JFTHOI. 2) You have a number of places where you are forcing the water to flow uphill. Every time you do that, you are wasting flow. Flow = power. Flatten out that run as much as you can. 3) Dig a hole under the thump keg to lower it, so you aren't forcing the water to go uphill into it. 4) Get rid of the 90 degree bends. Again, more flow resistance. Use those nice 90 degree sweeps you can buy cheap. 5) While you are at it, move the outflow of the thump keg higher. Every little bit helps. 6) I presume you have fixed all the leaks. going down the hill. You can keep the pipes from coming apart by putting a self tapping screw through the coupling and the pipe. Silicone seal will address any leaks. Do all the above and I bet you get more pressure. 7) Ground the case of the generator to a good ground right there. You never know. No matter how good the generator, it can fault mechanically. 8) With that long a power run, you should put a breaker/disconnect at the turbine in case of any fault which can develop in the lead to the house. Animals chewing wires, backhoe outages, the diode usually fails with a short from lead to lead, You don't want to smoke the generator. 9) Add a breaker where the lower enters the house. Save a trip up the hill in case you need to power it down in a hurry. Protect your house. You can start a fire with a 9v battery, let alone a couple of hundred watts at 100 Volts or so. 10) Am I seeing things, or do you have 110V on the blades of a MALE plug coming out of the inverter? NONONONO! I would red tag your butt from here to Kingdom come if I saw that. Get yourself a nice Hubbell female for the wall and a male twistlock for the supply. 11) Now then, are you SURE you are feeding power TO the house? Do you measure 110V on that male plug if it is unplugged from the house? I can't imagine a manufacturer building something that way! 12) That KILL A WATT thing is hooked up backwards. I haven't seen one, but it is meant to go in the wall with an appliance plugged into it so you can measure things. It might just be inductively coupled to the line in which case it might work backwards. 13) If that ac plug is feeding 110V from the blue box to the house wiring, what do you have to keep from feeding 110V back over the power lines to the grid? If the shore power goes down, you could be feeding 110V out to the power poles. It would put high voltage coming out the supply side of your transformer, and although the current is fairly low, it could bite the piss out of a lineman. Most power companies are pretty particular about backfeed preventers and insist on inspecting and approving that part of your install. If not approved, you might find yourself with one Helluva liability at the worst, and certainly with the shore power disconnected at the leas. 14) I really don't want to rain on your parade, I'd love the opportunity to build something like that, but I sure wouldn't want you or someone to get hurt. Get yourself a Tesla and charge it from the turbine at night. I charge mine from my solar roof. Almost as cool as charging from my very own personal dam. And giving the finger to the power company or Exxon Mobile is a good feeling.
just to say for point 13 the inverter has a current limit function which means it won't send power to grid unless it reads power and amperage and the CT clamp which is usually at the meter tails
Very nicely done installation. I have a couple of suggestions: Install a vent at the penstock inlet to allow the pipes to drain without pulling a vacuum. Use a bigger pipe for the next penstock. Look for 10 ft/sec velocity at full flow. Set up a "Y" shaped splitter outside of the turbine box. Right angle bends cause substantial loss of head and energy. Be prepared to relocate the penstock after spring runoff. All in all a really good job.
Excellent work Seth. I really enjoyed watching this series. I think it was a tremendous value to all of the viewers on here. I assure you most people have no idea how much effort goes into doing something of this complexity and difficulty. Plumbing, electrical, electronic, carpentry, design, and general handyman. Way to go. Also, you have a ton of PVC materials and fixtures in your workshop. You are seriously ready for some more large projects. lol
This project was a fun one. But it was also very time consuming. Something that I have wanted to do for a long time. Those plumbing parts are actually for the ram pumps that I make.
boy where I live you wouldn't get away with all that pipe and all that stuff in a creek.even if you owned all that land the city would make you take it all apart and you never be able to do that unbelievable that you're able to get away with all of what you have done.Kudos my friend excellent job
I recommend installing a ribbed heat sink behind the rectifier in order to be able to cool it sufficiently. It increases the lifetime of the Diodes inside the rectifier.
@@LandtoHouse The wind turbine guys always add fans and such to keep the rectifier cool. Rectifiers can apparently get pretty hot when the generator (in whatever form) is running and the batteries are full. However, wind turbine voltages are all over the place while your hydro system is a lot more predictable. Still, I'd move it off the bare wood just to be safer.
@@jameshbyrd That does seem a good idea. My system is not producing a whole lot of power but still if I were to bring that out another inch from the wood would be good.
You should look into putting a flow sensor on the overflow or a switch right below it and use something like an Arduino to automatically control the three valves on the turbine to have maximum output at all times.
2:10 „Missing a good bit of water” is recommended, otherwise part of the forest would dry out. The roots of trees and plants often intertwine and exchange fluids. Thus, the little remaining water feeds the forest in the area where you put the pipes.
Well done sir I just watched the whole series tonight and I’m so glad to find another Hydrohead making a series. This time DC power. I like how you are showing the step-by-step process installing a system. It’s something I’ve wanted to do myself with other peoples systems. I will steer some Traffic to your channel and series on micro Hydro.
Thank you for watching! I have watched your series at least twice haha. When I make videos its often a "turn the camera on and see what happens" type experience. Step by step and mistakes included. I appreciate any traffic you send. Thanks.
@@LandtoHouse I can tell! Did you get my email about the Dual Drive Pipe Ram Pump a couple months ago? Just curious if you think it is a good idea? Thank you, Danny
Hmm. maybe put a float in the barrel. When the water level gets so, it sends a signal to a solenoid to restrict the flow to the jet(s) so the barrel doesn't run dry. As the level increases, the solenoid opens up the jets more. That way it is automatic. If the level gets too low, a signal (buzzer) can be sent to the house to let you know a bear has knocked your barrel over to get a drink! Pesky bears!!!
I really like this series. Our mountain property in Georgia has a fast running creek, an established spring that supplies us five gallons per minute and two other undeveloped springs. I’m very interested adding a system like this.
Great Job! A digital flow meter switch, a PLC and 4 solenoid control valves would have been recommended to increase and reduce the pressure by turn off and on the jets when the water pressure or power drops or increases. But this can only work when the turbin is close to a power source. Above all great achievement 👏
You caught my attention with the Ram pumping system, and I started following you. I watched every one in this series and was impressed, meaning your 10. I am keen on a lot of the things you've done and will consider this in the future, thanks.
When you increase the barrel over flow, you should also add another inlet to the barrel, to catch more of the stream water. Also you should stop the water running down the back of the water pick up /filter, to harness more water potential. Then you should seal up all the inlets into the barrel this combined with the next step should give you maximum efficiency , at the pick up - filter area at least. The last thing to do is the barrel overflow, it should go vertical from the barrel, to a height just below the pick up, where it will need an opening at the highest point. Here you will want to put a tee fitting, the air will go up and out the top of the tee fitting, and the water can be redirected back down to the stream. This will allow all the air will go out the top, and the barrel will remain full of air-free water at all times. This will also increase the static penstock pressure slightly.
