Author Topic: Free 24/7 Electricity With Micro-Hydro Ceiling Fan PMA  (Read 9733 times)

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teacherman

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Free 24/7 Electricity With Micro-Hydro Ceiling Fan PMA
« on: April 22, 2015, 07:13:14 PM »
Still fine tuning to try to squeeze out a few more amps. Working with a small pond and a 4 foot head. The three 1 3/4" black plastic pipes are all siphoning, so there is quite a stream coming out of each one. the whole set-up cost me less than $50.00.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EmpnelVlHVA

southline

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Re: Free 24/7 Electricity With Micro-Hydro Ceiling Fan PMA
« Reply #1 on: April 23, 2015, 08:09:53 AM »
Less than $50!  Great job.  Do you have any pics of the build? Adam

dbcollen

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Re: Free 24/7 Electricity With Micro-Hydro Ceiling Fan PMA
« Reply #2 on: April 23, 2015, 11:31:39 AM »
Seems like lots of work for 10 watts

tanner0441

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Re: Free 24/7 Electricity With Micro-Hydro Ceiling Fan PMA
« Reply #3 on: April 23, 2015, 12:29:48 PM »
Hi

Your opening comment. "trying to squeeze a few more amps...." If that is a ceiling fan motor your not talking in amps. You can't get more current down a wire than its cross sectional area will allow.

As an academic excersize it is a neat and well executed project, to provide electricity long term I cant see it happening.  How do you regulate the voltage, and what happens in flood conditions? They look like bike wheels, how do you keep the water out of the bearings? As a first attempt at a water turbine it is very good and neatly done.

If this is prelude to a more permanent installation to prove viability then OK. If you intend to run this as a finished item and supply your house with more than a couple of lights, I would keep a supply of candles in.

Brian

hiker

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Re: Free 24/7 Electricity With Micro-Hydro Ceiling Fan PMA
« Reply #4 on: April 23, 2015, 02:41:03 PM »
cool...nice to see something working you created...
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mab

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Re: Free 24/7 Electricity With Micro-Hydro Ceiling Fan PMA
« Reply #5 on: April 23, 2015, 06:28:49 PM »
Can't complain at that price  ;D

I wouldn't dismiss 10w 24/7; granted that I tend to shut my hydro down when it drops below 25w as it's very inefficient at <25w and it's not worth the wear & tear - but even 25w makes a VERY noticeable difference to the battery, and when I do shut it down I really miss it. Overnight when the base load is negligible, 25w puts ~ 8Ah back into the (24v) battery.

Granted if your running a 1500Ah 48v traction battery it won't do much, but I managed for years on 100Ah 24v AGM (still only have 420Ah).  10w is going to contribute ~10Ah/day to the system (24v) which is very significant on a small system, particularly when it's dull and the solar's not doing a lot.

Stainless

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Re: Free 24/7 Electricity With Micro-Hydro Ceiling Fan PMA
« Reply #6 on: April 23, 2015, 09:40:43 PM »
10w is going to contribute ~10Ah/day to the system (24v) which is very significant on a small system, particularly when it's dull and the solar's not doing a lot.

That's quite true. I've spent the last year trying to learn about compact, low head DIY water generation, and it's been a little frustrating at times to find projects and ideas that die on the vine because forum commenters (not as much here as on other forums) discourage people from "bothering" with projects that can't produce significant power all the time.

My home made camper trailer pulls roughly 7 A with absolutely everything running, and even 36 watts would be helpful to pad the 100 AH storage that I have available over a three day camping weekend. It's often felt like I'm the only one who has low requirements, so it's nice to see projects like this that are a little more modest in output and cost.

Maybe this is a naive question, but has anyone tried to run multiple CF motors in parallel to increase the output? Three of 'em would still be effectively free, but it might produce an output that could at least be measured in amps at the price of a little more build complexity.


zracer

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Re: Free 24/7 Electricity With Micro-Hydro Ceiling Fan PMA
« Reply #7 on: September 19, 2016, 12:18:55 AM »
For $50, hell that is pretty  8)

electrondady1

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Re: Free 24/7 Electricity With Micro-Hydro Ceiling Fan PMA
« Reply #8 on: September 19, 2016, 08:36:41 AM »
congratulations on getting off the couch and making some power
:))

george65

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Re: Free 24/7 Electricity With Micro-Hydro Ceiling Fan PMA
« Reply #9 on: September 20, 2016, 01:24:27 AM »

I'd love to have a place to Play with MH.  I have been having such a hankering to do something I think I'm just going to scratch that itch buy using an electric pump as my water source. No, it won't be practical, I'm not that silly but it will allow me to have a play and test some ideas which I have had on my mind and would really like to experiment with.

The thing I pick up from your video is Distance.  Distance from the house where you want the power and distance you are piping the water.

From the vid it does not look like the house is much higher than where the generator is now. I'm wondering if you moved the generator closer to the house if the reduced frictional losses in the hoses wouldn't go some way to compensating anyway? Also wondering if it were closer to the house if you wouldn't have some pipe leftover after you shortened the run to enable you to have a 4th supply line which again would offset any deterioration in fall.

The reason I would be trying to get the generator closer to the house is that with the minimal power you have, time you run a wire back there you might be left with virtually nothing. Looks like it's a fair way and to run a wire that far with a decent gauge so you don't loose everything you are making to resistance, it seems like you are going to need to invest some money in cable.

I'm wondering if that investment would not be better spent on larger pipe again to bring the generator closer to the house to lessen the resistance fall off.
It would seem you have plenty of water but a very finite supply of generated power.  I think you are going to have to watch the watts very carefully.

As far as making more power, I'm wondering it you would not do better with something like a 24V Scooter motor? These are permanent magnet and rated for 300W or more. In the playing around I have done with them, you can get good power out of the things if you can drive them hard enough. Not saying they HAVE to be driven hard but rather they would easily do say 100w If you had the capacity to turn them with sufficient torque.  Maybe your fan Generator is cutting you short of all the power you could get in this setup?

The other thing is, have you experimented with Nozzles at all? Don't know what if any difference they may make in this situation but maybe they could?

I would also be going back to scratch and calculating the available power you have in the water both where the generator is now and nearer the home.
If you work out you are getting good efficiency with your present setup, well and good. If you are not, then you know where to start chasing those extra watts you are looking for.

 I spose it really depends on what you are trying to achieve with this. If you just want to play tiddly winks and have a tinker and amuse yourself for the hell of it, then that's Fine. Pretty much what I want to do too.
If you are looking for something practical you want to use, then realistically you have to ask if your situation and resources aren't such that you'd be just better off getting a couple of used 250W Solar panels, sticking them on a pole, and hooking them up to a $10 fleabay controller and a battery and doing it that way.
At the end of the Day/ month/ year, that in fact may give you more power than a similar spend on the MH will give you.

Maybe something like a windmill might be viable in your area?

SmartLikeTruck

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Re: Free 24/7 Electricity With Micro-Hydro Ceiling Fan PMA
« Reply #10 on: September 20, 2016, 02:29:44 AM »
Nice, I've been thinking of similar setup for about the same amount of head, so this give me some idea of what to expect.
Thanks for sharing it.

hiker

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Re: Free 24/7 Electricity With Micro-Hydro Ceiling Fan PMA
« Reply #11 on: September 20, 2016, 06:24:12 PM »
Rewire that little Dynamo ...made one few years back..small double stacked neos..used some thicker wire...only used the outer coils for output..hooked it up to a small 2hp engine...hit about 20-25 amps..great little batt. Charger or lights....engine didn't have to work hard..low rpm.  Car or truck alt of course put out more power..built a few...fun stuff...
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