Well as was pointed out there are lots of choices for fluids around even water with antifreeze for many of the newer types of pumps. Before you go getting too earth friendly about how much cleaner electricity is than hydraulic go look at a copper mine and the tailings and runoff areas. Check the water contamination both above and below ground. Just because it is in someone else's back yard doesn't make it clean. As to the friction part there are losses both power and copper with running electricity through wires. I need to do some research on just what the line losses are for running the different AC/DC and voltages per foot of wire. Guess I will also need to add wire size and alloy to make that all work. Anyone got a link?
I'll not argue that for now the easiest and best DIY home units are hawts and DC generators with direct drive. Hydraulic components are expensive especially for the better matched units and not found dumpster diving dang it. If I didn't live on a farm with some old systems that I could salavage from I doubt that I would try it.
One thing that keeps sticking in my head is that efficiency isn't king daddy it is ease of use and reliability. Why? Wind is free and most of the losses can be balanced out with just a little bigger turbine. When a system can be made that isn't tied together on rpms of the turbine and rpms of the genny it will open up a bunch of possibilities. Just my 2 cents worth.
Back to building turbines and trying to stay cool as it has been in the triple digits here almost every day for the last couple of months. That 40 below almost sounds good right now.
Finis