Just had an apifiny watching one of your videos again. An idea for a catchment box. Cut a plastic 55 gal drum. If you make a long cut straight from top to bottom then make a cut from that cut on each end about 10" both cuts the same direction you would be able to use a heat gun to bend the cut piece back to form something like a ramp type scoop. Then using screen over the ramp and hole across the barrel . You can use half inch PVC pipe cut in half and heated and flattened to make strips that you could predrill pilot holes in and lock down the screen wire and on ramp piece take a pool noodle cut to match the length of the ramp and the two short sides of the ramp. Then make a single cut down each of them so you can slide them over the PVC Screen holding pieces. If done right you would have already cut your holes and inserted your bulkhead fittings. Now you have a large plastic catch basin with a water ramp and guides. Oh! And if you want to be sure the water doesn't leak off the ramp I would use a tube of clear silicone caulking around the pool noodles on top of your ramp with the screen wire. Let me know if you think it's a good idea or not.
Hi there! I just stumbled upon these videos...nice job! FWIW, the ups and downs of the carrier pipes in between the inlets and outlets of your system do not impact the final pressure at all, as long as the highest point of the carrier pipes remain lower than the point of origin. I’m not an engineer but since water will always seek its level, that’s how it has to be. I’m not being critical. I love the project!
Thank you for watching. I believe the issue that arises with valleys and rises in the penstock is that air can become trapped and that will slow down the water
27 years ago, I wanted to purchase a parcel of land near a running brook to live as a self sustained, off-grid living by building a small raised dam and use a 24V turbine generator, inverters, batteries, etc, for a country shack (cabin) that would have been enough to live the good life alway from greedy water, power and gas companies. Bad luck struck when I enquired with the local shire who said I cannot do any of that to the brook. The brook water was only to be diverted to a pond downhill of the land (not the entire brook just half of it) and then from there it would overflow by pipes straight into the turbines and back down into the stream. The shire said no, even though water wasn't polluted and what was taken would return back in the brook. The land and the brook were part of the purchase deal but the River Authority owned the brook. So I gave up and never bought that land, dreams destroyed. One day 4 years ago, I decided to visit the area and noted that cabins were spread far and wide. I then decided to pay a visit to the land I really loved and, you wouldn't believe what I saw. A nice cabin (small house) built on the exact spot where I had planned to erect mine and, further down I saw a pondage and white pipes with other implements such as some sort of generator ran by water. I felt like suing the shire for not allowing me to build and settle there, yet 4 years before this visit I see they had allowed someone else and, like a neighbor I had asked on that day had said, that, they are rich and must have paid big money to build there. Amazingly what money can do. 😫
I love it....thank you for sharing the knowledge. I’ve had something like this in mind for a while but just don’t know enough about what is available out there.
Hello Seth... at this point on my life and where I live there almost 0 chance I will ever build a micro-hydro power plan but nonetheless I thoroughly enjoyed this video series in particular your enthusiasm and determination to see this project to conclusion! However, I hope to buy an RV early 2022 and solar is a very popular RV project to facilitate boon-docking or living off the grid... So I was able to relate to the use of the charger and inverter components and bank of batteries... In any case congratulations on this project and will continue to watch your next video series. Bob S, Tampa, FL
Thank you very much for watching. I have another short series showing the solar installation. I actually just installed another one kW to my solar setup.
Cities underground is full of water and pressure from building and human water consumtion... And rain on rooftops... Maybe some micro, microgeneration there could be nice... Make all building energy efficient... What a dream...
@@LandtoHouse What could be done with the 12+ gpm of water coming out of the exit pipe? Water wheels came to mind but most are generating DC current and your hydro is AC. I just found this video which uses a hover board wheel alternator and a computer power supply plastic fan on a metal shaft inside the pipe. It generates AC current which can be connected to your 10/3 line at the hydro. The PVC sweep wye connection or 2 could be placed on the end of your exit pipe and make use of the water as it leaves the pipe. More placed up the supply line would generate more power. Part 1 ruclips.net/video/1KyL1-0A0Gw/видео.html Part 2 shows how to build it. You only need the Y assembly. ruclips.net/video/ibCu0PxIZA4/видео.html
Have you considered automating the system? With a float meter in the penstock, load from house, state of charge of batteries, some automated screw valves on the turbine and an arduino or pii you could configure it so the valves would auto adjust according to how much water you have in the penstock, it would also shutdown / slowdown the hydro if the house wasn't using anything and the batteries were full. This would have the benefit that if you had a sudden downpour the system would react instantly.
Great job and great series! Perhaps hitting the turbine from all four sides using the other three at lower volume would be more effective than full flow at just one side. Have you tried opening the all the valves part way to see if that is more efficient?
The pelton wheel works best at highest velocity of the jet. On the other hand, two jets produce twice the force for a given velocity. So, if more jets can be run without sacrificing the jet velocity (driven by head pressure at the nozzle), it would produce more power. For instance if throttling two jets produced 2/3 velocity per jet, it'd produce half again as much power. I think. See ruclips.net/video/rf9meqw2SQA/видео.html
Love this series. Great skill and knowledge portrayed in this video. Would your if you can go in detail about your household load and your battery bank used, you mentioned 60V DC, 5 12V batteries connected in series. Can you tell me what Ah is a single battery?
Nice system. Your fine water screen looks like it might clog up fairly quickly. You might try a surface tension type cover. The type that home rain gutters use to keep leaves out, like Gutter Guard, etc.
@@ItAintMeBabe99 My way of having sport with you. It's a great suggestion, glad you made it!. Really wish I'da thunk of it first. As a matter of fact, an ad for that just ran on myTV an hour ago.
Hi Seth, greetings from Papua New Guinea, loved all your videos. You did a good job from start to the completion. Just a few questions here. What is the head of your system and what is your flow rate in the pipe to the hydro generator?😊 And in the future please cover videos on the appliances that your battery banks will power and for how long the appliances will be powered by the battery banks until the battery falls to 75%. Another question, does the inverter switches off when the battery falls below 75%?
He should use a Charge controller with direct load function that way he can still charge the battery and use the power at the same time. Just my thought otherwise great video really admire his work.
hey man, today i just met you, and you became my number 1,you are amazing, i am really looking forward to following your steps, I am living in a village and i have some slope and underground water and a well, I would need to find a way to have at least some electricity, I am curious do you have a full tutorial or guide how to build similar setup, i am curious how to build first the ramp pump as 1st step, I`ve watched more than a dozen videos of ramp pumps but yours seems better, do you mind sharing somehow?
Really looking forward to your next content. Keep up your great style of videos! This series was great, I´m looking also forward for future updates and long time experience of this system. ;-)
I'm a little confused, how does the water travel from the waterfall down to those pipes into the barrel and into more pipes naturally? Without a pump? Great video though
This may be a silly question but how possible do you think it would be to use a siphon to continuously pull water, from a pond, up a hill then run it back down into a generator before exciting back into the pond? It seems a bit close to something like perpetual energy but still it's an interesting idea for me since the siphon wouldn't need electricity. I guess it comes down to how much water can you get up the hill in what amount of time to make it actually work? Also, I'm not sure how far a siphon can get water up a hill. Any thoughts?
A couple reasons. We lose power in this area quite often sometimes for 2 days at a time. The batteries allow me to install and off grid inverter so that we can have power on those outage days
I believe he answered in comments under one of the previous videos that there's definitely enough water in the stream in the winter, and that the constant relatively high pressure flow in the pipes *should* make it safe to use (without freezing) .
great vid, i love all this but don't understand it lol, so for the lay people can you tell me how the house benefits , does this power home appliances or just feed back to the grid and save you money? please let me know Thanks Rich
Awesome. What are your thoughts on 2 barrels at the beginning. 1st barrel is used to catch sediment which will then overflow into the 2nd barrel. Which would all be water that flows to the hydro. Updated. Another idea would be to get electric valve actuators with wireless access to your software. Last update. Your wiring skills are WAY better than I could even understand. It’s scary to me. 🤣
So far I think that the single barrel is going to be fine. I just need to have more water to feed the system. I have just a little wire practice from back in school. I will be starting on the solar install sometime soon. So I will get to do these same electronics again.
In the last video, you said something around 200 V, but how many watts or amps? If this is a 70 W ceiling fan at 180 V, you’re only making about half of an amp… but I’m not sure if that changes if you have something drawing power from it, they definitely run a lot different under load or it’s not just a multi meter hooked up But I really do like your set up, especially how quiet is
Question - For the Jets, could you not change the flow configurations of the PVC pipes on the generator in order to install some pressure regulator switches, these switches are connected to port valves which would automatically open and close, thus increasing and decreasing the Jets in use in accordance with the available incoming water pressure. This would ensure that the Generator is running at optimal power at all times and less requirement to visually/manually adjust.??
Cool Why didn’t you just install a small cistern, eliminating the “trickle collector” and barrel. Then you could localize your A/C generation, running your wires down the hill. In this system, you could avoid water needlessly being sent running down the hill. If I had to repair this in the “weather” you could trouble shoot and fix with relative ease. I suppose one could wait till the storm passed.
Do you have a electric utility connection? If so, an induction motor as a generator would have been far cheaper and simpler for such a small system. I built a 17kw twin-jet Pelton system 40 years ago and then went on working in hydro to this day. Your project brings back a lot of good memories. Keep up the good work!
The drop from the top to the bottom is 163 feet. There is no easy way to get the water back to the top. Even a Ram Pump would need 24 feet of head pressure to get water that high.
Thank you for the informative video. Question for you. Would it not have been more cost effective to install the turbine after a short/shorter downhill run from the barrel? That way you could run the (relatively cheaper) cable the entire distance back to the house (even if inside a small diameter cheap/thin tube)? Sorry if I missed the reason in previous videos.
The issue with that is the more drop to the PMA the more power. I have 165 feet of head pressure at this point. If I had gone up closer to the Tank the power would have reduced.
Have you thought of using a ram pump to take the exiting water & some additional creek water back up the hill to a cistern or some other type of water storage to supplement low flow??
I really liked the series, but I do have a few comments. The power generated, 80W, is really quite low. Running 24/7 this turbine would provide 80*24 or 1.92KWh/day. The daily usage of power in USA depends, of course on your location, and ranges from a high of 42.4KWh/day (Louisiana) to 17.2KWh/day (Hawaii). Even under the best conditions with a very high efficiency home, 1.92KWh/day is a drop in the bucket. To make a serious dent in your utility bill a turbine in the 500-1000W range would be needed, but you would need an appropriate water supply to feed it. My advice is, before you starting building, to characterize your flow/head and estimate the power you're going to generate. For many solar will be a much better alternative.
I am not sure where the 80w came from. This unit is making 210 watts with one nozzle. 330 watts with 2 nozzles. I need to increase the size of the output pipe but I have seen 516 watts. With my hydro and solar connected I have seen well over 10kwh a day.
@@LandtoHouse Thanks for the reply. I did watch the video again and you are right. The charge controller clearly shows the power generated is 326W. Many apologies for my error.
We electricians do it without shorts and carry more juice. :) They sell the black polyp pipe in 1000 ft. reels. I see you discovered the high pressure-ball valves don't get along. Gate vales. I spend the extra buck on brass internal barbed fittings and double the good quality hose clamps per connection. cut once, bury once. Rent a cutter and plastic pipe welder. As strong as pipe when done. Electrical Codes are different per state, county and city. Green GROUND all metal boxes and any steel in and on system. It is a bonding ground! With cut or scraped wires and wet earth, potential for deadly accident. Maybe a weatherproof 3-phase lockable disconnect at the turbine for emergencies. Save some footsteps up and down the hill. Lastly, we must have disconnect at meter base here so when utility power goes down, can't electrocute linemen working poles in storm Called back feed. Tickle a lineman and they will hunt you down. Great Works!!! Your neighbor will benefit from your experience.. lol
Your videos got me expanding an off-grid system beyond just solar and wind. I just bought a piece of vacant land on Lake Superior in an unorganized township. I'm in the process of pre-planning my build which includes an off-grid system. I'm thinking outside of the box (and wanting to kill 2 birds with one stone), and wondering if a water turbine system would work inside a shore well while at the same time accessing and delivering well water to house via a well pump.
It does freeze.... A mouse chewed a wire and locked down the pma. I forgot to turn the water back on and EVERYTHING at the housing froze and shattered. A fun rebuild is in the future.
When you put the turbine under load how well will only 2 jets keep up? Seems it's design for maximum efficiency and capability will be using all 4 jets.
This was too cool. If you add another overflow outlet to the barrel, might I suggest running it from the bottom of the barrel and up the side to your fill line, so that it will carry a lot of the bottom silt automatically?
Congratulations for the beautiful work, pity that in Brazil we did not find this type of turbine to buy! Do you recommend a place to buy? Thanks for listening.
Brazil is a major manufactiring country. Somebody must make small turbines. Note: Centriugal pumps can be operated as water turbines. Takes a bit of calculation to find a pump of the correct size.
Word of caution: wiring contained in its own insulator, such as romex or your ground contact wiring, emits heat, should not be contained within conduit. Not saying it will, but it can overheat and melt the insulating jacket. With wiring such as residential romex, one will note the actual wire has a insulating coating, then it is placed inside an outter jacket, that is in fact the conduit for the wiring. Not trying to be a wise ass, just a note fyi
Hey how much would a system like this run would it run an entire home and if so for how long and how much does this setup cost I’m new to this but want to cut bills out of my life at least power me some on food too and this looks very interesting
For hydro to be cost efficient you need either a lot of head pressure or a good flow rate. Or both. This system was approximately $4500. Solar can be a great alternative. My solar panels were used and only $0.26 a watt. Power bill last month was $54. Down from $105.
Hi Seth, Can I ask a question please ? What happens to the power from the hydro if your battery is full and your house isn't using any power ? Does the Midnite classic controller stop or reduce the load into the battery or do you have some other kind of dump load to use the power up ? Kind Regards john
The midnite classic is able to take in voltage up to 250v. If the batteries are full the midnite will spin up the hydro to max rpm and dump the load on the system. I hear this often when the sun is out and my solar panels are pulling in 2500w. The hydro will spin up and not do much on a sunny day. Then at night it is back to its normal speed. So yes yes the midnite takes care of the power when not needed.
@@LandtoHouse Hi Seth many thanks for your reply, I've been building a system for 3-4 years now and have just ordered one of those inverters as I liked the way you can control the amount of power you pull from the battery. my main hydro is grid tied but I want something I can use for charging the battery bank when I have no wind or sun. my hydro is the same style as yours but is a five wire rated for 4k and around 450v. the problem is I just can't spin it fast enough to get enough on the single phase side for the battery side of things so looking to buy a second smaller unit. at full speed when I have full water I'm getting 920w grid but only 11-12v on the single phase side, my battery is 24v so it's no good. I have two grid meters in the house one for the main house which is on an older analogue meter but the outbuildings are on a digital meter so anything I feed back I get charged for, so with the new inverter and a smaller hydro generator I'm hoping that will do the trick. That's great to know the Midnite Classic will control the hydro when the battery is full as I don't really like having to burn power off with a resistor bank like I do for the wind turbine. Anyway thank you again for your help. enjoy and have fun john
You should intergate a microcontroler like a arduino to measure the water level/overflow rate to automaticaly open and close the valves depending on the water level
You mentioned a 160' drop. Did u mean vertical from creek source to MIcro Hydro Generator? Because other than that, I don't see where your 65PSI originates from.
Where I live, electric is .12/kwh. He produces about 350 watts, which is about 260kwh if he runs 24/7. At .12/kwh, he's saving around $31/mo. He's probably saving more now because of effencies he has added.
With the inverter, the black cable going from the bottom of it to the socket mounted above it, is that what's supplying the electricity to the house? That seems like it's a bit janky with power going the 'wrong way' on that cable, but I can't see any other cables connecting from the inverter to anything else!
Your hair drier pulls 1,200 to 1,500 watts with just a plug. He is only putting 200 watts back into the system, I don't see the issue. Would you feel better if it was a disconnect box?
@@orion_13 It's not the actual cable itself, but more that it seemed as though if you unplugged one end whilst the other was still connected, it would have exposed live contacts?
The sun-1000 is auto islanding. As soon as the grid is removed the unit powers down the output. Its very fast. Before the ground is even out of the receptacle the power has stopped.
I just found your channel but unless I heard you wrong the max input from the system is around 3000 watts a day...total?seems like a lot of effort for minimal gain?again i may have misunderstood 😕
Hi Seth....one day I might be setting up an awesome hydroelectric system, but for now....about to head back to the land and finally try to set up the ram pump. I hope you don't mind a question about that here. This is about siting the intake. My delivery pipe may have to come up a steep bank and then drop down over a wall, before it continues rising to the water tank. Possible? I have a feeling it's not ideal and may cause air pockets...or not? Answer when/if you can. All the best.
@@LandtoHouse Phew! Now I know I have at least 2 options before I get there. Honestly can't thank you enough for all your advice. I'm going to call my pump Seth!
Congrats Seth. Loved the series, loved the project. Started watching the series that you build your neighbor's micro Hydro.. Just a question on that. You are using a different Turbine from yours? How come you get so different readings in terms of voltage. 200V no load vs max 30V no load? Thanks
I have watched almost all offgrid/solar/wind/microhydro content on RUclips, and the one thing that always is consistent is the lack of craftmanship in all installations. Sure, it is done by amateurs, but it doesn't take much to route the cables nice (and use decent size cables), paint the wooden boxes and waterproof them and put the batterys in order in a box. It's like "the thing is spinning and making s lightbulb glow, I must be finished". No, the concept is working, now make it nice.
Be careful when you close upstream as you do when you close downstream, the depression can do damage, generally after the closing valve you put a T with a vertical pipe so that it acts as a vent for any air but mainly to suck it when it closes and drain the pipe properly. It would have been nice to see in the bin at what level the water was with the two jets open, in my opinion it was higher than the outlet pipe and slightly lower than the overflow, if so you can always leave them both open if it does not drop further, from video it is not clear, it gives the impression that the piping following the ground, rises and falls, if this were the case in the high points there would be many automatic vents such as those for radiator heating systems, otherwise trapped air remains and the effective dimeter, great job we await the maximum flow rate and the 4 open jets!
As a practicing Electrical, Electronic and Mechanical Engineer I congratulate you on your pluck. Who doesn't enjoy playing with water and power tools? However, I feel I must add some comments in the spirit of making this project really great.
1) Get rid of the windowscreen. Use something like hardware cloth, with larger openings. You lose a lot of flow trying to get water through those itty bitty holes. Since you have the sump in the collection keg, you are pretty well protected against debris.
Why do I think your barrel reminds me of a thump keg? Add another feed or two, JFTHOI.
2) You have a number of places where you are forcing the water to flow uphill. Every time you do that, you are wasting flow. Flow = power. Flatten out that run as much as you can.
3) Dig a hole under the thump keg to lower it, so you aren't forcing the water to go uphill into it.
4) Get rid of the 90 degree bends. Again, more flow resistance. Use those nice 90 degree sweeps you can buy cheap.
5) While you are at it, move the outflow of the thump keg higher. Every little bit helps.
6) I presume you have fixed all the leaks. going down the hill. You can keep the pipes from coming apart by putting a self
tapping screw through the coupling and the pipe. Silicone seal will address any leaks. Do all the above and I bet you get more pressure.
7) Ground the case of the generator to a good ground right there. You never know. No matter how good the generator, it can fault mechanically.
8) With that long a power run, you should put a breaker/disconnect at the turbine in case of any fault which can develop in the lead to the house. Animals chewing wires, backhoe outages, the diode usually fails with a short from lead to lead, You don't want to smoke the generator.
9) Add a breaker where the lower enters the house. Save a trip up the hill in case you need to power it down in a hurry. Protect your house. You can start a fire with a 9v battery, let alone a couple of hundred watts at 100 Volts or so.
10) Am I seeing things, or do you have 110V on the blades of a MALE plug coming out of the inverter? NONONONO! I would red tag your butt from here to Kingdom come if I saw that. Get yourself a nice Hubbell female for the wall and a male twistlock for the supply.
11) Now then, are you SURE you are feeding power TO the house? Do you measure 110V on that male plug if it is unplugged from the house? I can't imagine a manufacturer building something that way!
12) That KILL A WATT thing is hooked up backwards. I haven't seen one, but it is meant to go in the wall with an appliance plugged into it so you can measure things. It might just be inductively coupled to the line in which case it might work backwards.
13) If that ac plug is feeding 110V from the blue box to the house wiring, what do you have to keep from feeding 110V back
over the power lines to the grid? If the shore power goes down, you could be feeding 110V out to the power poles. It would put high voltage coming out the supply side of your transformer, and although the current is fairly low, it could bite the piss out of a lineman. Most power companies are pretty particular about backfeed preventers and insist on inspecting and approving that part of your install. If not approved, you might find yourself with one Helluva liability at the worst, and certainly with the shore power disconnected at the leas.
14) I really don't want to rain on your parade, I'd love the opportunity to build something like that, but I sure wouldn't want you or someone to get hurt.
Get yourself a Tesla and charge it from the turbine at night. I charge mine from my solar roof. Almost as cool as charging from my very own personal dam. And giving the finger to the power company or Exxon Mobile is a good feeling.
just to say for point 13 the inverter has a current limit function which means it won't send power to grid unless it reads power and amperage and the CT clamp which is usually at the meter tails
Very nicely done installation. I have a couple of suggestions:
Install a vent at the penstock inlet to allow the pipes to drain without pulling a vacuum.
Use a bigger pipe for the next penstock. Look for 10 ft/sec velocity at full flow.
Set up a "Y" shaped splitter outside of the turbine box. Right angle bends cause substantial loss of head and energy.
Be prepared to relocate the penstock after spring runoff.
All in all a really good job.
Excellent work Seth. I really enjoyed watching this series. I think it was a tremendous value to all of the viewers on here. I assure you most people have no idea how much effort goes into doing something of this complexity and difficulty. Plumbing, electrical, electronic, carpentry, design, and general handyman. Way to go. Also, you have a ton of PVC materials and fixtures in your workshop. You are seriously ready for some more large projects. lol
This project was a fun one. But it was also very time consuming. Something that I have wanted to do for a long time. Those plumbing parts are actually for the ram pumps that I make.
boy where I live you wouldn't get away with all that pipe and all that stuff in a creek.even if you owned all that land the city would make you take it all apart and you never be able to do that unbelievable that you're able to get away with all of what you have done.Kudos my friend excellent job
Congratulations!!! You worked very hard and persevered all on your own! It has paid off - no one else knows your sacrifice. All the best
Thank you. This was a good series. I just started a solar install as well.
I with like to do it
I recommend installing a ribbed heat sink behind the rectifier in order to be able to cool it sufficiently. It increases the lifetime of the Diodes inside the rectifier.
I should use the heat gun on it under full load and see what temp its getting to.
@@LandtoHouse The wind turbine guys always add fans and such to keep the rectifier cool. Rectifiers can apparently get pretty hot when the generator (in whatever form) is running and the batteries are full. However, wind turbine voltages are all over the place while your hydro system is a lot more predictable. Still, I'd move it off the bare wood just to be safer.
@@jameshbyrd That does seem a good idea. My system is not producing a whole lot of power but still if I were to bring that out another inch from the wood would be good.
Thanks to Mr Langston for his support! This was an informative project! Thanks! :)
You should look into putting a flow sensor on the overflow or a switch right below it and use something like an Arduino to automatically control the three valves on the turbine to have maximum output at all times.
Watch all 10 and really impressed,Just got to find me a house with a creek/stream in the back garden now🤣
2:10 „Missing a good bit of water” is recommended, otherwise part of the forest would dry out. The roots of trees and plants often intertwine and exchange fluids. Thus, the little remaining water feeds the forest in the area where you put the pipes.
Well done sir I just watched the whole series tonight and I’m so glad to find another Hydrohead making a series. This time DC power. I like how you are showing the step-by-step process installing a system. It’s something I’ve wanted to do myself with other peoples systems. I will steer some Traffic to your channel and series on micro Hydro.
Thank you for watching! I have watched your series at least twice haha. When I make videos its often a "turn the camera on and see what happens" type experience. Step by step and mistakes included.
I appreciate any traffic you send. Thanks.
Awesome series Seth! Sharing this as a post on my channel. Keep up the good work!
Thank you! This has been one of my favorite series so far.
@@LandtoHouse I can tell! Did you get my email about the Dual Drive Pipe Ram Pump a couple months ago? Just curious if you think it is a good idea? Thank you, Danny
Hmm. maybe put a float in the barrel. When the water level gets so, it sends a signal to a solenoid to restrict the flow to the jet(s) so the barrel doesn't run dry. As the level increases, the solenoid opens up the jets more. That way it is automatic. If the level gets too low, a signal (buzzer) can be sent to the house to let you know a bear has knocked your barrel over to get a drink! Pesky bears!!!
Great work, màn!Farmers in mountain region in Vietnam also have the same type of micro hydro system but yours is much better!
I really like this series. Our mountain property in Georgia has a fast running creek, an established spring that supplies us five gallons per minute and two other undeveloped springs. I’m very interested adding a system like this.
Very nice. I also have a second series airing now with a low flow rate. That system is doing 120 watts.
Land to House I will check that out. I’ve been busy and haven’t got caught up on your videos. I hope all is well with your family. Thanks!
There are so many videos on the channel.... 1200 to be honest. The family is well!
Great Job!
A digital flow meter switch, a PLC and 4 solenoid control valves would have been recommended to increase and reduce the pressure by turn off and on the jets when the water pressure or power drops or increases.
But this can only work when the turbin is close to a power source.
Above all great achievement 👏
You caught my attention with the Ram pumping system, and I started following you. I watched every one in this series and was impressed, meaning your 10. I am keen on a lot of the things you've done and will consider this in the future, thanks.
When you increase the barrel over flow, you should also add another inlet to the barrel, to catch more of the stream water. Also you should stop the water running down the back of the water pick up /filter, to harness more water potential. Then you should seal up all the inlets into the barrel this combined with the next step should give you maximum efficiency , at the pick up - filter area at least. The last thing to do is the barrel overflow, it should go vertical from the barrel, to a height just below the pick up, where it will need an opening at the highest point. Here you will want to put a tee fitting, the air will go up and out the top of the tee fitting, and the water can be redirected back down to the stream. This will allow all the air will go out the top, and the barrel will remain full of air-free water at all times. This will also increase the static penstock pressure slightly.
I have actually already filmed a video on capturing the water coming out the back of the intake box.
Just had an apifiny watching one of your videos again. An idea for a catchment box. Cut a plastic 55 gal drum. If you make a long cut straight from top to bottom then make a cut from that cut on each end about 10" both cuts the same direction you would be able to use a heat gun to bend the cut piece back to form something like a ramp type scoop. Then using screen over the ramp and hole across the barrel . You can use half inch PVC pipe cut in half and heated and flattened to make strips that you could predrill pilot holes in and lock down the screen wire and on ramp piece take a pool noodle cut to match the length of the ramp and the two short sides of the ramp. Then make a single cut down each of them so you can slide them over the PVC Screen holding pieces. If done right you would have already cut your holes and inserted your bulkhead fittings. Now you have a large plastic catch basin with a water ramp and guides. Oh! And if you want to be sure the water doesn't leak off the ramp I would use a tube of clear silicone caulking around the pool noodles on top of your ramp with the screen wire. Let me know if you think it's a good idea or not.
Hi there! I just stumbled upon these videos...nice job! FWIW, the ups and downs of the carrier pipes in between the inlets and outlets of your system do not impact the final pressure at all, as long as the highest point of the carrier pipes remain lower than the point of origin. I’m not an engineer but since water will always seek its level, that’s how it has to be.
I’m not being critical. I love the project!
Thank you for watching. I believe the issue that arises with valleys and rises in the penstock is that air can become trapped and that will slow down the water
this is one of the best videos i have seen on projects that concern pmg generator. Thumb up.
Thank you. It has worked flawlessly for months now.
27 years ago, I wanted to purchase a parcel of land near a running brook to live as a self sustained, off-grid living by building a small raised dam and use a 24V turbine generator, inverters, batteries, etc, for a country shack (cabin) that would have been enough to live the good life alway from greedy water, power and gas companies. Bad luck struck when I enquired with the local shire who said I cannot do any of that to the brook.
The brook water was only to be diverted to a pond downhill of the land (not the entire brook just half of it) and then from there it would overflow by pipes straight into the turbines and back down into the stream. The shire said no, even though water wasn't polluted and what was taken would return back in the brook. The land and the brook were part of the purchase deal but the River Authority owned the brook. So I gave up and never bought that land, dreams destroyed.
One day 4 years ago, I decided to visit the area and noted that cabins were spread far and wide. I then decided to pay a visit to the land I really loved and, you wouldn't believe what I saw. A nice cabin (small house) built on the exact spot where I had planned to erect mine and, further down I saw a pondage and white pipes with other implements such as some sort of generator ran by water. I felt like suing the shire for not allowing me to build and settle there, yet 4 years before this visit I see they had allowed someone else and, like a neighbor I had asked on that day had said, that, they are rich and must have paid big money to build there. Amazingly what money can do. 😫
Good exercise up and down to check out intake. Add a few web-cams pointing to intake and barrel to instantly monitor your set up.
It is a hike for sure. As for cameras... thats 1300 feet from the house. Don't think a camera is going to work.
I love it....thank you for sharing the knowledge. I’ve had something like this in mind for a while but just don’t know enough about what is available out there.
Thank you for sharing this project with us. I have learned a lot from your channel. Looking forward to seeing how it holds up this winter
Thank you. Yes I also am looking forward to running it in winter. I will make updates as they happen.
Hello Seth... at this point on my life and where I live there almost 0 chance I will ever build a micro-hydro power plan but nonetheless I thoroughly enjoyed this video series in particular your enthusiasm and determination to see this project to conclusion! However, I hope to buy an RV early 2022 and solar is a very popular RV project to facilitate boon-docking or living off the grid... So I was able to relate to the use of the charger and inverter components and bank of batteries... In any case congratulations on this project and will continue to watch your next video series. Bob S, Tampa, FL
Thank you very much for watching. I have another short series showing the solar installation. I actually just installed another one kW to my solar setup.
Really aweome series Seth. Love all ur vids, these ones no different.
Thank you! A different type hydro install is up next.
just binged this and wanting to find a waterfall behind my city centre home xD
Haha yes! Hydro is a lot of fun.
Cities underground is full of water and pressure from building and human water consumtion... And rain on rooftops... Maybe some micro, microgeneration there could be nice... Make all building energy efficient... What a dream...
Great job, Seth. Now that you have hydro power, it will probably stop raining on Tuesday. ☺ David
It has! The weather the past 3 weeks is so dry haha
@@LandtoHouse What could be done with the 12+ gpm of water coming out of the exit pipe? Water wheels came to mind but most are generating DC current and your hydro is AC. I just found this video which uses a hover board wheel alternator and a computer power supply plastic fan on a metal shaft inside the pipe. It generates AC current which can be connected to your 10/3 line at the hydro. The PVC sweep wye connection or 2 could be placed on the end of your exit pipe and make use of the water as it leaves the pipe. More placed up the supply line would generate more power.
Part 1
ruclips.net/video/1KyL1-0A0Gw/видео.html
Part 2 shows how to build it. You only need the Y assembly.
ruclips.net/video/ibCu0PxIZA4/видео.html
CONGRATULATIONS FROM ECUADOR (SOUTHAMERICA) THANKS FOR THIS VIDEO. YOU ARE THE BEST!
Have you considered automating the system? With a float meter in the penstock, load from house, state of charge of batteries, some automated screw valves on the turbine and an arduino or pii you could configure it so the valves would auto adjust according to how much water you have in the penstock, it would also shutdown / slowdown the hydro if the house wasn't using anything and the batteries were full. This would have the benefit that if you had a sudden downpour the system would react instantly.
Great job and great series! Perhaps hitting the turbine from all four sides using the other three at lower volume would be more effective than full flow at just one side. Have you tried opening the all the valves part way to see if that is more efficient?
The pelton wheel works best at highest velocity of the jet. On the other hand, two jets produce twice the force for a given velocity. So, if more jets can be run without sacrificing the jet velocity (driven by head pressure at the nozzle), it would produce more power. For instance if throttling two jets produced 2/3 velocity per jet, it'd produce half again as much power. I think. See ruclips.net/video/rf9meqw2SQA/видео.html
a lot of work for 50 cents per day. I appreciate the series though. Thank for the great series.
Love this series. Great skill and knowledge portrayed in this video.
Would your if you can go in detail about your household load and your battery bank used, you mentioned 60V DC, 5 12V batteries connected in series.
Can you tell me what Ah is a single battery?
Well done great set up.
You can automate valve movement with some sensors and a raspberry pi/ aruduino
Nice system. Your fine water screen looks like it might clog up fairly quickly. You might try a surface tension type cover. The type that home rain gutters use to keep leaves out, like Gutter Guard, etc.
Great idea! Glad I thought if it!
@@The_DuMont_Network You may have thought of it, but I don’t believe you mentioned it !
@@ItAintMeBabe99 My way of having sport with you. It's a great suggestion, glad you made it!. Really wish I'da thunk of it first. As a matter of fact, an ad for that just ran on myTV an hour ago.
you are the real engineer man!
Thank you. This has been a fun project.
Hi Seth, greetings from Papua New Guinea, loved all your videos. You did a good job from start to the completion. Just a few questions here. What is the head of your system and what is your flow rate in the pipe to the hydro generator?😊
And in the future please cover videos on the appliances that your battery banks will power and for how long the appliances will be powered by the battery banks until the battery falls to 75%. Another question, does the inverter switches off when the battery falls below 75%?
He should use a Charge controller with direct load function that way he can still charge the battery and use the power at the same time. Just my thought otherwise great video really admire his work.
So the inverter is back feeding through the receptacle? Also, You Should Ground Everything
Yes the plug is called a deadman plug. Although this one is part of an islanding grid tie inverter.
@@LandtoHouse does it also mean that it can only pull less than 15Amp since the outlet is rated at 15?
This inverter is only a 1kw so it does not even come close to 15 amps. More like 8amp.
Awesome, I do need the complete cable wire setup that bring the power out the turbine toward house,
Very impressive set up sir!
Where did you buy the turbine sir? How much electricity it can produce?. How much pressure head it requires?
Thank you!
hey man, today i just met you, and you became my number 1,you are amazing, i am really looking forward to following your steps, I am living in a village and i have some slope and underground water and a well, I would need to find a way to have at least some electricity, I am curious do you have a full tutorial or guide how to build similar setup, i am curious how to build first the ramp pump as 1st step, I`ve watched more than a dozen videos of ramp pumps but yours seems better, do you mind sharing somehow?
Really looking forward to your next content. Keep up your great style of videos! This series was great, I´m looking also forward for future updates and long time experience of this system. ;-)
The next series is going to be an off grid turbine. And after that I will have a video of another type hydro turbine.
I'm a little confused, how does the water travel from the waterfall down to those pipes into the barrel and into more pipes naturally? Without a pump? Great video though
Great series. Is 120 watts enough to run a household? I'd imagine around 5kw would be the least
This may be a silly question but how possible do you think it would be to use a siphon to continuously pull water, from a pond, up a hill then run it back down into a generator before exciting back into the pond? It seems a bit close to something like perpetual energy but still it's an interesting idea for me since the siphon wouldn't need electricity. I guess it comes down to how much water can you get up the hill in what amount of time to make it actually work? Also, I'm not sure how far a siphon can get water up a hill. Any thoughts?
Good work Seth! The crawl space video seemed extra clear to me. Maybe it’s the coffee?
Happy that it was clear! Or that the coffee is working haha
Well done. A question for you, if you are already connected to the grid why not just use a grid tired inverter?
A couple reasons. We lose power in this area quite often sometimes for 2 days at a time. The batteries allow me to install and off grid inverter so that we can have power on those outage days
Nice system and documentation. Do you plan to run this in the winter?
I believe he answered in comments under one of the previous videos that there's definitely enough water in the stream in the winter, and that the constant relatively high pressure flow in the pipes *should* make it safe to use (without freezing) .
Yes its my goal to use all winter. This year will be a good test.
Let's hope it works!
Why did you go with Auto cranking batteries instead of deep-cycle rv-marine or even 6volt elec vehicle (golf cart) batteries.
The agm should last for many years without running them low. And cost was a big factor $150 each for these.
great vid, i love all this but don't understand it lol, so for the lay people can you tell me how the house benefits , does this power home appliances or just feed back to the grid and save you money? please let me know Thanks Rich
Awesome. What are your thoughts on 2 barrels at the beginning. 1st barrel is used to catch sediment which will then overflow into the 2nd barrel. Which would all be water that flows to the hydro. Updated. Another idea would be to get electric valve actuators with wireless access to your software. Last update. Your wiring skills are WAY better than I could even understand. It’s scary to me. 🤣
So far I think that the single barrel is going to be fine. I just need to have more water to feed the system. I have just a little wire practice from back in school. I will be starting on the solar install sometime soon. So I will get to do these same electronics again.
We can use PVC adhesive after using torch before slipping the connector in.. just in case if it didn't work.
This is great. How much did it all cost?
In the last video, you said something around 200 V, but how many watts or amps? If this is a 70 W ceiling fan at 180 V, you’re only making about half of an amp… but I’m not sure if that changes if you have something drawing power from it, they definitely run a lot different under load or it’s not just a multi meter hooked up
But I really do like your set up, especially how quiet is
Hi, thank you for the video. Very informative. Why not connect to the grid? Or just use solar plus batteries?
Thank you. Actually this is grid tie. The hybrid off grid system is in the works. With solar as well.
Question - For the Jets, could you not change the flow configurations of the PVC pipes on the generator in order to install some pressure regulator switches, these switches are connected to port valves which would automatically open and close, thus increasing and decreasing the Jets in use in accordance with the available incoming water pressure. This would ensure that the Generator is running at optimal power at all times and less requirement to visually/manually adjust.??
Cool
Why didn’t you just install a small cistern, eliminating the “trickle collector” and barrel. Then you could localize your A/C generation, running your wires down the hill. In this system, you could avoid water needlessly being sent running down the hill. If I had to repair this in the “weather” you could trouble shoot and fix with relative ease. I suppose one could wait till the storm passed.
Great videos. Well done and informative. What is the limiting circuit? Does that prevent the inverter from supplying power to the grid?
Yes. The limiter reads the amps going into the house. If there is no amps used the inverter does not feed power.
Do you have a electric utility connection? If so, an induction motor as a generator would have been far cheaper and simpler for such a small system.
I built a 17kw twin-jet Pelton system 40 years ago and then went on working in hydro to this day. Your project brings back a lot of good memories. Keep up the good work!
Sir , will you show your system
Am late but it was a nice series install,can't wait Pv install soon,cheers
Yes it will be coming soon. I have filmed the panel install and need to get to the electronics.
👍😀🇺🇲 Tyvm 4 your time. I really enjoyed all your videos.
Thank you. This series was fun.
Did try to send back the output put water to the reservoir in case of lack of enough flow?
You did a helpful great job!
The drop from the top to the bottom is 163 feet. There is no easy way to get the water back to the top. Even a Ram Pump would need 24 feet of head pressure to get water that high.
Thank you for the informative video. Question for you. Would it not have been more cost effective to install the turbine after a short/shorter downhill run from the barrel? That way you could run the (relatively cheaper) cable the entire distance back to the house (even if inside a small diameter cheap/thin tube)? Sorry if I missed the reason in previous videos.
The issue with that is the more drop to the PMA the more power. I have 165 feet of head pressure at this point. If I had gone up closer to the Tank the power would have reduced.
Have you thought of using a ram pump to take the exiting water & some additional creek water back up the hill to a cistern or some other type of water storage to supplement low flow??
I really liked the series, but I do have a few comments. The power generated, 80W, is really quite low. Running 24/7 this turbine would provide 80*24 or 1.92KWh/day. The daily usage of power in USA depends, of course on your location, and ranges from a high of 42.4KWh/day (Louisiana) to 17.2KWh/day (Hawaii).
Even under the best conditions with a very high efficiency home, 1.92KWh/day is a drop in the bucket. To make a serious dent in your utility bill a turbine in the 500-1000W range would be needed, but you would need an appropriate water supply to feed it.
My advice is, before you starting building, to characterize your flow/head and estimate the power you're going to generate. For many solar will be a much better alternative.
I am not sure where the 80w came from. This unit is making 210 watts with one nozzle. 330 watts with 2 nozzles. I need to increase the size of the output pipe but I have seen 516 watts. With my hydro and solar connected I have seen well over 10kwh a day.
@@LandtoHouse Thanks for the reply. I did watch the video again and you are right. The charge controller clearly shows the power generated is 326W. Many apologies for my error.
thanks allot man this was awsome to watch
Viewing and following your video sir from Bataan Philippines, coz I have a farm far from power source, so can make some modifications from yours 🥰
Thank you for watching! This system works well.
@@LandtoHouse may I know how did spent for that system sir, if ever how can I order that system the fact that I'm living here in the Philippines
We electricians do it without shorts and carry more juice. :) They sell the black polyp pipe in 1000 ft. reels. I see you discovered the high pressure-ball valves don't get along. Gate vales. I spend the extra buck on brass internal barbed fittings and double the good quality hose clamps per connection. cut once, bury once. Rent a cutter and plastic pipe welder. As strong as pipe when done. Electrical Codes are different per state, county and city. Green GROUND all metal boxes and any steel in and on system. It is a bonding ground! With cut or scraped wires and wet earth, potential for deadly accident. Maybe a weatherproof 3-phase lockable disconnect at the turbine for emergencies. Save some footsteps up and down the hill. Lastly, we must have disconnect at meter base here so when utility power goes down, can't electrocute linemen working poles in storm Called back feed. Tickle a lineman and they will hunt you down.
Great Works!!! Your neighbor will benefit from your experience.. lol
I am assuming there is no way to get more feed water to the inlet at the top?
Your videos got me expanding an off-grid system beyond just solar and wind. I just bought a piece of vacant land on Lake Superior in an unorganized township. I'm in the process of pre-planning my build which includes an off-grid system. I'm thinking outside of the box (and wanting to kill 2 birds with one stone), and wondering if a water turbine system would work inside a shore well while at the same time accessing and delivering well water to house via a well pump.
I guess it doesn't freeze there. Are you counting on the water movement to prevent the pipes freezing?
It does freeze.... A mouse chewed a wire and locked down the pma. I forgot to turn the water back on and EVERYTHING at the housing froze and shattered. A fun rebuild is in the future.
I don't know plumbing but would it be beneficial to have air vents in the tubes that carry water a long way?
When you put the turbine under load how well will only 2 jets keep up? Seems it's design for maximum efficiency and capability will be using all 4 jets.
At one 1/4 nozzle it gets 200w. At two nozzles it gets 370w. My output pipe needs to be bigger to run more nozzles.
This was too cool.
If you add another overflow outlet to the barrel, might I suggest running it from the bottom of the barrel and up the side to your fill line, so that it will carry a lot of the bottom silt automatically?
Congratulations for the beautiful work, pity that in Brazil we did not find this type of turbine to buy! Do you recommend a place to buy? Thanks for listening.
This is my 1st time working with these turbines. I am unaware of a place tp buy one in Brazil
Brazil is a major manufactiring country. Somebody must make small turbines.
Note: Centriugal pumps can be operated as water turbines. Takes a bit of calculation to find a pump of the correct size.
I jealous. Nice system! Do you have plans to cover that rectifier to prevent shocks?
Yes I have a simple solution provided by a viewer to cover that.
@@LandtoHouse tupperware works! lol
Hi, just want to ask if you use a check valve (spring and swing check valve ) in your ram pump?
The detail is appreciated.
Thank you. It works well.
I have a few questions. Can you add hydro to a solar set up. My solar covers the house but in these time passive income is needed
My system now has both solar and hydro. Separate charge controller.
Word of caution: wiring contained in its own insulator, such as romex or your ground contact wiring, emits heat, should not be contained within conduit. Not saying it will, but it can overheat and melt the insulating jacket. With wiring such as residential romex, one will note the actual wire has a insulating coating, then it is placed inside an outter jacket, that is in fact the conduit for the wiring. Not trying to be a wise ass, just a note fyi
woudn't it be a great idea to use a flowmeter or a waterlevel meter to control 4 solonoids to open close the jets to maintain waterpressure ??
Hey how much would a system like this run would it run an entire home and if so for how long and how much does this setup cost I’m new to this but want to cut bills out of my life at least power me some on food too and this looks very interesting
For hydro to be cost efficient you need either a lot of head pressure or a good flow rate. Or both. This system was approximately $4500.
Solar can be a great alternative. My solar panels were used and only $0.26 a watt.
Power bill last month was $54. Down from $105.
Oh wow that is expensive but def worth cutting electric bills and that solar way sounds nice too and thanks for the response appreciate it
@@callierose7695 it can be costly. There are ways to save on some things. Batteries are going to be expensive one way or the other.
Hi Seth, Can I ask a question please ? What happens to the power from the hydro if your battery is full and your house isn't using any power ?
Does the Midnite classic controller stop or reduce the load into the battery or do you have some other kind of dump load to use the power up ?
Kind Regards
john
The midnite classic is able to take in voltage up to 250v. If the batteries are full the midnite will spin up the hydro to max rpm and dump the load on the system. I hear this often when the sun is out and my solar panels are pulling in 2500w. The hydro will spin up and not do much on a sunny day. Then at night it is back to its normal speed. So yes yes the midnite takes care of the power when not needed.
@@LandtoHouse Hi Seth many thanks for your reply, I've been building a system for 3-4 years now and have just ordered one of those inverters as I liked the way you can control the amount of power you pull from the battery. my main hydro is grid tied but I want something I can use for charging the battery bank when I have no wind or sun. my hydro is the same style as yours but is a five wire rated for 4k and around 450v. the problem is I just can't spin it fast enough to get enough on the single phase side for the battery side of things so looking to buy a second smaller unit. at full speed when I have full water I'm getting 920w grid but only 11-12v on the single phase side, my battery is 24v so it's no good.
I have two grid meters in the house one for the main house which is on an older analogue meter but the outbuildings are on a digital meter so anything I feed back I get charged for, so with the new inverter and a smaller hydro generator I'm hoping that will do the trick.
That's great to know the Midnite Classic will control the hydro when the battery is full as I don't really like having to burn power off with a resistor bank like I do for the wind turbine.
Anyway thank you again for your help. enjoy and have fun
john
You should intergate a microcontroler like a arduino to measure the water level/overflow rate to automaticaly open and close the valves depending on the water level
You mentioned a 160' drop. Did u mean vertical from creek source to MIcro Hydro Generator? Because other than that, I don't see where your 65PSI originates from.
Yes. This is actually a 10 part series. Check the description for the other parts.
About how much does this set up save you on your electric bill each month?
Where I live, electric is .12/kwh. He produces about 350 watts, which is about 260kwh if he runs 24/7. At .12/kwh, he's saving around $31/mo. He's probably saving more now because of effencies he has added.
Any reason why you don't have a fuse or breaker between the battery and the charge controller?
With the inverter, the black cable going from the bottom of it to the socket mounted above it, is that what's supplying the electricity to the house? That seems like it's a bit janky with power going the 'wrong way' on that cable, but I can't see any other cables connecting from the inverter to anything else!
Your hair drier pulls 1,200 to 1,500 watts with just a plug. He is only putting 200 watts back into the system, I don't see the issue. Would you feel better if it was a disconnect box?
@@orion_13 It's not the actual cable itself, but more that it seemed as though if you unplugged one end whilst the other was still connected, it would have exposed live contacts?
The sun-1000 is auto islanding. As soon as the grid is removed the unit powers down the output. Its very fast. Before the ground is even out of the receptacle the power has stopped.
I just found your channel but unless I heard you wrong the max input from the system is around 3000 watts a day...total?seems like a lot of effort for minimal gain?again i may have misunderstood 😕
With a little redesign of the housing i should get a max of 12kwh in high water flow times.
This hydro system plus solar will save around $60 a month.
My system typically makes 8kw a day.
Would be nice the cost analisys. Thanks
A few videos after this i break down the cost.
Hi Seth....one day I might be setting up an awesome hydroelectric system, but for now....about to head back to the land and finally try to set up the ram pump. I hope you don't mind a question about that here. This is about siting the intake.
My delivery pipe may have to come up a steep bank and then drop down over a wall, before it continues rising to the water tank. Possible? I have a feeling it's not ideal and may cause air pockets...or not? Answer when/if you can. All the best.
You should still be fine getting the water to lift over that. The flow rate of the ram pump is low pressure and will make its way around that dip.
@@LandtoHouse Phew! Now I know I have at least 2 options before I get there. Honestly can't thank you enough for all your advice. I'm going to call my pump Seth!
Congrats Seth. Loved the series, loved the project. Started watching the series that you build your neighbor's micro Hydro.. Just a question on that. You are using a different Turbine from yours? How come you get so different readings in terms of voltage. 200V no load vs max 30V no load? Thanks
Thanks for watching! My neighbor already had a pma that we sent in to Spencer. He rewired and sent back. So that one is different than the one I use.
Would the rectifier be a electrical hazard for little hands. Seems like you would want to have it covered.
That modification will be made. Even though the crawlspace is locked I will still cover that rectifier.
@@LandtoHouse great series btw.
Was it difficult to get approval from the utility company to tie this system into your house? Or is the house already off-grid?
I think he didn't say anything about it tbh
the system can't backfeed into the grid so it's fine to connect as long as the limiter function is there
very very good work, I like your project,
Please don't forget to cover the rectifier...
Have a nice day
I have a cover pulled and ready to install. Thank you.
Well done..fantastic work..👍
Thank you!
I have watched almost all offgrid/solar/wind/microhydro content on RUclips, and the one thing that always is consistent is the lack of craftmanship in all installations.
Sure, it is done by amateurs, but it doesn't take much to route the cables nice (and use decent size cables), paint the wooden boxes and waterproof them and put the batterys in order in a box.
It's like "the thing is spinning and making s lightbulb glow, I must be finished".
No, the concept is working, now make it nice.
Be careful when you close upstream as you do when you close downstream, the depression can do damage, generally after the closing valve you put a T with a vertical pipe so that it acts as a vent for any air but mainly to suck it when it closes and drain the pipe properly.
It would have been nice to see in the bin at what level the water was with the two jets open, in my opinion it was higher than the outlet pipe and slightly lower than the overflow, if so you can always leave them both open if it does not drop further, from video it is not clear, it gives the impression that the piping following the ground, rises and falls, if this were the case in the high points there would be many automatic vents such as those for radiator heating systems, otherwise trapped air remains and the effective dimeter, great job we await the maximum flow rate and the 4 open jets!